Careful with your Cash!

June 2006

‘Careful with your cash’

28/ 6/2008

Millions of thousands of pounds of cash belonging to landlords and tenants could be at risk as the uncertainty over the property market threatens the future of some estate agencies as seen with many estate agency closures in recent weeks says Wendy Wood of Manning Stainton in Leeds.

She warned landlords and tenants to ensure the firm they work with is reputable, and regulated by bodies such as the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA).

More people are renting out their property while waiting for the market to recover and  they may be unaware not all estate agents insure tenants’ deposits and rent monies.

Mrs Wood is telling landlords to wise up about the industry and make sure their money is protected.

The warning came in the same week Sir Bryan Carsberg, former director general of the Office of Fair Trading, released a report saying estate agents need  regulating to offer customers better protection.

Inexperienced landlords may be tempted to go with agencies which are not members of ARLA or the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), self-regulating bodies which require members to work in line with a strict code of conduct.

This includes the protection of deposit monies.
Wendy Wood added: “The residential lettings industry is very specialised, with complex legislation clearly outlining what a landlord legally can and can not do with regard to the holding of client’s monies.

“In particular, recent legislation in April 2007 made it a legal requirement for tenants’ deposit monies to be held in an approved scheme.
“Failure to do so can result in a landlord being fined three times the deposit and unable to serve the proper notice required for possession of the property, if required.

“Our offices report that many Leeds estate agents looking to establish a lettings business in Leeds may not be trained correctly, have no client money safeguards and are ignorant of a lot of current legislation, and as a result may be putting their landlords at risk.”