Responding to Communities and Local Government Committee Select Committee Announcement about the Private Rented Sector
Belvoir Cambridge and Peterborough fully support the need to drive out cowboy agents. Both Peterborough and Cambridge have a large number of unregulated lettings agents of which many operate sharp practices. It has been the policy of Belvoir Cambridge and Peterborough since inception in 1999 not to charge tenants or landlords renewal fees unless a new fixed term is requested by the tenant initiating a new full reference; this only incurs a nominal charge and is disclosed before a tenancy starts.
Terry Lucking the MD of Belvoir Cambridge and Peterborough would like to see CLG go further and legislate for how agents control and account for ‘Client Monies’. Currently there is no nationally required safeguard in place.
A small number of professional agents like Belvoir Cambridge and Peterborough are part of voluntary regulation bodies like ARLA and Safeagent. These schemes provide the landlord and tenant with client money audit and protection. Why wouldn’t an agent have their client money accounts audited independently?
