Consumers’ money remains at risk until April 1 2019 is the key message of this year’s SAFEagent Awareness Week.

Over the next five days, over 3,000 agents will unite to raise awareness of the importance of working with an agency that is part of a recognised Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme.

It was recently announced that compulsory letting agent membership of a CMP scheme will be effective from April 1 2019 and agents who don’t comply could face civil penalties of up to £30,000. 

SAFEagent – a reliable mark denoting firms that are members of CMP schemes – says that the introduction of mandatory CMP membership is a ‘huge victory’.

The group says that SAFEagent Awareness Week 2018 will remind consumers that SAFEagents are well ahead of the game with CMP in place now and already adhering to next year’s mandatory requirement.   

“SAFEagent’s original aim – to make it mandatory for all agents to be part of a client money protection scheme is finally close to becoming reality,” says John Midgley, chair of the SAFEagent Steering Group, which comprises high-profile agents including Foxtons, Hunters and Northwood.

“Over the past seven years the agents who got behind the SAFEagent campaign have been instrumental in getting us to this stage.”

“They should quite rightly be proud they have been the standard bearers for this important protection for tenants and landlords’ money,” he says.