1st October 2014
New legislation that comes into effect today will make it a legal requirement for letting agents to register with an approved redress scheme.
As a Property Ombudsman Scheme member already Belvoir Falmouth are fully compliant and do not need to take any further action.
We have included the Property Ombudsman Scheme Q&A below which should provide you with further reassurance and peace of mind that we are fully covered. If you are with another Agent then you may want to consider switching to Belvoir.
You can find further updates by following on Twitter for any breaking news via @TPOmb
What does ‘mandatory redress’ mean?
The government has introduced new legislation from 1st October 2014, which will make it a legal requirement for every letting agent and property management agent in England to be a member of an approved redress scheme.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) approved The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme earlier this year, which ensures every TPO member is fully complaint with the new rules.
Letting agents: who are registered with TPO, what action do they need to take?
None - we’re completely covered! We’re fully compliant under the new legislation and no further action is needed. By registering with TPO we comply with the legal requirements by offering landlords and tenants a route to free, fair and impartial dispute resolution through the TPO redress scheme.
TPO is the largest scheme of its kind, with more than 11,500 lettings agents already registered with TPO and following the scheme’s unique Code of Practice, which represents best practice in the industry and has been proven to raise standards.
How will this new legislation be ‘policed’?
Trading Standards may well carry out random checks and mystery shops to ask agents to prove which scheme they are registered with, at which point you can provide them with a copy of your TPO membership certificate or unique membership number.
Any letting agent that has not signed up to an approved redress schemes will face a fine of up to £5,000.
Are you registered with an approved scheme?
Yes. We are registered with TPO, a government-approved redress scheme which is the largest of its kind with 65% of UK letting agents following TPO’s unique Code of Practice. Our membership with TPO means we fully comply with the legislation, which means in the event of a dispute arising, if you are unsatisfied with the result of our own investigation, you can have your complaint independently reviewed by the Property Ombudsman, which provides a free, fair and impartial service.
Are there any fees to pay for using TPO?
There are absolutely no fees or costs involved for a consumer to refer a complaint to the Ombudsman at TPO - regardless of how many complaints TPO reviews from a consumer. TPO is a not-for-profit organisation and is completely independent.
What is TPO?
TPO is the largest and longest-running property dispute resolution service – specialising solely in property redress. Their 24-years’ experience and unrivalled in-depth knowledge on all things property-related enables TPO to review complaints fairly and independently.
Further information about TPO and the complaints process can be found via
www.tpos.co.uk, which also has a ‘Find a member’ tool where you can search for registered agents by company name, town and/or postcode.
WHY NOT CHECK TODAY AND SEE IF YOUR AGENT IS REGISTERED WITH A SCHEME?
