It may come as a surprise to learn that there is actually no legal obligation for a lettings agent to be licensed, so in theory, anyone can set up an agency and take rent and deposits without someone checking or regulating whether they are either qualified or competent!
Our Clients and Tenants can rest assured that their money is held securely in our Client Account, as we have Client Money Protection (CMP) provided by Propertymark
In order to try and protect any monies being held by an agent should he or she go into liquidation or simply disappear, Landlords and Tenants are strongly advised to use an Agent who is a member of a professional body, such as Propertymark (ARLA – Association of Residential Lettings Agents) NALS (National Approved Letting Scheme) or RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)
These professional bodies regulate the private rented sector and act completely independent of their member agents. Their members are required to follow a strict Code of Practice and Rules of Conduct, continuously keeping up to date with the latest legislative changes and regulations affecting the lettings industry and ensuring there is a CMP Scheme in place. Members are also required to have the following as a minimum:
- The provision of Professional Indemnity insurance in order to protect both Landlords and Tenants from financial losses incurred through negligent or misleading advice.
- Defined accounting standards relating to Clients’ money – Meliora has a designated ‘client account’ where Landlords’ and Tenants’ money is held completely separately from the operating funds of the Company and as a result, is safeguarded.
- A customer complaints procedure so if something goes wrong, there is a system in place to follow. In October 2014, it became law for every lettings department in the country to belong to one of the mandatory redress schemes. Meliora is a member of the PRS (Property Redress Scheme) the membership of which ensures that if a dispute arises and if, having undergone the company’s internal complaints procedure, the aggrieved party remains unhappy with the outcome, there is the opportunity for that party to raise the issue with the relevant redress scheme, who will independently assess and evaluate the case and its outcome.
- Be a member of an ombudsman scheme.
The potential legal and financial consequences of using an unlicensed Agent in a sector which has grown and continues to grow increasingly litigious, are significant, so the ultimate question anyone should ask themselves when deliberating over which agent to choose is ‘can I really afford NOT to choose a regulated and licensed Agent?’
