A new Code of Practice is being introduced in January 2018, regulating the way letting agents deliver their services in Scotland

On 31 January 2018 anyone who undertakes residential letting agency work in Scotland must ensure their service delivery is fully compliant with The Letting Agent Code of Practice (Scotland) Regulations 2016. The Code has been designed to follow the lettings process from start to finish and regulates the activities of an agent, from signing up landlords to taking instructions and managing the agreement to ensuring adequate protection of clients’ money and holding appropriate insurance.

Who is affected by the new rules?
The new rules apply to “every person who carries out letting agency work”, meaning it could impact on a number of organisations and businesses which may not generally be considered as letting agents.

In the Act, letting agency work is defined as work which is:

• undertaken on behalf of a private landlord who wants to let their property out to a tenant; or

• undertaken to manage a property (including collecting rent, inspecting the property and arranging for repairs and maintenance) which is either currently or is intended to be rented out to a tenant.

This definition is wide and it may not be obvious whether or not your activities could be considered ‘letting agency work’, and in unusual cases the determining factor will be the circumstances of the arrangement you have in place. Sometimes scenarios involving rural estates and multi-function organisations could fall into this category.

When do I need to register by?
It will also be mandatory for individuals and organisations undertaking letting agency work in Scotland to be registered by 31 September 2018. All those applying to be on the register will need to meet standards as laid out in a ‘fit and proper person test’ and comply with the necessary training requirements in order to be accepted.

Failure to comply and operating as a non-registered letting agent will be a criminal offence and the courts could impose a maximum fine of up to £50,000 and prison sentences of up to 6 months for those convicted.

How do I get ready?
If you work in the private letting sector you should be familiar with the Code of Practice and consider revising your Terms of Business, internal policies and procedures in preparation for the Code coming into force. It is likely the register will start accepting applications in early 2018, so applications should be made as soon as possible to avoid unforeseen delays.

Business rates experts at commercial property firm Colliers International have welcomed Scottish Finance Secretary Derek Mackay’s adoption of the Barclay Review but say details and dates are urgently needed to help landlords and occupiers make decisions.

With 100% rates relief potentially available for a year on both new and improved premises, knowing the start date and the rules for qualifying is essential for businesses to make commercial decisions. This could either significantly reduce their occupational costs or stimulate investment and redevelopment by landlords.

Louise Daly, Associate Director – Rating of Colliers International in Scotland, said: “Mr Mackay has gone above and beyond the Barclay Review by adopting its additional suggestion – which fell outside of the cost neutral remit of the report – to move annual poundage increases from the RPI to the CPI inflation measure. This was essential in order to match England and ensure businesses aren’t disadvantaged by choosing to locate north of the Border. This still means that ratepayers will see a 3% increase next year, which is in excess of the levels capped at 2% in previous years, in an effort to remain consistent with England. While, on the face of it, a positive step and one that industry has called for, it would be better for ratepayers to receive a set uniform business rate across the term of the Revaluation when the rateable values come into effect. This would enable businesses to budget more accurately and with certainty over their liability.

“Of course, the promised adoption of the Barclay Review’s key recommendations on rates relief are also welcome, but landlords and businesses need to see a fully detailed implementation plan, with specific information on how these reliefs will apply and, crucially, dates.

“Proposed empty property relief for new commercial buildings, for example, is expected to start on April 1. But what happens to businesses signing leases or moving in before that date? The difference between paying full rates and getting 100% relief for a year is simply too significant for any potential occupier to ignore.

“In today’s speech, Mr Mackay also seemed to go beyond the recommendations of the Barclay Review, when he suggested this relief should also apply to improved premises. While this chimes with the Government’s drive to encourage investment and development, creating better quality stock onto the market, landlords will naturally be very curious to see what level of improvement or refurbishment is required in order to qualify for this relief.”

The Scottish Government had promised details of its changes to rates as a result of the Barclay Review by the end of this year. Ms Daly said that while reliefs encouraging new and improved property should eventually have a positive effect by making much needed premium business accommodation available, it remained to be seen what effect it would have on older stock which will become even less attractive to tenants.

She added: “On the face of it this has been a very positive statement. One final issue that remains to be seen is just how consistently the rules on relief will be applied across Scotland. Hopefully we will see a country-wide approach that gives clarity to landlords and tenants, rather than a situation where some billing authorities are less eager to grant relief than others. This could be a problem when it comes to refurbishments, in particular, as it seems inevitable that a judgement will have to be made as regards what level of improvement qualifies for relief – for both landlord and tenant.”

Barclays Corporate Banking yesterday announced the launch of a suite of Green Finance products, designed to help the bank’s clients fund more sustainable projects in the UK and around the world.

By accessing specific products aimed at encouraging investment in sustainable activity, Barclays’ clients will be able to accelerate their investment in green initiatives and support the transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy.

Recognising the need to support companies of all sizes and across a breadth of sectors to fulfil their green ambitions, Barclays has created a range of tailored products, which represent real innovation in the evolving green finance market. These are:

• Green Loans, targeting larger clients who need loans of more than £3m across the UK
• International Green Loans, helping international clients invest in green projects around the world
• Green Asset Finance, allowing clients to access more flexible ways of financing assets that support green initiatives
• Green Innovation Finance, backed by the European Investment Fund, aimed at providing funding for SME clients
• Green Deposits, allowing Barclays’ largest clients to earmark funds they deposit against Barclays’ investments in Green Bonds

There is increasing appetite for more financial support for green initiatives, as businesses recognise the commercial benefits, through reduced costs and increased revenue potential; anticipate increasing regulatory requirements, with governments and regulators urging companies to take action to help deliver the Paris Climate Agreement goals; and respond to the reputational impact, as customers expect businesses to be able to demonstrate their environmental credentials.

Jamie Grant, Head of Corporate Banking for Barclays in Scotland, said: “We’re seeing a step-change in how businesses approach sustainable investment. For too long, green projects have been viewed as an added extra, but what we’re increasingly hearing from our clients is a shift in mindset, with sustainability becoming more central to their overall investment strategy.

“We share that view at Barclays and know that unless sustainability is at the heart of how companies conduct their operations, they will fall behind. As always, we want to help our clients stay ahead in an evolving world, which is why we’re proud to be the first major UK bank to devise a range of products targeted exclusively at funding green Corporate Banking investment activity, that will help promote growth now and contribute towards a better, greener, future for all.”

Rhian-Mari Thomas, Chair, Barclays Green Banking Council, added: “Barclays, like so many of our clients, recognises that addressing environmental challenges is not only a necessity but a compelling economic opportunity. We already have an established presence in the green bond market as a successful lead arranger, investor and now issuer so we are delighted to be able to build on our expertise by launching new, innovative green products to help meet the booming demand for green finance from a broader cross-section of our clients. We’re excited to be at the forefront of something so game-changing.”

To help guarantee the integrity of this drive to support green activity, through market-leading green product development efforts, Barclays worked with Sustainalytics, a global provider of environmental, social and corporate governance research and ratings to develop a Green Product Framework. The bank will use the Framework to identify appropriate projects that will have a positive environmental impact and will therefore qualify for support through one of the new products.

Bob Mann, President at Sustainalytics, said: “We are delighted Barclays chose to work with Sustainalytics in the development of their Green Product Framework. The number of new green finance products is surging globally given positive drivers such as market regulations and increased client demand to create more sustainable products and services. Green Product Frameworks, such as Barclays’, offer assurance and transparency to the market that financing is being directed towards environmentally impactful activities that align with best practices.”

The developers of a new office building in Edinburgh’s Exchange District have applied for planning consent to add an extra floor which would help alleviate the Capital’s chronic shortage of office space.

GSS Developments (GSS) – who are onsite building 2 Semple Street – said a planning application to extend the building would also ensure it is more in keeping with neighbouring properties in the Exchange.

GSS said their application to add a 5000 sq ft glass-encased sixth floor was on the advice of letting agents and in response to current market conditions where potential new entrants to Edinburgh’s financial centre were being thwarted by a lack of suitable first-class office space.

The 2 Semple Street building is the only Grade A development which will complete and be ready for occupancy in 2018 and GSS said they were seeking to update their plans and to bring them in to line with other office blocks in the vicinity, such as the seven storey Atria building and the eight floor Capital Square development.

Paul Stevenson, GSS Developments director, revealed a prospective tenant and globally recognised brand had recently viewed 2 Semple Street but would require more space than the 38,600 sq ft currently on offer if it was to make its first foray in to Edinburgh.

Mr Stevenson said: “It is widely accepted there is a dire lack of Grade A office space available to rent in Edinburgh city centre and we are delighted that 2 Semple Street is on schedule to be the only development to be ready for occupation next year.

“We are seeking permission to add an extra floor as a direct consequence of market demands and to be able to provide a first-class fit-for-purpose office building capable of attracting a quality tenant who will make a significant contribution to Edinburgh’s economic and social fabric.

“It has become increasingly clear that a number of businesses looking to move in to Edinburgh or to relocate within the city require a footprint of 40,000 sq ft or more and we are responding to that demand.

“The City of Edinburgh Council was very supportive of our post-purchase design improvements to provide a better floor plate and enhanced stone elevations. With the current need to increase availability of Grade A office space within the financial district, we hope the City Council will maintain that positive approach and see the value in extending the 5th floor glass box to be over two floors.

“We recognise that this is unusual, given that we are onsite and construction is underway, but we believe that this innovative proposition provides a time-sensitive opportunity to create much needed floor space.”

As it stands, 2 Semple Street is capable of accommodating up to 350 staff but the proposed extension would provide space for 400 employees and meet the needs of larger potential tenants.

Angela Lowe, senior director at joint letting agent CBRE, said: “An extra 5000 sq ft may not sound a lot but in a city where there is a lack of floor space it makes a significant difference in securing a broader range of tenants. We advised GSS that increasing the floor space will enhance the flexibility of the building and follows the example set by a number of other high-profile developments within the financial centre.

“2 Semple Street is one of only a few speculative Grade A office developments to be built in Edinburgh since the 2008 economic crash. If consent is granted for this extension it reinforces the message that Edinburgh is working hard to address high-level occupier demand and to drive economic growth.”

The current development is due to complete in July 2018 and if consent for the extension is granted it is expected the revised scheme would complete in October 2018.

The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI) is on the hunt for a new batch of budding Scottish entrepreneurs eager to take their markets by storm, as it opens the first stage of its Climate-KIC Accelerator for applications today.

The recruitment drive is part of ECCI’s partnership with Climate-KIC – Europe’s largest climate entrepreneurship programme – which aims to get low carbon start-ups investment-ready. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 24 January 2018.

The three-stage, 18-month Climate-KIC Accelerator programme offers early stage entrepreneurs access to up to €60,000 grant funding, business coaching with experienced professionals, a range of masterclasses and free workspace at ECCI’s vibrant Edinburgh hub.

Stage 1, which comes with up to €10,000, helps companies find their market niche and figure out how to make money and scale up.
Since ECCI launched the Climate-KIC Accelerator in June this year, 17 start-ups have been through the programme scooping 14 awards and more than £400,000 in investment, creating 17 jobs and registering three new businesses.

The businesses taking part in the programme also saved the equivalent of more than 260,000 tonnes of carbon annually – the same weight as more than 100,000 elephants.

Stephanie Terreni Brown, Clean Water Wave founder and a participant in the Climate-KIC Accelerator Stages 1 and 2 at ECCI, said:“The programme has really helped Clean Water Wave go from being an idea to being a big step closer to a dream realised.

“In the short time of the programme, we’ve incorporated as a company, developed our business model and attracted funding so we can pilot our project.”

Ed Craig, ECCI Deputy Director, said: “The progress made by our first group of start-ups has been really impressive, so we’re excited to be launching this new drive for participants to kick off 2018.

“Joining the Climate-KIC Accelerator at ECCI means more than dedicated funding and support – successful applicants will be based at the heart of our low carbon hub with expertise on tap, thriving networks and a range of events and opportunities.”

ECCI, with an award-winning hub in Edinburgh and a new base in Hong Kong, brings together people from business, research, communities and governments to turn good low carbon ideas into reality. It supports a thriving community of low carbon enterprises and provides policy insight and evidence to help inform government decisions.

ECCI became an official partner of Climate-KIC earlier this year, bringing Europe’s biggest climate entrepreneurship programme to Scotland for the first time.

Find out more and apply now; http://bit.ly/2z7G1YT

Housing has risen up the political agenda once again and, as happens with most politically sensitive subjects, the debate about it has immediately become rancorous and ultimately unproductive.

The irony is that there is a general, across-the board-agreement that, faced with a rapidly rising population, Scotland needs to do something about the chronic lack of decent and affordable housing stock.

Nicola Barclay, the chief executive of Homes for Scotland – widely seen as a builders’ and developers’ lobby group – put the cat among the pigeons recently when she said that Holyrood government’s target of 50,000 new affordable homes is damaging private sector growth.

She said that her organisation’s view was that a focus on affordable and social housing is exacerbating Scotland’s housing shortages, ignoring commercial realities and was not the only recipe for solving the looming housing crisis.

Immediately, she was condemned for being anti-social – that is, against the concept of social housing per se. She was accused of lobbying for the property developer model which is stigmatised as having fuelled the housing crisis in the first place.

Ben Wray, head of policy at Common Weal, claimed that Ms Barclay’s view on social housing was “aggressive lobbying” to extract more subsidies for private developers on top of the new subsidy for private sector build-to-rent.

In terms of a spat, it was all fairly predictable and ran along the lines we have come to expect when political considerations begin to intrude on what should be straightforward commercial transactions.

Ms Barclay was subsequently at pains to point out that focusing on one element of the market to the exclusion of others will not, of itself, solve the problem. The 50,000 target, she insisted, can only be met with the help of a healthy and profitable private sector.

Speaking from my long experience with DM Hall, my role as Chair of the Judging Panel for the Herald Property Awards for Scotland and a non-executive director for a registered social landlord, I am convinced of one thing: the issue will not be resolved by fighting over it.

We can all agree on the root of the problem: Scotland needs more housing. The number of properties started in Scotland was down again on the previous year and completions were 36% down on 2007 and below 2010.

First-time buyers need an average deposit of more than £21,000 to get on the first rung of the Scottish housing ladder, typically around 16% of the purchase price. It is little wonder they are called Generation Rent.

But Ms Barclay is right in one major aspect – no one part of the house building sector can provide for all the different requirements demanded by an increasingly diverse and financially disparate society.

Collaboration is greatly to be desired among interested parties. We should not lose sight of the fact that there is considerable cross-sector work going on at the moment, but there is little doubt that there could be more of it, and better.

Another thing we should all be able to agree on is that there is more to be gained by collaboration than by conflict. We have to step back from knee-jerk reactions and try to see the points of view of other participants in the debate for what they are.

There is a generation of young people coming through at the moment who are sceptical about the possibility of ever being able to afford their own homes.

An open and mature debate is required from people with the relevant experience and expertise in the field to find solutions which will satisfy everyone.

Trading insults is not going to help.

Andrew McFarlane is a consultant in the Glasgow North office of DM Hall Chartered Surveyors and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

For further information about DM Hall’s Scotland-wide network, please contact Neil McKenzie, Marketing Manager, DM Hall, Unit 3, Cadzow Park, 82 Muir Street, Hamilton, ML3 6BJ. T: 01698 284939. M: 07786 362517. E: neil.mckenzie@dmhall.co.uk. W: www.dmhall.co.uk.

Award winning bid specialist AM Bid Services has increased turnover to £464,291 (73 per-cent up on last year) in its third year of trading, bolstering its workforce to seven including two key appointments to the senior management team.

Since the company was founded by Managing Director Andrew Morrison in 2014, AM Bid Services has increased its services from the core offering of bid and proposal writing to include masterclasses, training and bid strategy consultancy, expanding across over 20 sectors. Earlier this year, AM Bid Services was named High Growth Business of the Year 2017 and Small Business of the Year at the British Chambers of Commerce Awards regional finals.

The company has grown organically without any external support and is completely debt free, providing services to businesses across the UK, from FTSE 100 companies to SMEs and sole traders to help organisations deliver business growth.

Morrison appointed bidding and housing expert David Gray as Bid Development Director, and David Sole OBE as Non-Executive Chairman in March 2017 who brings with him a wealth of entrepreneurship experience.

Commenting on the company’s performance, Managing Director Andrew Morrison said: “The start-up scene is a crowded space in today’s business world, so it’s important to make your company stand out.

“I spotted a gap in the market in 2014 to help companies deliver business growth by creating winning bids and proposals. We have a strong workforce with a huge wealth of expertise which is expanding across the country, and I am committed to nurturing our younger members of staff to ensure they grow with the business.”

Non-Executive Chairman, David Sole added: “2017 has been another year of exceptional growth for AM Bid Services which is down to the hard work, dedication and expertise in the team that Andrew has put together. The business has an outstanding platform to build on for the coming year and is in a great position to capitalise on its place in the market as leading bid specialists.”

The latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in October 2017 was £143,544 – an increase of 2.8 per cent on October in the previous year and a decrease of 0.7 per cent when compared to the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £223,807, which was an increase of 4.5 per cent compared to October in the previous year and a decrease of 0.5 per cent when compared to the previous month.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in August 2017 was 9,282 – an increase of 7.4 per cent on August 2016 and an increase of 5.3 per cent on the previous month. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 12.0 per cent in England, 3.4 per cent in Wales and 8.6 per cent in Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 – 2017).

Registers of Scotland Operations Director and Accountable Officer Janet Egdell said: “Average prices in Scotland continued their upward trend in October with an increase of 2.8 per cent when compared to October 2016. Average prices have been steadily increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.

“Residential sales volumes increased in August. The annual increase of 7.4 per cent when compared with August 2016 in Scotland compares to decreases across the rest of the UK. The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date – from April to August 2017 – was 45,152. This is an increase of 9.9 per cent on the equivalent year to date position for August 2016.”

The top five local authorities in terms of August sales volumes were the City of Edinburgh (1,190 sales), Glasgow City (1,109 sales), Fife (632 sales), South Lanarkshire (553 sales) and North Lanarkshire (448 sales).

Average price increases were recorded in 29 out of 32 local authorities in October 2017, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in Dumfries and Galloway and City of Edinburgh, where the average prices increased by 10.5 per cent to £129,885 and 8.5 per cent to £247,568 respectively. The biggest decreases were recorded in Inverclyde and Aberdeen City where prices fell by 4.0 per cent for both to £94,985 and £164,655 respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in October 2017 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Semi-detached properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 4.2 per cent to £151,131. The average price of detached properties showed the smallest increase, 0.9 per cent to £248,482.

The average price in October 2017 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £116,042 – an increase of 3.4 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £172,056 – an increase of 2.3 per cent on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £132,489 – an increase of 2.9 per cent on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £148,669 – an increase of 2.8 per cent on the previous year.

Social Bite’s Sleep in the Park event took over Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens at the weekend as over 8,000 people, made up of small corporate teams and individuals, volunteered to sleep rough for a night to raise funds and awareness to help eradicate homelessness in Scotland.

Among them were a team of seven Cullen Property representatives who raised £5,400 through generous donations in the run up to the event. Cullen Property, based in Edinburgh’s West End, then matched this figure and several subsequent donations have taken this total to over £12,000.

Cullen Property are the only Scottish property management and lettings company to make the top ten list of corporate fundraisers during the pre-event fund-raising campaign. The latest total raised for the Social Bite campaign sits at £3.6 million, but donations are still open and joint organiser, Josh Littlejohn, will announce the full amount on Christmas Eve.

Malcolm Warrack, Managing Director at Cullen Property, says: “I would like to thank everyone for their fantastic support and very generous contributions towards our fundraising for this year’s Social Bite, Sleep in the Park. We have managed to raise a significant amount for this hugely important campaign which will contribute to changing the lives of many homeless people in Scotland.

“Thank you to all the Cullen Property team members who took part – a fantastic team effort from everyone.”

Edinburgh’s 50th conservation area, Restalrig, was announced on Monday (11 December 2017) by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Approval was given after a report was considered by the Planning Committee, following a public consultation in the local area.

Restalrig lies to the north east of the city and the boundary of the conservation area includes St Margaret’s Parish Church, graveyard and surrounding buildings at the entrance to Restalrig Road South from Restalrig Avenue.

Restalrig conservation area is historically significant as a result of its development around St Margaret’s Parish Church.
Within the area there are other listed buildings at 62 Restalrig Road South and The Deanery Wall. There is also a scheduled monument, St Triduana’s Aisle, Chapel and Well house. These buildings reflect the historical and architectural significance of the area and its development as a centre of religious activities.

Cllr Neil Gardiner, Planning Convener, said: “I would like to thank all those who showed an interest in Restalrig and filled out our survey. The results helped us make today’s decision as the comments were almost unanimous in expressing support for the area being given conservation status.

“Conservation areas have special architectural or historic interest and we protect them by putting in place extra rules to control building work. The use of natural materials in several of the listed buildings in the area, such as rubble stone, creates a sense of place and are integral to its character.”

See our map of conservation areas.

Further information

The village of Restalrig developed around the ancient parish church of St Margaret (formerly Restalrig Parish Church). The name Restalrig is a 15th century variant on the name Lestalric, recorded from the late 12th century. The area was part of a medieval estate owned by the De Lestalrics.

St Margaret’s Church has its origins in the 12th century and formed the nucleus of the village. The original parish incorporated South Leith.