Part-time Researcher and Newsletter Writer Needed

We are a South London property management and lettings company looking for a reliable researcher and writer to help create monthly email newsletters for landlords.

This is not a programming, automation or web-development role. We need someone who can research information carefully, check facts against reliable sources and turn the information into friendly, clear and interesting emails.

The role

You will help us prepare three types of landlord email content:

1. UK landlord legislation and property updates

You will research new and upcoming matters that could affect a landlord’s:

* Legal responsibilities
* Tenancies
* Property costs
* Rental income
* Tax position
* Mortgage costs
* Risk
* Compliance
* Overall profit

Topics may include:

* Landlord legislation and regulations
* Renters’ rights
* Possession and eviction rules
* Rent increases
* Deposits
* Property standards
* Gas, electrical and fire safety
* EPC and energy-efficiency requirements
* HMOs and property licensing
* Planning rules
* Fines, penalties and tribunal changes
* Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty
* Allowable expenses and landlord tax changes
* Bank of England interest-rate changes
* Buy-to-let mortgage developments
* Inflation, rents, house prices and operating costs
* Energy prices and the energy price cap
* Relevant government announcements

General economic or political news should only be included when there is a clear reason why a landlord would care about it. The emails must remain politically neutral.

1. “What’s Happening in Your Area?” newsletter

You will research interesting information covering these South London boroughs:

* Lambeth
* Southwark
* Wandsworth
* Croydon
* Merton
* Sutton

For each borough, you will look for a mixture of:

* Local events and festivals
* Regeneration projects
* Major developments
* Transport improvements
* High-street and public-space improvements
* New leisure or cultural facilities
* Council investment
* Interesting planning proposals
* Local history
* The origins of area names
* Historic buildings and landmarks
* Interesting local people and stories
* Fun facts that local landlords may not know

There will not always be worthwhile current news for every borough. When this happens, you should find a genuinely interesting historical story or local fact rather than forcing a weak news story into the email.

The final newsletter will contain sections covering all six boroughs.

Research and fact-checking

Accuracy is extremely important.

Every factual statement must have a reliable source that we can check before approving the email.

You should use industry and news websites to discover stories, but important information should be verified against an official or primary source wherever reasonably possible.

For example:

* If a landlord website reports a new licensing scheme, check the relevant council’s website.
* If a newspaper reports a tax announcement, check GOV.UK, HMRC or HM Treasury.
* If an article mentions a new law, check the relevant Bill, Act or government guidance.

This is especially important for:

* Dates
* Deadlines
* Money
* Percentages
* Fines
* Licence fees
* Legal requirements
* Areas covered by council schemes

You must clearly identify whether something is:

* Current law
* Confirmed but starting in the future
* A government announcement awaiting details
* A Bill going through Parliament
* A consultation
* A proposal
* A prediction or speculation

A proposal must never be written as though it is already law.

You must never guess or fill in missing information. If something cannot be verified, flag it for us instead.

Sources

Sources will include:

* GOV.UK
* HMRC
* HM Treasury
* UK Parliament
* House of Commons Library
* Bank of England
* Ofgem
* Office for National Statistics
* Valuation Office Agency
* London.gov.uk
* TfL
* Individual London council websites
* NRLA
* Property Tribes
* LandlordZONE
* The Independent Landlord
* Landlord Today
* BBC News
* Layers of London
* Historic England
* Local archives, museums and official event websites
* Established local newspapers and London publications

We will provide a fuller list of sources and council pages to the successful applicant.

Writing style

The emails should be:

* Friendly
* Professional
* Conversational
* Clear and easy to understand
* Informative and interesting
* Written in plain English
* Human and personal
* Helpful rather than preachy
* Not overly corporate
* Not overly sales-focused
* Suitable for UK landlords

The writing should feel like two experienced local property professionals sharing useful information with other landlords.

Useful information comes first, relationship-building comes second and promoting our services comes third.

The writer must not:

* Invent facts, events, statistics, dates, fines or legal requirements
* Exaggerate information
* Use clickbait or scare tactics
* Create false urgency
* Present opinions as facts
* Present proposals as confirmed changes
* Give definitive legal advice
* Claim a particular property is affected without enough information
* Criticise landlords, tenants, councils or political parties
* Use swearing, slang or inappropriate subjects
* Write generic AI phrases or unnecessary filler
* Invent ALPS prices, services, offers or discounts

Humour

We will provide approved background information about Richard and David that can sometimes be used to make the emails feel more personal.

Light humour and conversational comments are welcome, but they must be sensible, believable and easy for us to approve or remove.

Any proposed personal anecdote that has not been supplied by us must be clearly marked for approval. You must never invent claims about clients, tenants, properties we manage, business results, qualifications, financial matters, disputes or services we have supposedly provided.

Monthly deliverables

Each month, you will be expected to provide:

1. A research list containing several possible stories and updates.
2. A working source link for every factual item.
3. A short explanation of why each story may matter to landlords.
4. One draft landlord legislation/update email.
5. One combined “What’s Happening in Your Area?” email covering all six boroughs.
6. Separate, clearly labelled borough sections that can be reused in personalised emails.
7. A record of previously used stories to prevent repetition.
8. Corrections and revisions following feedback from Richard and David.

All work will initially be added to a shared Google Sheet or Google Document for our review.

Nothing you write will be sent directly to landlords. Richard or David will review, edit and approve every email first.

Required skills

* Very good written English
* Strong online research skills
* Excellent attention to detail
* Ability to understand and simplify formal UK information
* Ability to distinguish confirmed facts from proposals and opinions
* Experience using Google Sheets and Google Docs
* Reliable communication
* Ability to meet agreed deadlines
* Willingness to accept feedback and revise work

Experience in UK property, lettings, journalism, legal research or newsletter writing would be helpful but is not essential if your research and writing are strong.

AI use

You may use AI tools to assist with research organisation, proofreading or initial drafting. However, you remain responsible for personally checking every factual claim against the original source.

We do not want copied, unverified or obviously AI-generated content.

Application questions

Please answer all of the following:

1. What experience do you have with online research and newsletter writing?
2. Have you previously researched UK property, legislation, finance or local news?
3. How would you check whether a reported landlord law is current law, a future change or only a proposal?
4. Are you comfortable working for £4 per hour, up to a maximum of 12 hours per week?
5. Are you looking for ongoing, long-term work?
6. Please provide one relevant writing sample, if available.
7. Begin your application with the words “South London Landlord” so we know you have read the full description.

Trial

Shortlisted applicants will be offered a trial task.

The trial is likely to involve:

* Finding one current or upcoming UK landlord update
* Providing the original official source
* Explaining whether it is current law, confirmed, proposed or under consultation
* Writing a short landlord-friendly summary
* Finding one interesting local story from one of our selected South London boroughs
* Providing the source and writing a short newsletter section

Accuracy, source quality, written English and ability to follow instructions will be the main factors used to select the successful applicant.