No (January 2019)
1. It’s is not currently a legal requirement – under current legislation, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 made it a legal requirement for every lettings agent in England to display whether or not they are a member of a Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme (which we do). The Tenant Fees Bill once enacted will require letting agents to be members of a CMP scheme by 1st April 2020 which we will fully comply with. In the meantime we hold client money in a client money account with a bank authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
2. Jungle Property do not hold clients’ money:
- Tenancy Deposit monies (technically not client money) are transferred to the custody of the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) immediately tenancies are granted and held by the DPS throughout the tenancies;
- It is common practice for letting agents to require their clients pay the agent a working float of up to £500 to be maintained throughout the management of the property to meet expenses incurred between tenancies and between rent days e.g. Cost of repairs. Jungle Property do not require clients pay float money – we settle all interim expenses on behalf of clients;
- Monthly, the balance on account for all our clients is paid via electronic transfer the same day rent is received – we transfer most balances within 8 hours of cleared funds for rent being received in our client bank account;
- We never ask clients to pay money up front for any fees or expenses.
3. Being a member of a client money protection costs agents money which is ultimately passed on to clients. We strive to deliver the very best service at the lowest cost to clients so until it becomes a legal requirement will not incur and pass on the expense of CMP to our clients.
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