Staff development is key to running a successful lettings business. Continued professional development (CPD) is an excellent way for staff to improve and keep their knowledge up to date.
UKALA members enjoy discounted rates to the range of courses organised by UKALA and the National Landlords Association (NLA). These include dedicated courses for UKALA Agency Accreditation. The array of courses will equip your agency staff with an understanding of landlord-tenant and property management issues.
UKALA membership also includes FREE access to the Online Library containing a wealth of information about the various and often complex legislation governing the letting of private residential property in England, Wales and Scotland. The Online Library is continually updated to reflect recent changes in the law, provides essential guidance on best practice and helps ensure that UKALA agents are aware of their responsibilities to landlord and tenant clients.
What is UKALA Agency Accreditation?
Accreditation has been a feature of the private rented sector for more than 15 years. It is the certification that a product or service has been evaluated independently and meets an agreed standard.
UKALA Agency Accreditation is a new benefit of membership and is exclusive to UKALA agents. The scheme, which is voluntary, links your membership of UKALA to the professional development of your property managers, becoming a valuable marketing tool.
Accreditation is becoming increasingly important and has been adopted by councils throughout the UK, the Greater London Authority and other organisations as a way of providing quality assurance for tenants, landlords, councils and universities, etc.
UKALA Agency Accreditation is based on continued professional development for property managers and good management practice. It is a national scheme which offers greater consistency for all agents, landlords, tenants and councils alike.
How does my agency become accredited with the UKALA?
It is the office that becomes accredited, not individual property managers.
Here is a quick checklist of what each office needs to do to become accredited with UKALA.
Nominate at least one member of staff in your office, who is actively managing residential property
Create a unique UKALA member number and Online Library account for each nominated person, by logging in to the UKALA website and adding a sub account to your membership(UKALA members are entitled to add up to 5 sub-accounts per office)
The staff you have nominated must achieve a foundation level of knowledge. IE complete the UKALA Agent Foundation Course online or in attendance
Complete the UKALA Agency Accreditation Scheme application form. The form must be signed by the principal or a director or partner and returned to info@ukala.org.uk or post to UKALA,2nd Floor, 200 Union Street, London SE1 0LX.
Once we have processed and verified the application we will then write to you to confirm whether your office has been successful or not.
All offices that are accepted into the UKALA Agency Accreditation Scheme will be entitled to display the UKALA Agency Accreditation logo.
How do I prove that my staff have achieved a foundation level of knowledge?
Your staff can demonstrate that they have achieved a foundation level of knowledge by satisfactorily completing ONE of the following options:
Attend one of the UKALA Agent Foundation Courses. These courses are facilitated across the UK by the NLA.
Complete the UKALA Agent Foundation Course online by completing all of the Landlord and Agent ‘CORE’ subjects on the Online Library.
Attend one of the NLA Landlord Foundation Courses and upgrade to meet UKALA’s requirements by completing the Agent ‘Core’ subjects on the Online Library.
Passport into our scheme by being able to demonstrate attendance to a similar course provided by a third party that is recognised by UKALA, eg by any of the London Rental Standard providers.
To find your nearest course visit the events calendar on the NLA website.
To get started online, set up a sub-account for your nominated individuals and encourage them to log into the UKALA website and visit the Online Library.
How do I keep my UKALA Agency Accreditation status?
The member of staff nominated by each office must demonstrate that they have completed a minimum of 10 hours relevant continued professional development, per year.
This requirement is measured on a rolling 12 month basis as follows:
During first 12 months – 2 additional hours of CPD must be completed (8 hours are awarded on becoming accredited).
After first 12 months – A minimum of 10 hours CPD must have been completed in the preceding 12 month period.
All nominated individuals are required to record the CPD they have undertaken on their own personal account on the Online Library. This should be entered in the system during the month that the CPD was completed.
The offices’ accredited status will be automatically renewed provided that individual CPD logs are kept up to date and the office remains a member of UKALA.
If all individuals nominated by an office have left or are no longer actively managing residential property, the office must nominate a new individual who has successfully achieved a foundation level of knowledge, within six months.
How do my staff keep their CPD up to date?
Any relevant courses, training or personal research undertaken by your staff will count as CPD. This could include:
Attending courses organised by UKALA, NLA and other third parties
Attending local agent and landlord events
Completing modules on the Online Library
Reading UK Landlord (posted to each branch as a benefit of UKALA membership) and other trade journals
Reading UKALA Update and other industry email based newsletters
Speaking to advisers on the NLA Telephone Advice Line
Staff training and coaching organised by the agency
Personal research using the internet and online resources
Attending conferences and networking events
Any modules completed on the Online Library are automatically recorded on the CPD log. Individuals will be required to manually enter any other CPD that they have undertaken.
The easiest way for staff to keep their CPD up to date is to do a little and often, for example 1 hour per month.