Landlord expertise

If David Alexander is correct in his assumption (‘New buyto-let offerings should tempt investors’, Scotsman, December 13) and a wider trend is to commence of attracting new entrants in the private rented sector, then one hopes that the architects of such attractive offerings – the lenders – will carry out due diligence beyond satisfying themselves that the prospective new landlord can afford to meet the repayments.

By that I mean that they satisfy themselves that the wannabe landlord is fully conversant with the roles and responsibilities they are taking on as a landlord, or that they have a definite intention to employ a reputable agent to manage their business in this increasingly complex field.

The private rented sector has trebled to over 15 per cent of the housing sector in the last 20 years and the Scottish Government rightly is taking an increasing interest in its standards of management and condition of its offerings.

There is a dwindling space in this market for the well-

meaning amateur and those that enter this market should be in no doubt about the responsibilities they are taking on.

Accordingly, lenders must make sure that expertise either exists or is engaged in the practice of being a landlord; after all they would not lend to an aspiring butcher without satisfying themselves that the applicant for a loan is a qualified butcher or intends to employ one.

MIKE BRUCE

Chief Executive, Weslo Housing

Management, Bathgate