High Street lender the Nationwide has launched a platform that will be first of its kind created for landlords by a major financial institution.

Called The Landlord Works, it has been developed by a team headed up by Paul Wooton (main picture) who, after leaving its mortgage broker business, has spent the past two years developing the platform as its Director of Home Propositions, he tells LandlordZONE.

The platform is free for landlords regardless of whether they are Nationwide customers or not and enables them to manage, develop and monitor their property or portfolios from their laptops or smartphones.

This includes the ability to list their properties, track renewal dates for compliance paperwork such as gas safe certificates, EPCs and electrical checks. But it also helps landlords keep tabs on their portfolio expenses, revenue and profits/loss, manage right to rent checks and compile their tax returns.

Advice and support

Wooton says the platform is more than just a useful tool, but also part of the mutual society's attempts to improve the private rental market by helping existing landlords maintain best practice and newbies understand their responsibilities.

The Nationwide also operates arms-length foundation that has funded several pro-tenant lobbying groups including Generation Rent and Shelter which, it says, is part of a wider attempt to improve the private rented sector.

The Landlord Works will offer advice and guidance on best practice for landlords and aims to help them be aware of and comply with the myriad regulations and laws that now cover the sector.

Wooton says there will be more developments to reveal at a later date, which may include offering member landlords exclusive mortgage deals via its broker and landlord mortgage platform The Mortgage Works.