What does it mean to our clients that we are a Safe Agent? 23 Mar 2020
Service Standards
When you decide to let your property, employing a safeagent firm to handle the letting for you can give you peace of mind. You can trust a safeagent firm to protect your interests by dealing responsibly with the procedures involved in letting and subsequent management.
This means that the tenancy should run smoothly. You can let a property under an assured shorthold tenancy which will allow you to get the property back empty by giving formal notice after the first six months of any tenancy has elapsed.
Agents who have been accredited by safeagent will provide a written agreement for managing your property, setting out the services they provide and what that will cost. You should agree the details before you employ an agent.
What is a SafeAgent?
Safeagent is the UK’s leading accreditation scheme for lettings and management agents operating in the Private Rented Sector.
Established in 1999 by the Empty Homes Agency as The National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) with the backing of the industry, the aim was to establish a single badge for consumers to look for and understand the service and protections a firm offered through adherence to strict accreditation criteria. Recently rebranded as Safeagent, we are well-respected – recognised by Government, consumer groups and industry bodies. Safeagent is the only agent organisation whose sole focus is consumer protection, operating across the UK on a not-for-profit basis.
What is a Safeagent firm?
- Meet defined standards of customer service
- Be part of a Client Money Protection Scheme
- Have a written customer complaints procedure available on request offering adjudication through a redress scheme
- Have current Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Hold a dedicated client bank account designated as only holding clients money
- Commit to an annual independent inspection of their client accounting procedures
These requirements and service standards provide protection and security for both tenants and landlords.
