SAFEagent Awareness Week

SAFEagent Awareness Week

18:18 PM, 15th May 2012, About 12 years ago

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SAFEagent Awareness Week 2013This week is SAFEagent awareness week.

Property118 has supported SAFEagent since its inception just two years ago.

The concept is very simple, a Letting Agent displaying a current SAFEagent badge has purchased client money protection and is also a member of one of the 5 best recognised professional bodies in the UK Letting Industry.

What this means is that if the agent ceases to trade, your rents and deposits are safe as they are protected by insurance. Housing Minister Mark Prisk, pictured below, said ….

“”Most tenants are happy with their letting agent, but a minority of rogue agents provide an unacceptably poor service, giving the whole industry a bad name. That’s why we will shortly introduce proposals that will require agents across the country to join approved redress schemes, giving landlords and tenants a clear route to resolve complaints.

“The industry-led SAFEagent campaign is also helping to raise awareness, giving landlords and tenants the confidence that their agent will protect them. I hope this SAFEagent Awareness Week will help many more landlords and tenants make a safe, informed choice.”

Mark Alexander, founder of Property118 and The GOOD Landlords Campaign said …. “increasing the awareness of the importance of Client Money Protection is vital to our industry. Far too many landlords believe they can outsource their legal responsibilities to Letting Agents but that’s simply not true. We hear far too many stories of business failures and rogue agents disappearing with their clients money and it’s just not good enough! In the absence of full regulation, it is up to the best in the industry to set the benchmarks of professionalism, strive to raise standards and increase awareness. SAFEagent are making good progress in terms of raising awareness of the need for Client Money Protection and we wish them well. It is in all of our interests to raise awareness of the need for letting agents handling money from landlords and tenants to have Client Money Protection as this will serve to be far less expensive than full regulation for both landlords and tenants in the long run. If all landlords and tenants were aware of the risks of dealing with a letting agent without Client Money Protection I suspect very few people would deal with agents without it”.

Please see the short film below.


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