'Police probe bent MPs, not crooked agents,' says TDS chief

Much of the public is still ignorant about both the existence of ARLA and of tenancy deposit schemes, speakers at today’s ARLA conference are telling delegates.

And police would prefer to investigate bent politicians than crooked agents who have stolen clients’ money.

Speaking at the 30th annual conference, Steve Harriott, chief executive of the TDS, will say that agents must take the lead in educating landlords and clients.

With billions of pounds in rents and deposits at stake, Harriott believes it is surprising that tenants still do not know enough to ask if their money is safe.

“Fully informed tenants would want to know about the property and the rent, the quality of the letting agent and how their rent and deposit would be protected. They would want to see league tables setting out fee levels, service standards and complaint and dispute handling performance.

“Agents are in a position of trust, just like MPs, but rogue letting agents appear to be treated more leniently. The courts are locking up MPs who steal £13,000 but ignoring agents who steal hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Also speaking at the 30th annual conference, ARLA president Sue Hughes-Thomas gave a forceful message to members. She said she had done her own research, using the business network LinkedIn, and found a lack of awareness of ARLA.

She said her poll had revealed that 34% of those quizzed had never heard of ARLA, and that 11% never checked to see if their agent was part of a regulatory body.

She said that agents should take responsibility to educate consumers and display the ARLA logo on all marketing materials, 'at all opportunities'.

She said that only then would the general public start to appreciate what ARLA stands for: "That ARLA agents do adhere to good practice guidelines and, most importaly of all provide client money protection. Once we have well-informed tenants and landlords, we will have raised the bar against which all concerned with residential lettings should aspire, and the industry as a whole will benefit from a more positive reputation," she said.

"It's up to the industry as a whole to stand tall above rogue agents and for us to all be seen to distance ourselves from this image. We must continue to lobby for the foreced regulation of letting agents, but meanwhile, use our collective force to self-regulate and tell the world that this is what we are doing."