Lord Monroe Palmer

Client Money Protection amendments

In the House of Lords the debate has been raging about Client Money Protection. Lord Monroe Palmer (left) who proposed the changes to the Housing Bill wrote, “The Government has back-pedalled and tenants have won.” “The Housing Bill has continued in its long worn out path through the Lords. The Liberal Democrats have been battling to make changes to a Bill which will currently only worsen the housing crisis, reducing the availability of housing and moving the first rung of the housing ladder even further out of reach. “Across the past fortnight, the Government has been forced to back pedal on a number of measures. This week they made a significant concession on protections for tenants at the hands of rogue letting agents. An amendment with my name on it had been put forward which ensured that money belonging to tenants for use as holding fees, deposits, rent, or service charges by letting agents, was protected. 20 per cent of the letting agent sector does not have protection for client money. “The amendment we put down was targeted at protecting the fifth of the industry in which tenants and landlords remain at risk. People risk losing their money if a…