My Lords, this manuscript amendment is in my name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Palmer of Childs Hill. The noble Lords, Lord Palmer of Childs Hill and Lord Foster, and my noble friend Lord Kennedy had, together with me, tabled Amendment 100 about client money protection to require every letting agent to have money they hold belonging either to the tenant by way of advance rent or to a landlord as rent received to be protected, so
that even if the letting agent disappeared or went bankrupt, such money would be safe and available to the landlord.
Such money is not the agent’s money and, as with clients’ money handled by solicitors and others, should be held separately in a protected client account. We sought to introduce this requirement into the Consumer Rights Bill, at which point the Government heard—and, I think, had some sympathy with—the case, but the requirement was only for every letting agent to display whether or not they had such client money protection. Our view is that this hardly works for landlords, who usually take the biggest hit when such money disappears. As my sister, herself a typical landlord with three units, said, it never occurred to her to ask her agent whether he had client money protection. It cannot help tenants who have to pay their rent to whichever agent the landlord nominates, even if it is clear that their money is not protected.
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Since tabling Amendment 100, requiring such funds to be in a segregated, ring-fenced client account, we have had constructive discussions with the Minister and her colleague in the Commons, Brandon Lewis, whose willingness to hear our arguments, and those of tenants, good letting agents, and landlords, has led to our new, manuscript amendments, tabled today in the names of myself and the noble Lord, Lord Palmer of Childs Hill. These amendments allow for regulations which would provide exactly what we have been recommending, and we understand that the Government are willing to accept the amendments—for which we owe thanks also to the Bill team and their colleagues for such brilliant and very speedy drafting. Our civil servants have again demonstrated their amazing flexibility and expertise.
We also understand that the Government are to review the current transparency rules and, if the evidence indicates that they have failed in the Government’s intent, will bring forward the regulations allowed for in these new amendments. The amendments will be welcomed by tenants, landlords, reliable agents and, I believe, by the House. I beg to move.