What it covers
Between rent leaving your tenant and reaching your account, an agency holds your money. On a managed property that might be a month of rent, plus a maintenance float, plus a deposit before it reaches a scheme. Across an agency managing a thousand properties, that is a very large sum sitting in one account.
Client money protection repays it if the agency takes it or collapses while holding it. It covers rent collected and not passed on, deposits not yet lodged, float and reserve balances, and money held for works that were never done.
What it does not cover
- Poor service, slow repairs or bad communication. Those are redress scheme matters.
- A dispute about a deduction from a deposit, which the deposit scheme adjudicates for free.
- Your tenant failing to pay rent. That is rent guarantee insurance, a different product entirely.
- Money the agency never held.
Why it is compulsory
Because agency failures happen and the money vanishes with them. The requirement came into force in England in April 2019, and in Scotland it forms part of the registration regime alongside the fit and proper person test and professional indemnity insurance.
That means an agency without current cover is not merely uninsured. In England it is trading unlawfully, and in Scotland it is in breach of the conditions of its registration.
How to check a certificate
- Find the provider name and the certificate number, not just a logo.
- Check the expiry date. This is the step almost nobody takes.
- Check the name on the certificate matches the company you are contracting with, which for a franchise may be a different entity from the brand on the door.
- If it is not published, ask. A compliant agency sends it immediately.
Real examples from the agencies we rank: Propertymark certificate C0124869 at Umega in Edinburgh, C0107446 valid to 31 May 2027 at Thornley Groves in Manchester, C0129134 at urbanbubble, and Client Money Protect CMP005133 at We Let Properties. Published numbers with dates are what good practice looks like.
What a lapsed certificate looks like
When we researched Aberdeen, the certificate published on Belvoir Aberdeen's branch page had expired on 31 July 2026 and had not been replaced when we checked on 2 August. That is why the agency does not appear in that city's ranking.
It was not hidden. It was published on the website, and the date was simply out of range. In Manchester, Julian Wadden's published certificate had expired on 30 June 2026, which is one reason it stayed off that ranking too.
Both were found by reading the date on a document the agency had put online itself. It takes about ten seconds and it is the single highest value check you can make before signing.
Common questions
Is client money protection the same as a deposit scheme?
No, and confusing them is common. A deposit scheme holds one specific sum, the tenant's deposit, and adjudicates disputes about it. Client money protection is insurance covering all money the agent holds, including rent collected but not yet paid over, if the agency misuses it or fails.
Is it a legal requirement?
In England, yes, for any agent holding client money, since April 2019. In Scotland it is a condition of letting agent registration. So an agent without it is not simply uninsured, it is trading in breach.
Who provides it?
Propertymark, Client Money Protect, RICS and a small number of other approved schemes. The provider and certificate number should both be published, and the certificate carries an expiry date.
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