At 7.30 pm last night the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that the housing market in England can resume, with lots of restrictions!
The report is based on a Government document called Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 which came out on Tuesday evening.
It states restricted viewings of a property to buy or rent can commence and people can visit estate or letting agents. However, it is stressed activity cannot return in the same manner as before the lockdown, due to strict social distancing, safety regulations and how essential and necessary the viewing appointment is.
At the moment it is unclear when property valuations can commence.
People can prepare a residential property move in or move out and engage removers.
All of what follows will be subject to strict social distancing rules which we will adhere to. Furthermore, we will be checking with our current vendors to enquire if, at this stage are willing to accept viewers into their homes.
Of course the news has been well received by all at Richard James as we have many people wanting to buy, sell move and rent new properties.
We’re expecting a surge of property enquiries from people looking to move and we’ve been getting prepared for this moment since the lockdown began. We are now in the process of recalling our team back to work from furlough leave.
We have our clean protocol in place, PPE at the ready and we’re itching to help people in and around Wellingborough, Irthlingborough and Rushden get moving. However, amid the excitement we also know we have a weight of responsibility above our roles as estate agents.
And that is to practice social distancing properly, follow the Government’s health and safety guidelines and ultimately look after the wellbeing of our clients, our team and our community.
We’re on hand to answer any of your questions.