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The government has ended the uncertainty over the start of the lettings sector's compulsory redress regime with the news that it will begin on October 1 according to the National Landlords' Association.

The Department of Communities and Local Government has previously suggested it will start sometime in the autumn, probably in October, but this is the first time a formal start date has been announced.

The government's objective, backed by much of the industry, is to provide a service of impartial dispute resolution when complaints are raised about letting agents by landlords or tenants - much as there is a channel for this service in the sales sector already.

If any lettings agency is found not to be in one of three official schemes, it can be fined up to £5,000. Local councils' trading standards offices are charged with policing the law.

The three schemes are the Property Redress Scheme, Ombudsman Services Property and The Property Ombudsman.

The government has previously made clear that the lettings redress schemes must be impartial, properly staffed and by people who understand lettings law, be open to all letting and property management agents, and that membership requirements should not unfairly restrict access to the scheme - for example, a compulsory requirement to sign up or comply with a code of practice.

The redress schemes must also be free to complainants, be easy to access, and provide full data about complaints in their annual reports.

Comments

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    Yet again DCLG, no doubt under pressure from within the usual PRS fiefdoms have contributed to the confusion. There are so many nonsences, how can an 'impartial' redress scheme be owned and run by trade associations with an interest in the members who fund them
    Simple answer is to use the ONLY Statutory Ombudsman in the property sector (IHO) and disband this bunch of commercially motivated [i]'regulators'[/i].

    • 28 August 2014 10:30 AM
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    IO you took the works right out of my mouth! Carefully chosen wording in order to exclude ARLA me thinks, and typical of DCLG, not well chosen at all!

    • 28 August 2014 08:00 AM
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    I thought to be a TPO member you had to sign up to their Code of Practice as it is the various clauses in that whch TPO quotes in decisions if you fall foul of them. If you have not agreed to be judged by the TPO Code how can you be guilty of an offence under it - anf fined accordingly!!

    • 28 August 2014 07:45 AM
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