Leaders joins SAFEagent scheme

In a major coup for the scheme, Leaders has joined SAFEagent, giving membership an instant boost of 60 offices.

Leaders is a notable member of ARLA, its own founder Neville Lee having co-founded it to improve standards across the lettings industry.

The firm still has family connections and is today run by Paul Weller, Lee’s son-in-law.

Ironically, ARLA has notably failed to give SAFEagent its endorsement, deciding instead to let individual members make up their own minds as to whether they should join the scheme which exists to show consumers, via a logo, whether they have client money protection insurance.

Carole Charge, Leaders’ technical and compliance director, said: “As long-standing members of ARLA, we have always ensured that our clients’ money has been held safely and we are well recognised within the industry for our financial probity.

“Being members of this national scheme is another way in which we can convey our high standards of practice to landlords and tenants.

“The extremely eloquent SAFEagent logo will enable us to clearly communicate that any money we hold on behalf of our landlords and tenants is safely protected.”

John Midgley, for the SAFE Steering Group, said: “We are delighted that Leaders has signed up to the scheme to become a registered SAFEagent and it is testimony to the fact that professional agents are determined to protect tenants from ‘uninsured’ letting agents who disappear with customer money.

“We want every person who is looking to rent a property to‘play it safe’ and be aware that they can protect their money.

“The message is simple: Be safe … choose a SAFEagent when you rent. Remember, your money may be at risk if you do not use an agent that is part of a client money protection scheme.”

Over 1,600 letting agents have now signed up to SAFEagent.

In addition to Government support, key organisations in the industry including Which, Citizens Advice Bureau, Shelter, Crisis, The Property Ombudsman, Consumer Focus, National Union of Students, OFT, GLA and Trading Standards Institute have all allied themselves to the scheme.