The requirement to have Electrical Safety Testing/Certification on rented property is due to commence 1 July, 2020, despite the current crisis. If you are letting property in England, any tenancy created or renewed on or after July 1st 2020 will require an electrical inspection and a report on the condition of the property (EICR, Electrical Inspection Condition Report) performed by a qualified person.   Additionally, any remedial works required following the inspection must be carried out within…

As of 22 March 2020, our office will be either partially staffed, or not at all.  All our team are working from home and our business is functioning as normally as possible. The best way to contact us is by email:   Matthew Wilkinson (Partner)                            matthew@wilkinsons.co.uk Rosie Jones (Manager)                                        rosie@wilkinsons.co.uk Samantha Baron (Letting Consultant)              samanthab@wilkinsons.co.uk Georgina Coulson (Letting Consultant)            georgina@wilkinsons.co.uk Sarah Akkus (Payments/Accounts)                   sarah@wilkinsons.co.uk Sue Gotts (Property Manager)              …

We are closely monitoring the Coronavirus situation and adjusting our working practices accordingly.  This will cause some disruption to our normal service.  Our priority is to ensure the safety of our staff, tenants and clients. Access to properties, whether for maintenance, viewing or inspection purposes will be strictly in accordance with the current occupants’ wishes (whether tenants or landlords).  Our staff and contractors have been advised of correct procedures (such as hand cleansing) prior to…

Subject to approval by Parliament in the near future, landlords and agents will need to ensure electrical installation inspections and testing are carried out for all new tenancies in England from 1 July 2020 or from 1 April 2021 for existing tenancies. The Government has laid The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 meaning landlords must ensure every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at least every five years…

We have teamed up with the Goodlord letting platform to coordinate the tenancy process for our clients and to ensure full compliance with ever-changing legislation. Goodlord is a wide ranging platform which we use to handle tenant applications, referencing, tenancy agreement creation, electronic (Docusign) signing and handling ingoing monies. Click this mynamedgifts.co.uk Additionally, it helps coordinate utility change-overs and we are able to offer Rent Protection Insurance (from Goodlord) at fantastic prices. This system (introduced…

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) have changed.  The regulations have become stricter, making it more difficult to continue to let a property that does not meet the minimum rating of ‘E’ or better.  Please see the attached document.” Click here to download the PDF

The Tenant Fees Bill received Royal Assent yesterday, becoming an Act which will come into force on June 1.  This means that virtually fees that are currently charged to tenants will be banned.  This includes administration fees, reference fees, extension fees and inventory charges. It is a significant change in the industry and Wilkinson Estates are here to guide you through it.  We will be contacting our clients in due course but please contact us…

We were delighted to recently have been awarded the rating of ‘Excellent’ in the Best Estate and Letting Agent Guide 2018. This guide was independently produced by mystery-shopping over 25,000 agents and only the top 20% of agents are featured.  It is probably the most comprehensive survey of agents ever produced and, most importantly, independent. It was also with great pride that we were the only agent in SL6 to have received the ‘Excellent’ rating,…

There are a number of legislative changes that will, or might, occur in the forthcoming year.  We will be emailing information in due course and some of the topics will be: Minimum requirements for EPC ratings.  This is happening 1 April and we have emailed about this before. Introduction of compulsory electrical safety testing.  This is already a very strong recommendation to have done and it will probably become compulsory.  We urge all landlords to…

In addition to his pilot’s license, Matthew has a commercial operator’s license for drone flying. Where possible, we take aerial photos and video of our properties to enhance the marketing.  It provides a different angle to still photography and is very popular with clients.  See an example at: