We are delighted to announce the latest winner of the Royston & Lund Sporting Achievement Award as Jacob Hughes.  Jacob is a pupil at Abbey Road Primary School; he partakes in numerous sporting activities and is a real team player.  He plays cricket for Notts youngsters and is apparently an amazing goalkeeper too.  Jacob is an inspiration to his fellow pupils at Abbey Road and recently helped the school Athletics Team in winning the overall Highest Achievers School Award in the Rushcliffe Area Sports Day. 

The presentation was made to a full house in assembly and rather fittingly, the children's entrance was to the theme tune for the BBC's cricket coverage! He received a rapturous round of applause when he accepted a large trophy, with a smaller replica to keep; in addition to this £200 was donated to the school to spend on sporting equipment of his choice. 

Watch this space for the upcoming award at Pierrepont Gamston.

Jacob is pictured receiving the award from Director Liaqat Ali.

WEEKEND ASSISTANT POSITION AVAILABLE

Our residential Sales department in West Bridgford are currently recruiting for a motivated and enthusiastic Weekend Assistant.

Duties will include;

✔️Meeting and greeting the general public, answering and assisting with our busy phones for sales.

✔️Arranging viewings and valuations on a computerised diary system and general office tasks.

✔️Applicants must have first class communication skills and an excellent confident telephone manner. Computer knowledge is required.

✔️Working hours:- Saturdays 9.00am – 4.00pm & Sundays 10.00am – 12.00pm

Please email your CV for consideration, with a covering letter to Val Shakespeare

Email: [email protected]

WEEKEND ASSISTANT POSITION AVAILABLE

Our residential lettings department in West Bridgford are currently recruiting for a motivated and enthusiastic Weekend Assistant.

Duties will include;

✔️Meeting and greeting the general public, answering and assisting with our busy phones for lettings.

✔️Arranging viewings and valuations on a computerised diary system and general office tasks.

✔️Applicants must have first class communication skills and an excellent confident telephone manner. Computer knowledge is required.

✔️Working hours:- Saturdays 9.00am – 4.00pm & Sundays 10.00am – 12.00pm

Please email your CV for consideration, with a covering letter to Stephanie Caine

Email: [email protected]

ACCOMPANIED VIEWER REQUIRED
Due to high demand we require property viewers to show potential buyers around properties to help successfully let a targeted number of properties covering West Bridgford and the surrounding areas.

✔️Customer service and good communication skills is a must.

✔️A full driving license valid in the UK and use of your own vehicle is essential for this role.

The ideal candidate will be required to work Saturdays between the hours of 9.30am – 4.00pm with the flexibility to extend these hours as and when required. Holiday cover will also be required.

Please email your CV for consideration, with a covering letter to Val Shakespeare

Email: [email protected]

We are delighted to announce that Megan Stafford has completed her apprenticeship which we have supported her with over the last 12 months.  

Megan has worked incredibly hard and is thrilled to become a full time fully qualified member of our team.  In addition to her apprenticeship in Business Administration, she has also been granted the title of Advanced Associate Member of The Guild of Property Professionals, the UK’s most prestigious network of independent agents.

To pass the examination, candidates are required to demonstrate thorough knowledge and understanding of some 40 modules. These are organised into four key components; Fundamentals of Effective Selling; Valuing and Property Appraisal Skills; Marketing and Property Promotion and Developing your Estate Agency Skill Set.

Congratulating Megan on her achievement, Val Shakespeare, Sales Director said: “We extremely proud of Megan who has worked incredibly hard to earn this fantastic double achievement! With her knowledge, skills and professional competence, Megan is an incredibly valuable member of our team."

We are delighted to announce Iris Buttery as the latest winner of the Royston & Lund Sporting Achievement Award. Iris attends West Bridgford Juniors and partakes in numerous sporting activities and is a real team player, always encouraging and helping her teammates. The presentation was made to a full house in assembly and Iris received the longest round of applause ever in the 9 years of making the award! As usual, Iris, received a large trophy with a smaller replica to keep, in addition to £200 donated to the school to spend on sporting equipment of her choice. Watch this space for the upcoming awards at Abbey Road and Pierrepont Gamston.

Iris is pictured receiving the award from Director Gary Lund.

A formerly temporary right that gave homeowners the ability to extend their properties up to eight metres without formally seeking planning permissions has now been made permanent, amidst a package of planning reforms from the Government.

If you have been thinking of adding some extra space to your property, then this will come as welcome news, as the protracted permissions can now be avoided altogether. Under the new legislation, terraced or semi-detached homes may add a single-storey extension of up to 6 metres and detached properties see this increased to 8 metres.

Housing Minister Kit Malthouse MP said: “These measures will help families extend their properties without battling through time-consuming red tape.

“This is part of a package of reforms to build more, better, faster and make the housing market work – and sits alongside our drive to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.”

Further to changes for the housing sector, business owners are also privy to favourable planning rules; shops are now able to change to office space without the need for a full planning application. These business reforms build on changes which now allow businesses to change the use of buildings from takeaways to new homes without the need for a full planning application.

Planning permission can equate to a minefield of red tape for homeowners looking to add space to their current property, often being a key factor in a decision whether to extend or not. Interestingly, 15% of Britons state that they are unable to remember whether they have the correct planning for amendments to their properties which could cause headaches when they decide to sell up and the requisite paperwork is demanded. With over 100,000 extensions completed under the previously temporary rules since 2014, an increase in home improvements could now be seen as sellers take advantage of the newly-embedded legislation.

The Act came into force on 20 March 2019 and it is designed to ensure that all rented accommodation is fit for human habitation and to strengthen tenants’ means of redress against the minority of landlords who do not fulfil their legal obligations to keep their properties safe.

There is nothing new under this latest legislation and landlords remain responsible for ensuring properties they rent out meet required health and safety standards

Amendments were made to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 which requires all landlords to ensure their properties, including any common parts of the building, are fit for human habitation both at the commencement and during the tenancy.

A landlord, or their agent, will need to make sure that the property is free of hazards which are so serious that the house is not reasonably suitable for occupation in that condition. Where a landlord fails to act to remedy any such issue then the tenant has the right to take the landlord to court for breach of contract on the grounds that the property is unfit for human habitation.

The consequences are that a court order could be issued requiring the landlord to act to reduce or remove the hazard and/or to compensate the tenant for having to live in a property that was not fit for human habitation.  The new Act applies to the following:

• tenancies shorter than 7 years that were granted on or after 20 March 2019 (tenancies longer than 7 years that can be terminated by the landlord before the expiry of 7 years shall be treated as if the tenancy was for less than 7 years)
• new secure, assured and introductory tenancies (on or after 20 March 2019) 
• tenancies renewed for a fixed term (on or after 20 March 2019)
• from the 20 March 2020 the Act will apply to all periodic tenancies. This is all tenancies that started before 20 March 2019; in this instance landlords will have 12 months from the commencement date of the Act before the requirement comes into force

There are some exceptions:

·          Problem caused by tenant behaviour

·          Problem caused by events such as fires, storms, floods which are outside the landlord’s control

·          Problem caused by the tenants’ own possessions

·          The landlord cannot obtain permission to get the works completed

·          The tenant is not an individual

What are the criteria for the new Act?

The courts will decide whether a property is fit for human habitation by considering the matters set out in section 10 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. These are whether:

• the building has been neglected and is in a bad condition
• the building is unstable
• there’s a serious problem with damp
• it has an unsafe layout
• there’s not enough natural light
• there’s not enough ventilation
• there is a problem with the supply of hot and cold water
• there are problems with the drainage or the lavatories
• it’s difficult to prepare and cook food or wash up
• or any of the 29 hazards set out in the HOUSING HEALTH SAFETY RATING SYSTEM

Lettings Negotiator 

We have a rare opportunity for an experienced Lettings Negotiator to join our award winning team based in West Bridgford, voted Best Estate Agent in the UK 2018!

We are seeking a motivated and capable individual who is able to be the first point of contact for the team. Main responsibilities are dealing with enquiries both via telephone & footfall, controlling our applicant database, client feedback, control & respond to our email generated leads along with the day to day administration associated with the role and department. 

Lettings experience is essential and ARLA qualified would be an advantage, however, training will be given.

Microsoft Office knowledge and ideally experience using CFPWinman property management system.

Salary based on experience.

Please forward your CV to Mrs Stephanie Caine, Royston & Lund Lettings, 3 Fountain Court, Gordon Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham. NG2 5LN. 

Email; [email protected]

Closing date: 17^th June 2019

OUR OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY 27th MAY 2019.  Normal business hours will resume on Tuesday 28th May 2019.  

All our properties both For Sale and Rental can be viewed here on our website. 

Our normal office hours will resume on Tuesday 07th May 2019.

All our available properties, both for sale and rentals can be viewed on this website. 

Our Easter opening hours:-

Good Friday (19th April 2019); open 9.00am - 4.00pm

Saturday 20th April 2019; open 9.00am - 4.00pm

Easter Sunday (21st April 2019) OFFICED CLOSED

Easter Monday (22nd April 2019) OFFICE CLOSED

Tuesday 23rd April 2019 - Normal office hours resume

For tenants living in a property where we assist with the management, should you have an emergency issue out of our office hours for the Easter period, we do have contractors who may be abe to assist you with EMERGENCIES ONLY (damage to property or danger to life) at their own discretion.  The contractor will make the decision as to whether a call out request is an emergency requiring immediate attention. 

Please understand that there will be limitations on what contractors can do over the Easter period due to suppliers/merchants being closed.

Please ensure that you are experiencing a true emergency (damage to property or danger to life) and that the issue cannot be resolved when normal working hours commence Tuesday 23rd April 2019. Please remember that if a contractor is called out as an emergency when this is not justified, you will unfortunately be liable for all costs which will be charged at bank holiday rates.

Third party contractors agreeable to assist if able to do so at their discretion are:

John Firth                      07850780819 General Builder 

Matthew Hayes        07980 113746 General Contractor

Mark Adamson          07973 659775 General Builder

Linton Vickers           07800 532269 General Handy Man

Darren Jackson         07980745349 Gas Engineer / Plumbing / Leaks / Heating issues

Heightley White Plumbing         07403 330745 Gas Engineer / Plumbing / Leaks / Heating issues

Matthew Heather                      07879 897437 Gas Engineer / Plumbing / Leaks / Heating issues

Rollasons Drainage                  07948 406537 Blocked or overflowing drains

M L Electrical Services            07854 153988 Electrical mains

ARB Electrical Services           07966 246727 Electrical mains

Lambley Electrical Services       07805 246943  Electrical mains

Please be aware that the above third party local contractors do not hold or have access to individual property keys.  If you are locked out of your home or have mislaid your keys we would recommend you contact a 24hr Locksmith directly.

Many of the properties that we manage have British Gas Homecare cover or similar policies in place as well as some landlords having their own preferred contractors, so please check the information letter you were given when you moved into the property, if your rental property does have a call out policy or specific instructions/contractors, you will need to contact the relevant company and not a Royston & Lund nominated contractor, as per your landlord's wishes. If you need to refresh yourself with regard to whether your rental home has specific contractors/call out policies please contact the office before the Thursday 18th April 2019 to check your records.