NLA talks tough over sale and rent back clampdown
News Category: Industry News
Published: 08-Oct-2008
The National Landlords Association (NLA) has released details of its proposed code of practice for the sale-and-rent-back sector.
With the Office of Fair Trading's study into the sector due to be published imminently, the NLA has revealed that under its code landlords can expect to be hit with "enforceable legal sanctions and financial penalties" if they do not comply.
David Salusbury, chairman, NLA, said the code underlined the organisation's determination to clean up sale and rent back.
He said: "Whether our voluntary Code of Practice is a staging post en route to regulation for sale and rent back or is an end in itself, the critical factor is that vulnerable consumers are protected as soon as possible.
"The NLA believes in market-led solutions where possible and the work we are undertaking reinforces our commitment to removing "cowboys" from the entire private-rented sector."
Sale and rent back schemes offer homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage the chance to sell the property and remain there as a tenant.
Calls for greater regulation in the sale and rent back sector followed claims that consumers who signed up were subsequently forced from their home by the new owner.
