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Written question asked by Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 6 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 20 July 2026. It was answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Labour) on Friday, 17 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Letting Agents

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what checks are required, if any, before a letting agency is admitted to a government approved property redress scheme or tenancy deposit protection scheme; whether they consider those checks are sufficient to prevent fraudulent operators from obtaining accreditation; and whether they plan to introduce additional verification requirements.

Answer

Letting agents and property managers in England are required to belong to a government-approved redress scheme. Landlords or agents who take a deposit in relation to an assured periodic tenancy must protect it in a government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme. Membership of a scheme and protection of a deposit is a requirement of trading, rather than a wider accreditation of an agent’s conduct or legitimacy

The Government recognises the harm caused when fraudulent operators misuse legitimate schemes. Following recent cases, the Department has worked with tenancy deposit protection providers to strengthen safeguards, including adding a fraud disclaimer to insured deposit protection certificates, enhancing tenant communications about tenancy fraud, and reviewing verification and due diligence checks

We are actively working with National Trading Standards, redress schemes and other approved government schemes to consider whether further verification requirements are needed. My department is also exploring options for further regulation of the property agent sector.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL1707
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Letting agents Leasehold Tenants Tenancy deposit schemes Dispute resolution
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk