News

It is a commonly used phrase in lettings, but what does it mean

If an item deteriorates due to wear and tear then the landlord is responsible for the repair/replacement cost. If it has deteriorated due to damage then the landlord can pursue the tenant for reimbursement of the cost or repair/replacement. The landlord can apply for a deduction from the tenant’s deposit or apply for a payment order from the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing & Property Chamber).

So how do you distinguish between wear and tear and damage? It isn’t a precise science. Wear & tear is defined in case law as follows:

“Reasonable wear and tear means the reasonable use of the house by the tenant and the ordinary operation of natural forces.

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Nicola Brady – Sales & Lettings Associate

Nicola joined the company in 2021. Having previously worked in the Surveying industry Nicola brings a wealth of knowledge to our business combined with a real attention detail. She loves a bit of cheeky banter and of course all things to do with properties. If you are thinking about selling or letting your property feel free to give her a call. She would love to hear from you.

e- sales@rossproperty.co.uk t- 0141 370 7050

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The Scottish Government has advised that it plans to have minimum EPC regulations (which were postponed due to covid) re-laid before parliament in the spring to come into force on 1 April 2021. The regulations will be amended to remove the “E” standard and require private rented sector properties in Scotland to achieve at least:

EPC of D at change of tenancy from 1 April 2022 (giving landlords a year to comply from the date the regulations come into force)
All rental properties must have an EPC rating of D by 31 March 2025
The regulations will provide for some exemptions, including where:

It is not technically feasible to carry out improvements
Where other owners in a block of flats refuse consent to do work to common

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Increasing numbers of landlords are registering as limited companies to reduce their tax liability, an investment specialist claims.

Thirlmere Deacon says there’s been a 55 per cent spike this year alone in investors enquiring about forming a limited company.

It says its research shows a significant majority of active buy to let investors either currently operating as companies, planning to switch, or at least interested in understanding its possible advantages.

And it claims research by another company, SevenCapital, suggests just 10 per cent of BTL investors actively buying now are doing so as individuals.

Buying property through a limited company provides landlords with higher levels of tax relief and person

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We have recently been working with the guys at Get Fully Furnished to offer property staging for our client’s unfurnished properties that they are selling through Ross Sales & Lettings.

What is property staging and how does it work?

It takes a few minutes for a buyer to decide if a property is worth viewing and for one reason is down to first impressions. It takes skill and a good eye to know how to stage a property correctly, thinking out of the box to gain you those extra potential viewings.

That is where the team from Get Fully Furnished come in. They specialise in property staging and that’s only part of what they do. A Glasgow based company with 10+ years of experience in interior design. They have staged countless

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As previously announced by the First Minister, the Scottish Parliament approved the government’s plan to extend the requirements of the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act for a further 6 months.

While we are not surprised that parliament approved the extension of the legislation given the current climate, we have raised awareness among MSPs of the impact that the pandemic and the longer notice periods are having on landlords.

This extension means that landlords serving notice on/before 31 March 2021 will have to adhere to the longer notice periods which were first introduced in April in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Their is a change to the notice period required where tenants or their visitors have been engaging in anti-soci

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The Scottish Government is establishing a new £10 million fund to support people struggling to pay their rent due to financial difficulty associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. Starting later this autumn, the Tenant Hardship Loan Fund will offer interest-free loans to those unable to access other forms of support for their housing costs. We’ll provide more details to members on this as soon as they are available.

The Discretionary Housing Payment fund, which tenants in receipt of benefit can apply to for further financial assistance, has been increased by £8 million in response to the pandemic.


Russell Fleming

Lettings Director

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Lynn Fox has now joined the company and has already proved herself as a real team player. Since joining the company she has proved herself to be a real asset with an already impressive record in sales conversions. Lynn’s approachable style makes her easy to chat with; which is an essential skill in our line of work. If you are thinking about selling your home please feel free to give her a call.

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See if you can spot us and Azurablu Cleaning on the Welsh News Website
Thanks again to Azurablu for their hard work to make our offices safe for our work colleagues and customers

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/scotland-lockdown-phase-two-reopening-18444454

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We have just sold 3 new build properties in Stonehouse. The property market is flying at the minute. If you are thinking about selling or letting please phone Robert Ross or Lynsie Cameron to discuss your next move. We would love to hear from you.

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Property Market Update by Robert Ross

We have been rushed off our feet since the restrictions on property transactions were lifted at the start off the week.

The phone has not stopped ringing and the amount of email enquiries is almost unbelievable.

The property market seems to be off to flying start. We have just received 26 written offers for a property at Closing Date today; all in excess of the home report. The client is delighted and so are we.

It’s an exciting time to be selling so if you are considering moving please give me a call on 0141 370 7050. I can help you find a buyer.

Speak soon,

Robert Ross.

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Our office may be closed but we are still open.

Please be assured that our team are on hand to look after all our client's properties.

Our opening times have changed...

Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm

For rental property repair or maintenance issues we are still operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

www.rossproperty.co.uk/repair

Thanks for your custom through this worrying time,

Robert Ross.

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Dear customers,
We are working harder than ever to provide the best possible level of service.
Here at Ross Sales & Lettings we want to make you aware it is very much service as normal during the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.
We are constantly monitoring government advice and looking to protect the wellbeing of our staff and clients.
Our innovative software and technology platform allows us to operate seamlessly from home. Our sales and lettings managers can all work remotely and our office is fully contactable via email and phone when required.
I genuinely believe that we are better placed than ever to look after our client’s properties throughout this outbreak.
I wish everyone all the best throughout this difficult ti

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We operate on a No Sale No Fee basis. Call Robert Ross for more details on 0141 370 7050


Purplebricks banked more than £18m in fees for thousands of homes it did not sell last year according to this morning’s Daily Telegraph.

It says the agency withdrew 21,380 listings in 2019 as market jitters forced many buyers and sellers to stay put.

The paper cites housing market data firm TwentyCi as the source of the figures.

Purplebricks is quoted in the article saying: “We are very confident our customers understand our upfront fee model and know it gives them a much higher chance of selling, for a much lower cost.”

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The Scottish Government has advised that it intends to postpone the introduction of the minimum EPC requirement until 1 October 2020 due to delays in finalising the regulations. The government now intends to lay final regulations before parliament by April to introduce the minimum standards, which are detailed below.

Private rented sector properties in Scotland will need to achieve at least:

EPC of E at change of tenancy from 1 – October 2020
All rental properties must have an EPC rating of E by 31 March 2022
EPC of D at change of tenancy from 1 April 2022
All rental properties must have an EPC rating of D by 31 March 2025
In some situations it is proposed that there will be exemptions, including where:

It i

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Following a public consultation on the regulation of short term/holiday lets last year, that government has announced plans to regulate the sector.

The Housing Minister announced in parliament that the Scottish Government will:

Introduce licencing for short-term lets, under the Civil Government (Scotland) Act 1982, with a mandatory safety component which will apply to all short-term lets across Scotland. Local authorities will also be given the discretion to put in place further conditions; to help tackle littering or overcrowding of properties, for example.
Give local authorities the power to introduce short-term let control areas within which planning permission will always be required for the change of use of whole prope

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The Scottish Government recently conducted a review of the operation of the tenancy deposit schemes, and have made amendments to the deposit scheme legislation which come into force on 11 November 2019. The amendments of relevance to landlords are:

Landlords will no longer be required to lodge deposits with a scheme if the tenancy is ended and the deposit returned to the tenant in full within 30 working days of the tenancy commencing. This avoids the need to lodge deposits for very short tenancies. However, if the landlord wishes to make deductions from the deposit then it must first be lodged with a scheme.
Where both parties agree that the deposit can be paid in instalments during the tenancy, each instalment must be paid to a s

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Hi there,

Here are my thoughts on the current sales market.

The weekly run-rate on one of the Uk’ most popular property websites for property coming to market in October - that is, the average number of new listings per week - is 24,539, the lowest total at this time of year since October 2009.
With that slowing in the number of properties coming to market, down by 13.5 per cent compared with this time last year, I would suggest that these are strong indications that many would-be sellers are being deterred by the combination of muted pricing power and short-term political uncertainty.

In contrast, buyers seem undeterred, with the year-on-year number of sales agreed being little changed, down by just 0.5 per cent.<

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Lynsie Cameron has been extremely busy listing and selling properties this year in the East End of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.

Her clients have been most impressed with her high levels of service and commitment to help them through the selling process. Well done Lynsie !

If you are thinking of selling your property why not give her a call on 0141 370 7050 ?

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Paul Murphy joins Ross Sales & Lettings …. We are excited to announce that we have a new member to our team “Paul Murphy”. Paul has been an estate agent for over 30 years and has a vast knowledge of the property industry. We are looking forward to working with him. If you’re thinking of selling your property why not give him a call on 0141 370 7050.

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If you are in Bothwell, Glasgow this week or next look out for our Scarecrow in the Main Street. We are one of the Sponsors for this year’s Bothwell Scarecrow Festival. Robert Ross and Lynsie Cameron will also be taking part in the 5k run. Good luck guys !!! www.bothwellscarecrowfestival.co.uk/

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Hi there,

Did you know that as of the 31st of January 2019 any person working for or as a letting agent must adhere to the Letting Agent Code of Practice?

The code practice should help landlords and tenants understand what they should expect if they rent their property through a letting agent.

The good news is that we have sat and passed all our exams and are complying with the current legislation.

Should you wish to find out more about the new code of practice please give me a call on 0141 370 7050.

Robert Ross.

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We are super excited to be one of the “Gold” sponsors for this year’s “Bothwell Scarecrow Festival”

Save the date 7-15 September

Last year’s event was brilliant. With over 450 Scarecrows displayed, 30 events and 30,000 followers it was our biggest yet! Once again this year we have a number of new events and activities, as well as some firmly established favourites and with the support of our sponsors and everyone in the community I know that we can make this, our 9th year, the best one yet!

The team are busy planning this year’s events with lots of favourites coming back this year.

It all begins with Sport Weekend, which includes the Scarecrow Champions League Football Tournament on Saturday 7th September, foll

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Our sales manager "Lynsie Cameron" recently held an "Open House" event for a property we were selling in Bellshill. Not only did this attract viewers that did not come through the online property portals it helped to attract a fantastic offer which our client is delighted with. Great work Lynsie !!!

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You may not be aware that The Scottish Government consulted in 2018 on proposed changes to Landlord Registration fees.
The increases have now been approved and will be implemented from 11 June 2019.The increases are as follows:
• Principal Fee £55 will increase to £65
• Property Fee £11 will increase to £15 per property
• Discounted Principal Fee £27.50 will increase to £32.50
• Late Application fees £110 will increase to £130 for each owner
Landlords whose registration expires before 8 September 2019, can renew before the 11 June 2019 and pay at the existing rates.
For further information regarding changes to the fees and the consultation that took place, can be found at more

The Scottish Association of Landlords who we are members of have recently met with the Scottish Government to get an update on the minimum EPC requirement which is due to come in next year for PRS properties. We’ve been advised that draft legislation and guidance will be published for consultation at the end of May and following this regulation will be laid before parliament in the autumn to introduce the following minimum requirements: –
• properties must have a minimum EPC rating of E at change of tenancy from 1 April 2020
• all rental properties must have a minimum EPC rating of E by 31 March 2022
• properties must have a minimum EPC rating of D at change of tenancy from 1 April 2022
• all rental properties must have a minimu

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Congratulations to one of our Directors “Robert Ross” for passing his exams and becoming a Certified Practitioner at the CIH “Chartered Institute of Housing”. Well done Robert!

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