Shining a spotlight on all professional landlords across the UK, home insurance provider HomeProtect announced Elaine Kellington from Kelso the winner of its first ever Landlord of the Year Award.

The award was created to find and recognise landlords from across the nation who go above and beyond in offering a fantastic standard of living for their tenants.

HomeProtect’s search began by asking tenants to share their real-life landlord experiences and to nominate those they saw fit of winning the award. The nominations were narrowed down to a 10-person shortlist, which was carefully considered by: Founder of Marks Out Of Tenancy Ben Yarrow, Editor of Landlord Today Marc Da Silva and HomeProtect CEO Mark Eastham.

With her own mortgage consultancy and industry experience spanning four decades, Elaine’s passion for housing and property is clear. Since becoming a landlord ten years ago, Elaine has welcomed over 30 tenants into her impressive portfolio of homes.

“I feel extremely privileged.” Elaine exclaimed. “I know there are lots of landlords who do a fantastic job, so to be chosen as Landlord of the Year was such a surprise.”

“I pride myself on developing a balanced relationship with my tenants, combining business acumen and professionalism with being approachable and setting clear procedures and lines of communication. I also believe it’s important to have a flexible mind set and the ability to understand and empathise at times.

“Getting this award gives me so much gratitude knowing my tenants have taken the time to nominate me and genuinely appreciate all that I do!”

HomeProtect CEO Mark Eastham said: “On behalf of the team I’d like to say congratulations to our winner Elaine! I’d also like to thank everyone who got involvedas the quality of nominations has been phenomenal with many tenants getting in touch to say just how grateful they are of the outstanding service their landlord provides. I can confidently say our first Landlord of the Year Award was a tremendous success.”