29 May 2003
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The National Approved Lettings Scheme (NALS) has approved the groundbreaking Client Money Protection Bond launched by HomeLet, the leading insurance and tenant referencing provider to the UK private residential rented market.
Under the HomeLet bond, the clients of residential managing and letting agents receive valuable consumer protection against theft or fraudulent misappropriation of funds, such as rents and deposits, that are not recoverable by other means.
The bond is insured in the London Market and its terms and conditions mirror those of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ client money protection scheme, providing cover up to £30,000 per client with a total limit of £3 million in any one year.
To qualify managing or letting agents must be members of NALS. The normal cost of the HomeLet Money Protection Bond is £315 per year, but for HomeLet’s 1,700 Premier agents the scheme is free.
HomeLet Premier agents enjoy an extended range of services which include specialist rent guarantees and increased commission on the policies that they sell. Premier membership costs £50 per month but also entitles the letting agent to a free rent guarantee of the same value.
Michael Arnold, Director of HomeLet, said: “Over the past 18 months, HomeLet has made a significant contribution to raising professional standards within the letting sector. HomeLet has nearly 600 agents covered under its Professional Indemnity scheme alone.
Client money protection is a logical extension of that initiative and demonstrates HomeLet’s ability and commitment to respond to the concerns voiced by Government and covered in the recent consultative document.”
Arnold added: “We believe that with more the 4,000 currently unaffiliated agents, HomeLet is perfectly positioned to promote the improvement in industry standards that NALS membership seeks to encourage. Consumers will be able to recognise that a letting agent is a NALS member and part of the HomeLet scheme by distinctive liveries that are displayed on their doors or windows.”
Isobel Thomson, Operations Director of NALS, says: “NALS welcomes the HomeLet initiative and the opportunity it affords for agents to have a choice of CMP products which meets one of the requirements for accreditation with NALS. It is another way of NALS helping to open up the private lettings market. We continue to encourage agents to join NALS in order to raise standards and extend consumer protection within the lettings sector.”
Note to Editors:
HomeLet is a trading name of Hanover Park Services plc and a member of the General Insurance Standards Council.
Hanover Park Services is a subsidiary of the Erinaceous Group.
NALS is a government funded voluntary scheme for residential letting and managing agents in the private rented property sector with more than 1,000 accredited offices. Its membership is now open to agents who are not members of one of the main professional bodies, e.g. RICS, ARLA and NAEA.
For further information, please contact:
Paul Desmond/Marylene Guernier
Tavistock Communications Ltd
Tel: 020 7600 2288
