Positive Energy to Carry Forward to 2022
Given the last 20 months, it’s easier to focus on the negative rather than the positive.
The speed with which 2021 has gone by is astounding as are the peaks and troughs of emotion and change that businesses have had to deal with. Yet, where there is negativity, there has to be positivity to counterbalance. And goodness there is so much to be grateful for.
We would like to congratulate our learners who passed their Level 3 and 4 exams. They have been part of our successful 'Hybrid Learning Programme”. The commitment and dedication the students shown have shown has been very impressive when a Netflix boxset is often a much more attractive alternative.
As a proeprtyMark centre we have been working closely with many letting agents who are offering the Level 3 technical Award to their employees. We nominated Anthony Pepe for PropertyMark Qualification Employer Champion as a result of the deception the company has shown towards their employees ensuring that they are well-equipped to provide exceptional service to their client base.On the 6th December at the award ceremony, it was announced that they had won. Managing Director, Charlie Perdios expressed the importance of ensuring that the employees’ training programme forms a crucial part of business success.
The Housing Market is Vibrant
The HSE Issue Guidance on New Measures to reduce Risk of Transmission in the Workplace
Measures announced to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission
On 8 December, the UK government announced Plan B measures for England in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.
The most recent GOV.UK guidance has information on the latest public health measures, including face coverings, COVID-19 status checks and the NHS Pass. Those who can work from home should do so. Anyone who cannot work from home should continue to go to the workplace.
There is separate advice for Scotland and Wales.
HSE’s latest advice on keeping workplaces safe will help you to continue to work safely during the pandemic. You must still control the risks and review and update your risk assessment. The following workplace controls remain unchanged:
Over a Year of Empathy & Support
At the height of the pandemic last year, we saw an increase in some very difficult situations that letting agents and property managers had to deal with. This has continued to be the case in 2021 as the situations people face have continued to unravel.
We cannot remember a more difficult time that our clients have had to deal with. Pre-Pandemic, the most challenging situations were based around rent arrears and serious maintenance issues.
However, while wrestling with the change of business circumstances, there has also been a need to manage much more serious problems against a backdrop of ongoing challenges with mental health and social justice. Property managers and owner managers have been facing much more contentious issues. There has of course been a surge in substantial rent arrears because of the coronavirus, but there have been some incredibly difficult struggles tenants have been dealing with: -
Domestic Violence is at an all-time high. Letting agents have been liaising with the police who intervene, and injunctions are applied for to prevent the abuser from either harassing the victim or entering the family home.
Plan for Car Chargers in all New Homes in England
In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in the north-east of England on Monday, the prime minister will reveal plans, briefed as “world-leading”, to toughen up and improve regulations for new homes and buildings.Under the government’s plans, set out by the prime minister Boris Johnson at the CBI business leaders conference on Monday, new homes must be equipped with charging infrastructure from next year.
Ross Easton, a director at the Energy Networks Association, added that while the plans for more home chargers was “great news for those living in new homes” the government “must make sure access to charging points is not exclusive, stressing that the charging points must be accessible to everyone.”
Sarah Winward-Kotecha, the director of electric vehicles at RAC raised concerns that it is important to note that a lot of newly built housing stock, said it was “important to remember that a lot of new housing stock in cities does not even come with parking, let alone charging points.
The motoring group has called for the government to make high-speed car charging available to more motorists by focusing on the roll out of rapid chargers in public areas so that
The government’s plans may have failed to consider that many new buildings are built without parking spaces for the sole reason of encouraging people to travel by public transport, which is better for the environment.