Comments on: Letting agents going bust – three top tips for landlords to protect your position

By: SJC

SJC — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:19:02 +0000

Jupiter trading as GDH Property Management Services in Stafford went under last week. I found out by accident. They have 4 of my tenants deposits. They registered latest deposit in March with DPS but didn’t actually pass money onto them. As a Landlord I’m now at the beginning of trying to sort this mess out for my tenants. Astonishingly, Mr McCarthy, onwer of the old GDH Stafford is now part of Turners (the new trading name in the same GDH premises) and is allowed to continue to trade having kept/spent thousands of pounds of other peoples money. SO CROSS. You should be so ashamed Mr McCarthy.

By: Winchester Lettings

Winchester Lettings — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:27:27 +0000

Part of our business planning was the what ifs, namely we take deposits and then go bust, the best practice for us was to join the DPS as the money was not held by us.

We could regsister the deposit on behalf of the landlord & tenant in all cases and then get the landlord to regsiter a DPS account and then transfer to them.

This ensures if the worst happened our clients money would not be affected, we also have Client Money protection policies.

It is fundamental a landlord checks that a lettings agent have these types of working practises as it shows consideration for them as a potential client.

I completey agree with with Jim Murphy landlords need to use reputable firms that are at least members of NALS as they enforce client money protection policies as part of the accreditation process.

By: Tessa Shepperson

Tessa Shepperson — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:35:41 +0000

That is, I agree, really unfair. I may do a post on this topic (i.e. what can you do if an agent runs off with your cash), so keep watching the blog.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:06:47 +0000

Can landlords do anything if an agent disappears?

My agent closed down 2 1/2 years ago with no explanation and taking with them my tenants' deposit - and presumably a lot of other people's deposits & rental income (fortunately for me they had been so bad at passing on the rent that I'd switched to having the tenants pay me directly).

Police & trading standards weren't interested & CAB said there was nothing I could do. They didn't seem to be on some register of bankruptcies which I checked online and contacted by phone (can't remember the details now) so I couldn't register myself as a creditor.

So the owner of the agency gets to keep their clients' money and, presumably, open a new agency to start all over again...

By: Jim Murphy

Jim Murphy — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:03:17 +0000

Not just a rumour Tessa.

Two letting agents have gone under in the Wolverhampton area in as many weeks.

In one case tenant deposits appear to have gone unprotected.

You make a very good point that Landlords need to ensure that they only work with a reputable agent.

My Firm - Rees Page - are both solicitors and letting agents and there are now a good many solicitors firms offering a full letting service which comes with the comfort of regulation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the cast iron protection of a solicitors indemnity policy.