The Scottish Government has finally introduced a Code of Practice for Letting Agents which sets out the standards expected of letting agents operating in Scotland. This is something that 1LET and many other reputable agents have been calling for for many years. In the past it has been all too easy for somebody with no experience or qualifications to set-up a business and call themselves a letting agent. This lack of regulation has led to many landlords and tenants receiving an extremely poor service with little in the way of professional property management. The new code of practice ensures the playing field is level and now all landlords and tenants who use the services of a letting agency can expect a standardised high level of service.
The Letting Agent Code of Practice is being introduced with the intention of protecting landlords and tenants and eradicating poor quality housing. The Scottish Government state that it will “help raise standards (where this is needed) and help build a more effective private rented sector that meets the needs of tenants, landlords and letting agents”.
1LET are expecting the Register to be open for applications in January 2018 and the Scottish Government have set an application deadline of 30th September 2018. 1LET plan to register in February/March 2018. Our current working practices, along with robust client money protection ensure we meet the standard required for registration. In addition, all 1LET Property Managers are fully qualified members of ARLA and so are perfectly positioned to meet the criteria set out in the fit and proper person test.
For further reading the full code of practice can be viewed in the link below:-
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2016/133/pdfs/ssi_20160133_en.pdf
Update on Letting Agent Code of Practice
