Anthony Kerrigan, of Kerrigans letting agency in Doncaster, has appealed for support as he attempts to lobby the government to make boiler manufacturers provide ten-year guarantees. He claims that the boilers currently being provided are 'rubbish'.

Kerrigan claims that a legislated decade-long warranty would “would make manufacturers think twice about selling unreliable rubbish. We are all being ripped off.”

The issue springs from switch in recent years from old-fashioned back boilers to supposedly more modern combi and condensing devices. Kerrigan talks of advising clients in good faith to adopt these more up-to-date models, only to find this backfiring in the long term, as although the back boilers may have expected more regular maintenance, the maintenance itself was low-cost and predictable. His claim now is that modern boilers, often coming with a warranty of just one or two years, have been deliberately constructed with a minimal lifespan. He says that agents are only now realising that these modern makes are “unreliable and too expensive to fix.”

He went on to outline the specific costs: “The average repair cost of an old back boiler was £30, which was normally a call-out charge and a replacement thermo-couple, approximately once every five years if the boiler was serviced. The boiler pretty well lasted forever, because there is nothing in them except a heat exchanger.

“The average repair cost of a new boiler is £250 for a new printed circuit board approximately every three years. The plumbers boast that a modern boiler has a life expectancy of eight years, but I think it is closer to six.”

There is widespread agreement with Kerrigan's complaints regarding unreliable equipment, although less consensus concerning his appeal for tighter legislation. Some voices in the letting community feel that the answer does not lie with the government, but with consumer power: if agents help to spread the word among their peers regarding which boiler brands are reliable and which really are rubbish, then it will be easier for everybody to avoid astronomical maintenance costs.

We at LettingWeb believe this to be a serious issue; boiler failure is one of the most frustrating and annoying aspects for both Letting Agents and Tenants. It affects Tenant trust in their Letting Agent and of course the costs incurred by the Letting Agents to ensure repairs are made swiftly are substantial.

As it appears that boiler failure instances are becoming more common, the added expenditure to Letting Agents can have a knock on effect to letting costs in general which affects the entire market.

John Midgley chairman of SAFEagent, has responded to recent comments by ARLA president Tim Hyatt – reported here on Lettingweb – in which Hyatt claimed that ARLA's refusal to publically endorse the SAFEagent scheme came down to the presence of 'one of our competitors,' NALS, in an administrative role on the new scheme.

“SAFEagent is not about allegiance to any of the existing bodies,” Midgley has claimed, in a lengthy response to the interview with Hyatt run by Letting Agent Today.

His response comes as SAFEagent launch their 'SAFEagent awareness week', in which they encourage consumers to be aware of the assurances which their sticker in a letting agent's window brings with it. The highlights of the week are to include a reception in the House of Commons today.

Midgley has emphasised that SAFEagent's administration will not be changing: “We have no plans to remove NALS. Our view is that it is irrelevant who administers the scheme.”

More significantly, though, he has made it clear that he does not see any conflict of interest between SAFEagent and ARLA, noting that most of the 2,000 offices which currently belong to SAFEagent are ARLA and NALS members.

“The suggestion that we change the way we are administered could prove very expensive, but would also have the risk that we become just another trade body. That is not our aim,” he said.

“SAFEagent is not about allegiance to any of the existing bodies. We are an independent body and here to inform members of the public.”

SAFEagent's remit, he explained, was to provide an easy-to-understand scheme to show members of the public which agents they could trust. Apart from ARLA's caution, support for the scheme has been widespread, with many commenters praising its simplicity and apparent lack of self-interest. The recent case of the Canterbury letting agent – Full story from LettingWeb here – who collapsed owing £413,000 to tenants and landlords highlights the need for public awareness of trustworthy agents.

Mr Midgley also expressed hope that the SAFEagent scheme would expand rapidly, aiming for 5,000 members in a year's time.

Backers of SAFEagent include the government, NUS and Shelter, as well as Citizens' Advice and the RLA.

As reported here on LettingWeb last week, Joseph Newman Letting and Estate Agents closed in controversial circumstances. The company appears to have failed to ring-fence many – although not all – of the deposits it received from landlords and agents under the Deposit Protection Scheme, with concerns that the deposits were used to underwrite the company's other loss-making operations. The firm eventually placed itself in voluntary liquidation, which has left 70 landlords and 249 tenants out of pocket. The company's total debt came in at £413,321 – joint liquidator Andrew Fisher, of Fisher Partners, has now estimated that as much as £350,000 of that is owed to those landlords and tenants.

And now it appears that those three hundred clients may never get their money back at all.

According to Fisher, the firm's total assets which may be made available to creditors are just £8000. The timescale projected by Fisher will also have come as gloomy news to many – he estimated that the liquidators' investigation could take anything from 18 months to two years to complete. Joseph Newman does not appear to have been a member of any of the relevant trade bodies, and was under no obligation to hold Client Money Protection insurance.

So now, landlords, tenants and service providers across Canterbury are left with no option except to tighten their belts and try to get by. Reacting to the initial collapse, Trevor Emery of appliance firm wash freeze spoke to the Canterbury Times about the damage which Newman's closure could cause to small firms such as his.

“I'm bitter about it, because they must have known they were in trouble when they booked our services. For a small company like us, [our £975 loss] could mean the difference between surviving and not surviving. It's going to make our life very difficult.”

Now Mr Emery, and many more like him, face a two-year wait to discover the liquidators' final conclusion – and the news that those vital payments are unlikely to ever appear.

Tim Hyatt, approaching the end of his one-year presidency of the Association of Residential Letting Agencies, has criticised ARLA's own license scheme, announcing that it needs to be 'simplified'.

Speaking in an interview with Letting Agent Today, available here, Mr Hyatt expressed frustrations at the licensing scheme's inscrutability. “Joe Public does not understand it,” he said. “and one reason for that is that it’s too complicated. You really need to be able to explain ARLA licensing and ARLA in 30 seconds, and at the moment that’s not possible.” He stated that “It is a tricky one to resolve, but we have three options: ditch it, simplify it or change it”. Simplification is his own preferred option.

Despite seeing this issue as a “negative”, Hyatt spoke proudly of his presidency as a whole. He highlighted improved communications within the body for praise. The next two presidents-elect, Jane Ingram and Susan Fitz-Gibbon, have worked closely with Hyatt over the past year, and he endorses a system of three-year presidential teams as a result. Mr Hyatt also praised ARLA regional representatives for becoming a “very cohesive group” during his time as figurehead.

ARLA membership has sky-rocketed in recent months – 80 new members every month pushing membership figures up to 6,000. At the current rate, this would see ARLA overtake the National Association of Estate Agents in size in just a year and a half: NAEA currently has 7,200 members. There are concerns, however, that ARLA is too focused on increasing its own slice of the pie: discussing ARLA's refusal to back the SAFEagent scheme, Hyatt admitted that business interests motivated the decision: “our concern is that one of our competitors [NALS] administers the scheme,” he said. “If they were to be removed and an independent board set up, we would be much happier.”

He did express support for SAFEagent's aims – “Every agent I speak to is fully supportive of what SAFEagent is trying to achieve” – but emphasised his view that ARLA's scheme was the leader in the field.

“I think that what we are trying to achieve is much wider,” he said. “I really feel passionately that we are the kitemark.”

Bull Lettings, the controversial letting agent recently called into question for their audacious marketing strategy – as detailed in this report on LettingWeb last week – now faces a demand from The Property Ombudsman Scheme that they explain their behaviour.

Bull Lettings, headed by Ms. Ilona Bull, have previously shown scant regard for the demands of authority, responding to the previous hullabaloo with a tongue-in-cheek tweet: 'Bedtime now … waiting for the police, trading standards and estateagentlynchmobposse [sic] to burst through the window. #scared'. However they now face the very real prospect of being called to account for their actions, which reportedly involved covering other estate agents' advertising boards with their own bullish logo on a black plastic covering.

Gerry Fitzjohn, chief operating officer for TPOS, has stated that he is aware of the complaints which have been made against Bull Lettings, and that the company have been asked to explain their actions as reported, specifically with regard to apparent breaches of Section 4 of the TPO Lettings Code of Practice. If true, the allegations against Bull Lettings clearly breach the code, which reads as follows:

• 4d: You must not replace another agent’s board with your own, hide it or remove it from a property. Where appropriate you should ask the client to make arrangements with the other agent for the prompt removal of any existing board.
• 4e: You must not erect a letting board or similar on a property that you have not been instructed to let.

The company joined TPOS long before starting the alleged marketing campaign, and before any complaints about the firm had surfaced in the press. This would seem to absolve TPOS from any blame in allowing the firm to join, and it would also mean that Bull was fully culpable for any breaches of TPOS' code of practice.

The issue has raised concerns about coverage of lettings industry regulation, with some observers noting that if Bull's advertising campaign was intended to grab people's attention, then it has certainly succeeded! Others have wondered whether the case is distracting attention from more important industry-wide issues such as upcoming changes in legislation regarding deposit protection.

Lettings Live, a glitzy industry event incorporating the Lettings Agency of the Year Awards, is to return to the Lancaster Hotel in London on the 25th of May.

Last year's event saw Lucy Morton, senior partner at W A Ellis and the previous year’s ARLA president, collect the prize, offered in association with the Sunday Times. The highlight of the event was a talk from keynote speaker Kelly Holmes, praised by one blogger as a “truly fascinating insight”.

Ms Holmes' star power may be hard to top, but this year's keynote speaker will certainly do his best – Lettings Live have snagged four-time Olympic Gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent to host the awards. As Olympic fever begins to take hold of London (at least, the less cynical parts), Sir Matthew will be able to draw on a career which included gold medals in rowing event at no less than four different Games – in the coxless pairs with Sir Steve Redgrave in the Barcelona games in 1992 and the Atlanta games of 1996, in the coxless fours with James Cracknell and Tim Foster in Sydney in 2000, and again in the coxless fours in Athens 2004, making him one of only five Olympians to claim four consecutive gold medals. It might be a lot to ask that some of that dedication will rub off on the audience during his speech, but one can always hope...!

Even if knights of the realm talking about boats isn't your thing, there are plenty of other speakers to distract attendees. Darren Shirlaw will be discussing 'growing your lettings business in a dusty market', an interesting subject for agents worried by the current economic climate, especially coming from a man who claims to have correctly predicted every stage of the recession since 2007.

In addition, Ian Chapman and Tim Bannister will be discussing 'getting the most from your online marketing', while Renting out your Property for Dummies author Melanie Bien will speak on recent research into tenants' and landlords' decision making processes, and Ben Harris will present his regular spot, introducing the Top 20 ideas sourced from letting agents worldwide.

Tickets are available to award entrants and approved industry suppliers on a first-come first served basis. The event's website, www.estateagencyevents.com, warns that “our last 3 events have sold out several weeks in advance, so we advise booking as soon as possible” – so book fast if you want to attend.

The firm, which is not known to have belonged to any membership bodies, may have failed to ring-fence deposits under the Deposit Protection Scheme. The case has raised questions regarding further regulation of the letting industry, although it is our understanding at LettingWeb that the issue here is not a lack of regulation, but a failure to follow procedures which already exist.

A spokesman for the DPS has pointed out that Joseph Newman did in fact protect many deposits within the Scheme, explaining that; “Joseph Newman has registered 158 deposits with the DPS between April 2007 and March 2012. Of these, 135 are closed deposits and 23 are suspended. The last deposit was submitted on March 22. Deposits were suspended once we became aware they were in liquidation. We have not yet had any contact from the administrators.”

However, a statement by the company's liquidators implies that other deposits were left unprotected. Richard Segal and Brian Johnson of insolvency firm Fisher Partners said that “The main cause for concern is that the deposits received by the company from tenants were not held with the Deposit Protection Scheme for the benefit of the tenants and landlords, in accordance with best practice and contrary to the contractual terms and the impression given by the company. It appears that these deposits were utilised to fund the company’s loss-making trading, and the liquidators will be undertaking investigations into this matter.”

Joseph Newman, based in St. Dunstans, Canterbury, was in 'financial trouble' of over £185,000 before creditors stepped in, according to the Canterbury Times. A statement of affairs provided by Mr Newman himself, 71, sets the company's total deficiency at £413,321, with 249 tenants and 70 landlords currently affected. The Canterbury Times writes that this figure 'is set to increase further', and highlights that other business partners of Mr Newman's, such as Whitstable-based domestic appliance supplier Wash Freeze, are now facing debts which they may struggle to repay.

The Joseph Newman website is still running, although all properties have been removed from the site. The University of Kent has issued an 'urgent warning' to students, urging them not to make any further payments to the agent, who offered properties to buy and let across Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Faversham.

The liquidators have also called for anybody else affected by the liquidation to contact Fisher Partners, if they have not already done so. Their details can be found here.

A spokesman for the Ombudsman has said 'I can confirm that Bull Lettings is a member agent according to our website list'.

St Albans-based Bull Lettings originally came to public attention in early April, when their logo – a glowering yellow bull on a black background – was found covering competitors' advertising boards, accompanied by the slogan 'no bull, just lettings'. The black plastic covers, covering 95 boards across St Albans, were quickly removed following an order by the district council.

Bull Lettings' creator Ilona Bull, of Harpenden, issued a press release, which contained a fleeting apology alongside a remarkable dedication to wordplay. As well as admitting that 'We know we shouldn’t have done it, and we are sorry,' Ms Bull referred to 'unamoosed' lettings agents, and 'behaving like a bull in a china shop'. The Herts Advertiser, joining in with the fun, called it a 'bullish promotion'.

The campaign attracted criticism from other letting agents, with Let Me Properties declaring that it was 'really disrespectful to all of us' on their Twitter feed. Other agents complained to the Herts Police, who forwarded details on to Herts Trading Standards.

On April 12th, Bull Lettings themselves tweeted 'Bedtime now … waiting for the police, trading standards and estateagentlynchmobposse [sic] to burst through the window. #scared', but since then have remained near-silent, with only a single tweet stating 'only two days to go now... eek!' That tweet, dated April 29th, now seems destined to go unfulfilled, as Bull Lettings' website has announced delays – with, of course, a fresh broadside of puns: 'We won't MINCE words... because our website is still only MEDIUM-RARE and we will not serve you with anything less than WELL-DONE we need to delay our launch until an UDDER day'. A timer indicates that there will be a further week until the website launches.

From the news that Bull Lettings has been accepted by the Ombudsman, it is hard for us at Lettingweb not to conclude that their 'cheeky' advertising has done its work well. Nonetheless, there are dissenting voices: one correspondent of Letting Agent Today has stated 'the question is as to whether TPOS are completing the necessary vetting of members', with Letting Agent Today themselves speculating that the Ombudsman may come under further pressure concerning Bull Lettings' acceptance. Whether such grumbles will have any effect on such a brazen new competitor remains to be seen.

Special occasions always throw up headaches when trying to decide what gifts to get. Mother’s Day is no different, but nothing says “I love you” more than a bouquet of flowers!

If you’ve moved into a new property then you know how much a housewarming bouquet of flowers can brighten up surroundings and put smiles loved ones’ faces.

Which is why Lettingweb has teamed up with Clare Florist, the UK’s premier online florist for next day delivery, to give you the chance to win a gorgeous bouquet of flowers to treat your mother with this year.

Edinburgh based Clare Florist have been providing the very best graded flowers and utilising the experience and expertise of their talented floral design team since 1996, ensuring customers receive the most pleasant and smooth shopping experience possible.

If you want the chance to win this fabulous Rose & Freesia Gift Set, absolutely free including delivery, then you just have to correctly answer this simple question:

What date is Mother’s Day this year?

It’s that simple! Send your answer in an email to feedback@lettingweb.com, along with your name and full address, including postcode, and contact telephone number.

Competition closes at 23.59 on Wednesday 14th March. Competition only open to UK residents. The winner will be drawn at random on Thursday 15th March. Editor’s decision is final. No employee of Lettingweb or Clare Florist may enter. T&C’s apply.

So good luck, and be sure to pass on the warmest of Mother’s Day wishes to your mum, from everyone at Lettingweb and Clare Florist!

Take a walk down any high street and you’ll see an abundance of love hearts in every shop window. If you’re lucky then during your stroll you’ll get struck by cupid’s arrow, if you’re extra lucky you might receive a proposal of sorts…it is a leap year after all ;)

Of course, every proposal starts with the ultimate test of a relationship; moving in together!

The latest UK National Statistics show that 70% of the UK’s population who cohabit are couples, which was, at the time of the study, a whopping 42 million people.

So if you’ve decided to take the plunge with a loved one and move in together, what can you except to pay when renting a property in Scotland’s two premier cities?

A one bedroom flat to rent in Edinburgh cost an average of £550 in January 2012, an increase of just over 1% from the previous month. If you fancy a bit more space then be prepared to pay that bit extra, as a two bedroom flat to rent in Edinburgh cost an average of £700 last month, which is an increase of just under 4% from January 2011.

In the West, a one flat to rent in Glasgow averaged £422 in January, 4% cheaper than the same period of time in 2011. Two bedroom flats to rent in Glasgow cost an average of £615 in January, an increase of nearly 3.5% on last year.

As demand continues to outstrip demand there is the very real possibility that these average rental prices could increase in the future. So if you’re debating about whether or not to rent with your loved one, be sure to check out Lettingweb for all the newest rental properties on the market.

Make someone’s Valentine’s Day special with Lettingweb, we’ll help you to find your dream property.

As 25 million people upgraded to iOS5 software and 4 million purchased the iPhone 4S after only a few days of launching, many were left wondering if their beloved apps would unusable.

And while that may have been the case for some, it certainly wasn’t here at Lettingweb!

Our industry leading app, developed by our friends at Mercurytide, is still firing on all cylinders. Utilising the iPhone’s built-in GPS technology, the Lettingweb app allows you to search for your perfect property from the palm of your hand!

Already included in The Sunday Times’ Top 500 App List, the Lettingweb iPhone App has also been nominated for inclusion in the inaugural Sunday Times App Awards. Be sure to check out the
App Awards site and give us your nomination.

Of course, this remarkable app is available to download absolutely free of charge. Simply visit our site to find out more information and how to download, or visit the iTunes Store.

Lettingweb; committed to utilising new technology for your benefit.

And now, The Sunday Times have announced the creation of a new, definitive list: the App Awards.

Launching in Autumn, the App Awards will celebrate apps from all devices, in a wide variety of categories. While the App Awards and the Top 500 Apps List may sound similar, there is one striking difference, in that the apps featured in these new accolades are nominated by you; the public.

This is where we need your help! As the UK’s favourite lettings only portal, we know that the Lettingweb iPhone App is an essential tool to helping you to find your perfect property whilst you’re on the go. The feedback and critical acclaim we’ve received has been phenomenal, but we’d like you to help push us one step further.

You can do this by visiting: www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/appawards and nominating us. It’ll only take a few moments, and we’d greatly appreciate you helping to bestow another honour upon us.

If you haven’t already checked out the Lettingweb iPhone App, then do it now! It’s free to download, and with thousands of UK properties listed, searching for your perfect property to rent couldn’t be easier.

Whether you’re looking for property to rent, have a property you need to let or just want to find the best letting agents in your area – here at Lettingweb, we’ve got it covered.

Today, potential students begin scouring the Clearing system in the hope to find a suitable university course. With a record number of people already applying for university places, some 600,00 pupils were this week waiting to see if their exam results were good enough to merit inclusion to university, the race is well and truly on to find student accommodation.

Research carried out by www.accommodationforstudents.com has identified the average cost of student rents across the UK.

After surveying 86,000 properties in 78 cities up and down the UK, it has been revealed that the average weekly student rent stands at £67.11. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most expensive city for student rents is London, which costs on average £108.03 a week, a five per cent increase on last year.

The second highest rate is in Exeter, where the average weekly student rent is £94.61, a rise of 11 per cent on last year.

Many of the 78 cities surveyed have shown an increase of more than double the national average of three per cent. Edinburgh’s average weekly student rent is up 8%, while Leamington Spa is the UK’s biggest riser, with weekly student rent up by 16%.

The student rental market reflects the rest of the rental sector, as demand outweighs supply, resulting in price increases in many parts of the country.

Here at Lettingweb, we do our best to help you find the perfect property, be it flats, houses or student accommodation. Check out our guides to renting student accommodation in areas like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.

And don’t forget to download our free iPhone App, where your perfect property is only the touch of a button away!

Here at Lettingweb, the UK’s favourite lettings only portal, we make it our mission to help you rent your dream property. We find flats and houses for people of all backgrounds, but if you’re a couple who’re looking to take the plunge and move in together for the first time, then how do you fancy a bit of extra company?

The Garden Productions, founded by the BAFTA award-winning team behind One Born Every Minute and more recently 24 Hours in A&E, is making a new documentary series for Channel 4 about love, life and living together, and they’ve come to Lettingweb to ask for help!

They would like to talk to couples who’re planning to buy or rent property together for the first time. So if you and your partner are searching on Lettingweb for that perfect property and you are interested in finding out more about the series, then call Anna for an informal chat on 0203 465 9060 or email anna.dangoor@thegardenproductions.tv

Rest assured that contacting The Garden Productions does not oblige you to take part in the series and your details will remain confidential.

And once you’ve done that, be sure to check out the Lettingweb iPhone App, included in The Sunday Times’ Top 500 App List, where your perfect property is already in the palm of your hand.

Edinburgh is the place to be in the Summer and as people flock to the capital, the Edinburgh Festival continues to grow in size and stature, year on year.

Thousands of people have descended upon the city for the duration of August to enjoy the sights and shows that are on offer, and of course, these people all require accommodation!

With over 1,500 Edinburgh properties, including festival-lets, live and ready to rent on www.lettingweb.com, you’re sure to find just the accommodation you’ve been searching for.

And with news that a third of all UK adults now use a smartphone, be sure to check out the Lettingweb iPhone App. Industry recognised as the leading property search app, the Lettingweb iPhone App is free to download, and it will utilise GPS positioning to help you to find your dream property. Named in
The Sunday Times Top 500 App List, the Lettingweb iPhone App brings you thousands of properties, all at the touch of a button.

Of course, not everyone comes up to the Edinburgh Festival to play. Needs must and work commitments may need to be filled. In that case, pack your bags and your laptop and head over to Kingsford Office. Providing both virtual offices and serviced offices here in Edinburgh, Kingsford Office will make sure that all work doesn’t have to mean no play, so you won’t be a dull boy during the Festival!