Experts from South Ayrshire Council were on hand to guide more than 80 private landlords through a number of information workshops recently. With the assistance of colleagues from East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire Councils, landlords from across Ayrshire learned about their obligations and there were a few surprises along the way.
From the importance of electrical safety certificates to adhering to standards when it comes to repairs and the effects of changes to universal credit, the sessions were an eye opening experience.
The delegates also heard from John Blackwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) who provided an update on key changes which are due to come into place later this year.
This new legislation aims to deliver more security to tenants as well as ensuring that landlords will no longer be able to ask a tenant to leave unless there is a valid reason; this could include the selling of the property or where a tenant is behind with their rent. There will also be streamlined procedures for starting and ending a tenancy and a model agreement to assist landlords and tenants.
The workshops which also provided handy tips and advice on issues such as the best way to create an inventory and how to deal with problem tenants were warmly received by attendees:
"Very informative and supportive. Great Experience, thank you."
"Very well organised"
"I was very impressed with the commitment and professionalism of the experts."
Councillor Philip Saxton, Housing and Customer Services Portfolio Holder said: "This was the second pan Ayrshire session we have ran for private landlords and once again it has been a great success. The team know exactly the kind of information and advice that landlords are looking for and this is reflected in the high number of attendees.
"The vast majority of landlords in Ayrshire want to provide a good service to their tenants and not only meet their obligations but go beyond the statutory requirements. I am hopeful that there will be more of these informative events in the future."