Letting agents are uniting for the second national SAFEagent Awareness Week to remind consumers of the importance of choosing a letting agent which offers Client Money Protection. Agents will commonly deal with tens, or even hundreds of thousands of pounds of landlords and tenants’ money, collecting rents and deposits. It is rare, but not unheard of for some agents to abscond with their clients’ money, and very difficult to recover money in such circumstances.
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, makes it a requirement that letting agents should offer redress by being members of an Ombudsman scheme. This is in the process of being implemented and will undoubtedly have a welcome influence on raising standards in the sector.
However, if landlords and tenants want to ensure their money is protected they should check that the agent they use has client money protection, by looking out for the Safe Agent logo.
Ian Fletcher, Director of Policy at the British Property Federation, said:
“Landlords need to be wise in their choice of letting agent. Just because the letting agency sector is facing increased regulation does not mean their money will be protected. This week is Safe Agent Week, and provides an excellent opportunity to reinforce a message that landlords still should be ensuring their agent is a Safe Agent offering client money protection.”
