Theresa Wallace

Alongside this Theresa also joined the lettings board in 2006 and in 2009 was invited to join the ARLA Propertymark board on which she sat for three years. Theresa also ran the south east region for ARLA for six years. On 1st January 2023 Theresa has taken a step back from being hands on to concentrate on her industry work. With so many changes happening in the PRS she feels there is much that can be done to avoid unintended consequences when government introduce changes. 

Theresa is driven to ensure our staff can give informed advice to our landlords so they can help them navigate the complex business of lettings. In 2014 she set up the lettings industry council (TLIC). This group is made up of stakeholders across the industry including agents, deposit schemes, ombudsmen schemes, landlord associations, professional bodies governing letting agents and Lord Best has been a supporter contributing to the meetings. A representative from the PRS team in the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) gives a PRS update at each meeting. This is also an opportunity for the industry to raise awareness of any current issues being faced. Over 125 organisations have been represented at the meetings including attendance from the Greater London Authority and National Trading Standards, working together to ensure there is one ‘lettings’ voice.

In 2019 Theresa also set up LARG (Large Agents Representative Group). LARG is a group of six of the largest letting and estate agents in London and the south east (Chestertons Global Ltd; Hamptons International; Kinleigh, Folkard, and Hayward; Knight Frank LLP; Foxton’s and Savills (UK) Ltd). Together these firms are responsible for a substantial amount of activity in the lettings sector, especially in the largest market in London and the south east, having, between them, over 100,000 active tenancies directly under management at any one time.

As such, their understanding and experience of the private rented sector (PRS) is second to none. They raise current issues with various government departments on behalf of the industry and have had success with HMRC and visited Number 10 to meet with government advisors.