Next week is Safe Agent Awareness week (1st - 5th June 2015) and we will be heavily promoting the importance of Landlords using agencies with Client Money Protection (CMP) Insurance online and in our office in Killay. Why not pop in or give us a call to find out more about what having CMP insurance means for you.

Tenant and landlord financial protection remains in the media spotlight in 2015 in the wake of a few high profile instances of where lettings agents misused funds. However, despite this, SAFEagent feels that the message is still not getting through that consumers’ finances are at risk if their chosen agent does not subscribe to a CMP scheme.

‘There are still too many people who are not aware of the potential pitfalls of choosing an agent who doesn’t have CMP”, says John Midgley, Chair of the SAFEagent Steering Group.

Midgely maintains that whilst awareness of the SAFEagent mark is increasing, consumers are not always aware of the fact that if an agent were to abscond with a landlord or tenant’s money without CMP in place - there would be little chance of retrieving those funds. And, as a result – consumers are still not always asking the right questions at the onset.

He says: “Whilst the last few years have seen the Government move to tighten regulations around letting agents, it is also important that tenants and landlords understand that the right to redress only goes so far, and they need to choose wisely by asking a few simple questions. It can make all the difference”.

“As it stands we welcome the requirement for all agents to display whether or not they are part of a CMP scheme but we want to see inclusion in such a scheme a mandatory requirement for all agents.”

Tenants and landlords / consumers are encouraged to go on-line and check out www.safeagents.co.uk to find an agent in their area and the advice is to always look for the SAFEagent mark, an easily identifiable consumer mark denoting agents subscribed to a Client Money Protection (CMP) Scheme. 

Since McCartan Lettings was founded in 2006 I have been promoting the importance of landlords and tenants only using the services of qualified and regulated letting agencies. By looking out for the Safe Agent logo you know that your agent is keeping your money protected with Client Money Protection insurance.