PDPLA & RLA To Affiliate
After over a year of negotiation, the PDPLA and the RLA will affiliate. Both organisations will still be separate and independant entities, but from January 1st 2017, any member of the PDPLA will also become a member of the RLA and any RLA member in the Portsmouth area will become a PDPLA member.
The PDPLA has outsourced membership management to the RLA, potentially saving on administration costs and members of either organisation need only join either organisation to be able to gain the benefits of both organisations.
As a PDPLA member, local landlords benefit from regular meetings with expert speakers, the chance to network at members meetings and landlords breakfasts, access to 5-star landlords insurance from our retained broker, insurance against tax inspections and similar events, benefit from a full range of local recommended traders and suppliers, many providing large discounts as well as representation on many local issues.
PDPLA members have also had access to a range of standard documents but many of these will now be replaced by RLA alternatives which tend to have a much greater investment in their development as they are much more widely used. However, a number of unique local facilities will still be available, such as our Landlords Checklist and How To Choose A Letting Agent Guides and our income tax calculator.
RLA members benefit from access to a wide range of standard forms, an active online forum with discussions on a huge range of topics and a dedicated landlords helpline. They also provide a wide range of services and support, training and advice, press clippings services and national representation.
This latter item is timely as the PDPLA have always been very active participants in the BPF (British Property Federation) and have 'held our own' in national discussions through that organisation. However, the BPF have decided to step away from the private sector as its commercial landlords (the newly dubbed 'Build to Rent' sector) have encouraged them to do so. As a result, we will be ending our membership of the BPF and relying increasingly on the RLA to represent us going forward in national debates.