It has been confirmed that property viewings and home moves in England can still take place during the third lockdown, which began on 6th January and will continue for at least six weeks.
Under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 which underpins the third national lockdown, estate and letting agents and removal firms can continue to work.
The housing market in England will remain open during this national lockdown. This means that people looking to move home will be able to both continue with planned moves and view new properties to move into in the future.
These activities include:
> visiting estate or letting agents, developer sales offices, or show homes
> viewing residential properties to look for a property to buy or to rent
> preparing a residential property to move in
> moving house
> visiting a residential property to undertake any activities required for the rental or sale of that property
Agents should work from home wherever possible but if unable to do so, can work from an office on an appointment-only basis. It is vital that agents continue to strictly follow the Governments working safely during Coronavirus guidance.
Valuation protocol
Sales Valuation Policy at Rampton Baseley in accordance with Govt. Advice
In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s lifting of restrictions on the property market, Rampton Baseley will now resume physical valuations of properties. Therefore, please find below our guidelines for health and safety protocols for implementation when conducting property valuations.
Do feel free to contact us at any time, should you wish discuss any aspect of this document.
Moving home is not appropriate whilst you pose a direct risk of transmitting coronavirus. People who have coronavirus or are self-isolating with their family members should not leave their home to either move home or undertake property viewings.
For the foreseeable future, everyone needs to look for easy alternatives to physical meetings when possible, so use of digital technology, telephones, email and video-conferencing tools should be the first port of call.
Therefore, we would suggest that the first stage of the valuation process is an in-depth telephone conversation with a Sales Director, discussing all aspects of the property, and the reasoning behind the valuation request. This should be followed by a video/virtual valuation of the property. Once this has been completed and the broad parameters of the valuations have been agreed, only then would we suggest that a Sales Director from Rampton Baseley visit your property. This will be arranged at the vendor’s convenience, and to minimise risk, only one member of staff will attend. Also, we have advised that physical home viewings should last no longer than fifteen minutes.
VALUATION VISIT
> Any member of the Rampton Baseley team that visits the property will, to the best of our knowledge, pose no significant health risk with regards to Covid-19. They will visit with face mask, gloves and hand sanitiser.
> Please ensure that the property being viewed has all internal doors open (including the back door), as many windows as practical are open, all lights are on and there is free access to all relevant parts of the house.
> The Rampton Baseley staff member will not touch any part of the house during the visit and will endeavour to abide by the 2m social distancing guidelines whenever possible.
> As stated before, we will limit these visits to about 15 minutes.
> Subsequent to the valuation, our Sales Director will call or video-conference the owner to have a comprehensive discussion regarding our thoughts on price, timeframes and marketing strategy.
For further extensive information please see the Government Guidelines via the link below.
Lettings Valuation Policy at Rampton Baseley in accordance with Govt. Advice
In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s lifting of restrictions on the property market, Rampton Baseley will now resume physical valuations of properties. Therefore, please find below our guidelines for heath and safety protocols for implementation when conducting property valuations.
Do feel free to contact us at any time, should you wish discuss any aspect of this document.
Moving home is not appropriate whilst you pose a direct risk of transmitting coronavirus. People who have coronavirus or are self-isolating with their family members should not leave their home to either move home or undertake property viewings.
For the foreseeable future, everyone needs to look for easy alternatives to physical meetings when possible, so use of digital technology, telephones, email and video-conferencing tools should be the first port of call.
Therefore, we would suggest that the first stage of the valuation process is an in-depth telephone conversation with the Lettings Director, discussing all aspects of the property, and the reasoning behind the valuation request. This should be followed by a video/virtual valuation of the property. Once this has been completed and the broad parameters of the valuations have been agreed, only then would we suggest that the Lettings Director from Rampton Baseley visit your property. This will be arranged at the Landlord’s convenience, and to minimise risk, only one member of staff will attend. Also, we have advised that physical home viewings should last no longer than fifteen minutes.
VALUATION VISIT
> Any member of the Rampton Baseley team that visits the property will, to the best of our knowledge, pose no significant health risk with regards to Covid-19. They will visit with face mask, gloves and hand sanitiser.
> Please ensure that the property being viewed has all internal doors open (including the back door), as many windows as practical are open, all lights are on and there is free access to all relevant parts of the house.
> The Rampton Baseley staff member will not touch any part of the house during the visit and will endeavour to abide by the 2m social distancing guidelines whenever possible.
> As stated before, we will limit these visits to about 15 minutes.
> Subsequent to the valuation, our Lettings Director will call or video-conference the owner to have a comprehensive discussion regarding our thoughts on price, timeframes and marketing strategy.
Sales Viewing Policy at Rampton Baseley in accordance with Govt. Advice
In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s lifting of restrictions on the property market, Rampton Baseley will now resume physical viewings of properties. Please find below our guidelines for health and safety protocols for, sellers and members of our staff, whilst undertaking property viewings.
All parties should feel free to contact us at any time, should they wish discuss any aspect of this document.
Moving home is not appropriate whilst you pose a direct risk of transmitting coronavirus. People who have coronavirus or are self-isolating with their family members should not leave their home to either move home or undertake property viewings.
To minimise public health risks, people should use virtual viewings before visiting properties in person where possible. If any member of either the household being viewed, or the household undertaking a viewing is showing symptoms of coronavirus or is self-isolating, then a physical viewing should be delayed.
Owner Advice and General Protocols
We will be encouraging people to do their property searching online wherever possible.
Initial viewings should be done virtually where possible and physical viewings should only be conducted where buyers are seriously considering making an offer on a property.
> Viewings should be conducted by appointment only and no open house viewings should take place. The number of people on a viewing should be limited to those from your household; those people that absolutely have to be there. If the applicants need to be accompanied by small children, they must ensure that they do not touch surfaces and that they wash their hands regularly.
> We encourage owners to vacate their property whilst viewings are taking place in order to minimise your contact between all parties.
> When viewing a property, all parties should wash their hands and avoid touching surfaces where possible.
> Rampton Baseley will restrict the number of people on a viewing, wherever possible to two adults, and 15 minutes, so that social distancing can be practised, and only those in your immediate household should be there.
> The property being viewed should have all the internal doors (and the back door) open and lights switched on prior to the viewing and access to handwashing facilities and ideally separately paper towels should be provided.
> Agents will accompany all applicants on viewings and follow social distancing rules where possible.
> Once the viewing has taken place, the homeowner should ensure surfaces, such as door handles, are cleaned with standard household cleaning products and towels disposed of safely or washed as appropriate.
Rampton Basely Staff Protocols
> Rampton Baseley will ask whether any party is showing symptoms or has been asked to self-isolate before going ahead with any viewings, or visits to offices.
> We will operate a strict appointment system when conducting viewings.
> We will not carry out any open house viewings.
We will strongly encourage buyers to view properties virtually in the first instance, and then only physically inspect properties which they have a strong interest in – those which buyers are likely to offer on.
> We will accompany physical viewings and seek to maintain a minimum of 2 metres distance from others wherever possible. Where social distancing is not possible and the visit is within an enclosed space, they should wear a face covering in line with government guidance. Where exempt the applicant should inform Rampton Baseley prior to the appointment.
> Rampton Baseley staff will all be issued with clean gloves and facemasks and will have access to hand sanitiser for all viewings.
> Please make sure you have hand sanitiser, gloves and masks in your car at all times.
> We will not drive clients to appointments.
> We will ensure that parties viewing a property wash their hands with soap and water (or hand sanitiser if not available) immediately after entering the properties. Internal doors will be already opened, and surfaces wiped down before we enter.
> We will ensure that any keys are appropriately cleaned before handover.
> The property being viewed should have all internal doors open, lights on and free access to all relevant parts of the house.
Protocols and Advice for Applicants
> Rampton Baseley will assume, and confirm upon booking viewings, that the applicant is not a high-risk individual, is not suffering from symptoms of Covid-19, and is not self-isolating.
> When viewing a property please ensure that you do not touch any door handles, bannisters, light switches, surfaces etc.
> Rampton Baseley and our applicants will maintain social distancing throughout a viewing, whenever possible.
> Rampton Baseley would prefer it that all applicants bring their own gloves and masks for viewings (where required we can supply these).
> All parties must wash hands upon arrival at the property.
> The number of people on a viewing should be limited to those from your household that absolutely have to be there. If you need to be accompanied by small children, you should try to keep them from touching surfaces and ensure they wash their hands regularly.
> If you are particularly worried about the risk of infection, then speak to the professionals involved, your landlord, estate agent or removers as they may be able to put in place extra measures.
For further extensive information please see the Government Guidelines via the link below.
Industry Guidelines:
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:e36365b1-908a-4255-80c6-323aa844b2a3
Lettings Viewing Policy at Rampton Baseley in accordance with Govt. Advice
In the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the government’s lifting of restrictions on the property market, Rampton Baseley will now resume physical viewings of properties. Please find below our guidelines for health and safety protocols for Landlords/Tenants/Applicants and members of our staff, whilst undertaking property viewings.
All parties should feel free to contact us at any time, should they wish discuss any aspect of this document.
Moving home is not appropriate whilst you pose a direct risk of transmitting coronavirus. People who have coronavirus or are self-isolating with their family members should not leave their home to either move home or undertake property viewings.
To minimise public health risks, people should use virtual viewings before visiting properties in person where possible. If any member of either the household being viewed, or the household undertaking a viewing is showing symptoms of coronavirus or is self-isolating, then a physical viewing should be delayed.
Owner Advice and General Protocols
We will be encouraging people to do their property searching online wherever possible.
Initial viewings should be done virtually where possible and physical viewings should only be conducted where tenants are seriously considering making an offer on a property.
Viewings should be conducted by appointment only and no open house viewings should take place. The number of people on a viewing should be limited to those from your household; those people that absolutely have to be there. If the applicants need to be accompanied by small children, they must ensure that they do not touch surfaces and that they wash their hands regularly.
We encourage owners to vacate their property whilst viewings are taking place in order to minimise contact between all parties.
When viewing a property, all parties should wash their hands and avoid touching surfaces where possible.
Rampton Baseley will restrict the number of people on a viewing, wherever possible to two adults, and 15 minutes, so that social distancing can be practised, and only those in your immediate household should be there.
The property being viewed should have all the internal doors (and the back door) open and lights switched on prior to the viewing and access to handwashing facilities and ideally separately paper towels should be provided.
Agents will accompany all applicants on viewings and follow social distancing rules where possible.
Once the viewing has taken place, the homeowner should ensure surfaces, such as door handles, are cleaned with standard household cleaning products and towels disposed of safely or washed as appropriate.
Rampton Baseley Staff Protocols
> Rampton Baseley will ask whether any party is showing symptoms or has been asked to self-isolate before going ahead with any viewings, or visits to offices.
> We will operate a strict appointment system when conducting viewings.
> We will not carry out any open house viewings.
> We will strongly encourage tenants to view properties virtually in the first instance, and then only physically inspect properties which they have a strong interest in – those which tenants are likely to offer on.
> We will accompany physical viewings and seek to maintain a minimum of 2 metres distance from others wherever possible. Where social distancing is not possible and the visit is within an enclosed space, they should wear a face covering in line with government guidance. Where exempt the applicant should inform Rampton Baseley prior to the appointment.
> Rampton Baseley staff will all be issued with clean gloves and facemasks and will have access to hand sanitiser for all viewings.
> We will not drive clients to appointments.
> We will ensure that parties viewing a property wash their hands with soap and water (or hand sanitiser if not available) immediately after entering the properties. Internal doors will be already opened, and surfaces wiped down before we enter.
> We will ensure that any keys are appropriately cleaned before handover.
> The property being viewed should have all internal doors open, lights on and free access to all relevant parts of the house.
Protocols and Advice for Applicants
> Rampton Baseley will assume, and confirm upon booking viewings, that the applicant is not a high-risk individual, is not suffering from symptoms of Covid-19, and is not self-isolating.
> Viewings will only be conducted on empty properties or properties where tenants/landlords are voluntarily vacating.
> Viewings will not be conducted in properties where tenants/landlords have COVID-19 symptoms, are self isolating or are being shielded.
> When viewing a property please ensure that you do not touch any door handles, bannisters, light switches, surfaces etc.
>Rampton Baseley and our applicants will maintain social distancing throughout a viewing, whenever possible.
> Rampton Baseley would prefer it that all applicants bring their own gloves and masks for viewings (where required we can supply these).
>All parties must wash hands upon arrival at the property.
> The number of people on a viewing should be limited to those from your household that absolutely have to be there. If you need to be accompanied by small children, you should try to keep them from touching surfaces and ensure they wash their hands regularly.
If you are particularly worried about the risk of infection, then speak to the professionals involved, your landlord, estate agent or removers as they may be able to put in place extra measures.
Other matters relating to Tenancies
Right to Rent checks can be conducted remotely as a temporary Covid-19 measure. A facetime call and an email copy/photo of passport/visa is sufficient.
Where possible, necessary repairs such as gas and electrical safety checks, should be conducted in the period between a property being vacated and a new tenant moving in. If this is not possible then works should be done by appointment with measures put in place to ensure physical contact is minimised and appropriate masks/gloves are worn.
Inventory check ins/check outs will no longer be accompanied appointments. Tenants/Landlords will not be allowed to meet the inventory clerks and will be sent the reports as soon as possible after the appointment.
For further extensive information please see the Government Guidelines via the link below.
RB Covid-19 14/05/20
UPDATED 25/02/2021