Any landlord who has had to deal with letting agents at any point will know that not all of them play by the book. There have been numerous complaints over the years relating to hidden charges and dubious business practices, and often, when a letting agents goes out of business, landlords who are owed money have no way of seeking financial redress.
Unregulated letting agents
As things currently stand, anyone can set up in business as a letting agent, and unlike estate agents, letting agents are not subject to registration or compulsory licensing. Industry experts have been campaigning for years to have greater regulation of letting agents and although the last Housing Minister, Grant Schapps, failed to do anything about the issues, it seems that the current Housing Minister, Mark Prisk, is prepared to take the first steps towards regulating letting agents.
Letting agent registration
Housing Minister, Mark Prisk, has sanctioned an amendment to the Regulatory & Reform Bill. This means that letting agents will be forced to register with an approved scheme of redress. The redress scheme will help to protect landlords by giving them access to an independent dispute resolution process, irrespective of which letting agent they choose to do business with. It also means that compensation can be awarded if a letting agent unexpectedly goes out of business leaving landlords and tenants out of pocket.
Who will run the redress scheme?
It is likely that the existing ombudsman for estate agents will be called upon to administer a similar scheme for letting agents.
