Sale and rent back needs 'legal basis'

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A code of practice for sale and rent back should be done by a "legal body, not a trade body", according to one expert.

The comments to the Financial Times Adviser follow last week's publication of a set of guiding principles by the National Landlords Association (NLA) for sale and rent back schemes.

Sale and rent back is a fairly new concept that involves a landlord purchasing a property from a homeowner on the condition of renting it back to its former owner.

But according to Nigel Barlow, retirement solutions chief for Just Retirement, the guidelines do not provide enough protection for those consumers that might use them.

He told the FT Adviser: "A code of practice is, I suppose, a step in the right direction, but it does not cross the river.

"There is nothing in these guidelines that explains to very old people that they go a very
long time having tosupport their rent and they actually can lose their homes."

The NLA's guiding principles are a precursor to a proposed code of practice for landlords expected by the end of the month.


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