Section 133 — Housing and Planning Act 2016: Power to require property agents to join client money protection schemes

Power to require property agents to join client money protection schemes 133 1 The Secretary of State may by regulations require a property agent to be a member of—

a a client money protection scheme approved by the Secretary of State for the purpose of the regulations, or b a government administered client money protection scheme that is designated by the Secretary of State for the purpose of the regulations.

2 The regulations may impose requirements about the nature of the membership that a property agent must obtain (for example, by requiring a property agent to obtain membership that results in a particular level of compensation being available).

3 The regulations shall—

a require a property agent to obtain a certificate confirming the property agent's membership of the scheme;

b require the property agent to display or publish the certificate in accordance with the regulations;

c require the property agent to produce a copy of the certificate, on request, in accordance with the regulations.

4 In this section— “ client money protection scheme ” means a scheme which enables a person on whose behalf a property agent holds money to be compensated if all or part of that money is not repaid in circumstances in which the scheme applies; “ government administered client money protection scheme ” means a client money protection scheme that is administered by or on behalf of the Secretary of State; “ property agent ” means—

a person who engages in English letting agency work within the meaning of section 54, or a person who engages in English property management work within the meaning of section 55, other than a person who engages in that work in the course of the person's employment under a contract of employment.