REsidEnTiallettings
The Rugg Review and The The Gas Safe Register maintains a
goveRnmenT Response register of competent gas engineers. The
Ahead of the recent publication of the regulatory body, Capita, operates through
Government’s response to The Rugg the Gas Safe brand to supervise the work
shoots and scores!
Review, Susie Crolla explained Dr Julie of registered installers and promote
Rugg’s recommendations and the consumer awareness. It will also manage
proposals likely to be made in the complaints and appeals and pursue
Government response, which will aim to unregistered illegal installers.
create a ‘fairer and more effective system New technology allows consumers to
for those living in rented housing.’ check the validity of a gas engineer’s
This document is now published and credentials by entering their registered
commented upon in our Licensing feature. number on the Gas Safe website or sending
The full document is downloadable from a text to Gas Safe. On the internet, the
our website: www.propertydrum.com engineer’s photo will appear next to the
number given, on the phone the photo will
Julie Rugg recommended that: be texted back. Simple, but effective in

More policy is needed to encourage a ensuring the right man for the job is in
better understanding of managing your property.
rented housing There are now more than 112,000

Managing agents should be subject to installers registered so very little reason to
mandatory regulation use a cowboy! Visit www.gassaferegister.

Registered social landlords should be co.uk for further information.
encouraged to enter the PRS and sell
their rental management skills to suRviving eneRgeTically
private landlords After lunch the focus moved from gas to

Government should devise initiatives energy saving as Tweedie Brown CBE,
to ‘grow’ the business of letting Deputy Chairman PSG Solutions plc,
encouraging growth and stepped up demonstrating that he clearly
professionalism has much more energy than most of us.

Buy-to-let mortgages should be Tweedie’s most energetic presentation was
available and include strategies to titled Surviving Energetically and he
protect tenants from landlord default appraised delegates of the urgent action

Light-touch licensing and effective that is needed to avoid an energy crunch in
redress is needed the next few years.

A national licence for all landlords, If we thought the credit crunch has been
which could be revoked if the landlord difficult, the predicted energy crunch will
did not meet statutory requirements. be much darker. Literally. Three day
working weeks, punitive energy prices,
The main news is of course that letting Top: Ombudsman Christopher Hamer and energy sharing measures. Tweedie says
agents will be subject to regulation and Tweedie Brown bond over a cup of tea that although the UK government is now
licensing in the near future. See page 46 for Above: Derek Kelson FCC of Paragon making efforts to increase our energy
our initial report. PROPERTYdrum will Middle: Vincenzo Rampulla, Public Affairs output it is going to be highly unlikely that
keep you right up to date on the detail. Officer of NLA discusses Housing Benefit we will have enough production to feed the
Below: The energetic Tweedie Brown CBE ever growing demand for power.
sofTwaRe in The cRediT cRunch Everything that can be done to reduce
and RefeRencing our usage should be done – we are urged
Jonathon Stebbings from VT UK gave a to look at our own energy usage,
presentation on the benefits of software in investigate our options, hug the tree. Not a
a credit crunch and Derek Kelson, from tree hugger? This is about surviving and
FCC Paragon spoke on the importance of helping your business rather than joining
referencing and the legal implications for the protesters on the street – energy saving
the landlord. will benefit you, so look at it!
no moRe coRgi – inTRoducing The local housing allowance
The gas safe RegisTeR Vincenzo Rampulla, Public Affairs Officer
There never was a dog associated with the of the National Landlords’ Association
gas safety organisation, now there isn’t (NLA) gave an overview of the first
even the name. Instead we have the Gas 12 months of the new version of Housing
Safe Register, which followed the 2006 Benefit. Recent research by the NLA has
review of gas safety and it was found that it found that the major changes to the way
needed a new focus. housing benefit is paid to tenants wastes
PROPERTYdrum JUNE 2009 59
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