Client Money Protect is a Government Authorised membership scheme for lettings and property agents in the UK to protect the client money such as rents and deposits received by our Members’. If your agent has CMP membership then you can rest assure that your money is protected and the agent is compliant with the current legislation.
It is a legal requirement for letting agents to join a Client Money Protection Scheme for the benefit of their clients, typically landlords and tenants, to safeguard money they hold on their clients’ behalf. In the event that the owners of the business misappropriate any of this money, landlords and tenants can contact the Scheme and make a compensation claim against the agent. If a genuine claim is accepted by the Scheme, the Scheme will recompense the landlord and/or tenant and seek recovery from the letting agent or its owners.
CMP is an independent membership body that provides full protection to our Members, with no individual claim limits. CMP insures its liability against the payment of any claims.
It is mandatory for all CMP Members to display their current CMP certificate in their office and the CMP logo in their office window and on their website. If you suspect an agent is a member of CMP and is not displaying our logo please get in touch with us by email to auditandcompliance@clientmoneyprotect.co.uk
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 requires all property agents in England to join a government approved client money protection scheme. This regulation came into force on 1st April 2019 and failure to belong to a scheme can result in a fine of up to £30,000.
As well as the need to belong to a scheme, The Consumer Rights Act 2015 made it a legal requirement for all letting agents to clearly display which client money protection scheme they belong to. Failure to clearly display this can result in a fine of up to £5,000.
Trading Standards have the enforcement powers to impose fines on letting agents.
All Government Authorised CMP Providers are required to provide information relation to client money protecting for the purposes of enforcing the Tenant Fees Act 2019. CMP are required to inform the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) of all agents that have not obtained CMP, have been expelled from the scheme or have cancelled or lapsed their membership.
Schemes are required to provide this information in order to assist NTSELAT with enforcement action.
CMP is an individual public body and have no obligation to deal with requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.