Ethical Landlords Association
New initiative supported by the Quaker Housing Trust
A new initiative has been established that aims to improve standards of management of private rented housing in the UK — the Ethical Landlords Association (ELA), which is supported by Quaker Housing Trust.
Sarah Fishpool, one of the ELA organisers, explained: ‘It began at Yearly Meeting last year when I was in one of the sessions on homelessness. I am a small scale private landlord myself and I had to ask myself if I was part of the problem. Ultimately, I came to think that I could be part of the solution, that good private landlords are needed as part of the housing market, and that perhaps I could encourage and support that by setting up an association.’
A threshing meeting took place at the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in September. Those involved discerned that the proposal for an Ethical Landlords Association should be acted on. A small working group was formed, consisting of Sarah, and Alastair Cameron of South East Scotland Area Meeting.
‘Our plan is to have a website to showcase our association and its aims, with capacity for landlords to sign up for various levels of charter, and to advertise available properties. The website and association will also help landlords to keep ahead of legal requirements, but inspire them to go beyond these and offer tenants much more, in recognition, as our strapline states, that “it’s a home, not just a property”,’ Sarah said.
She added: ‘We also want to offer the chance for landlords to ask questions and share experiences, and to provide them with model documents such as tenancy agreements and inventories.’
ELA will also engage with letting agents. The organisers hope to launch the association at Yearly Meeting in May.
