Despite the growth in understanding of the Private Rented Sector due to the popularity of Buy to Let as a major investment, the public still fails to make the distinction between fully bonded letting and unsafe letting. As a result both landlords and tenants fail to check that there are safeguards in place for their own protection when they approach a letting agent.

As a result, ARLA, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, has issued a new leaflet, `ARLA and Your Money'. This is part of a continuing programme of consumer information that began with the publication of the ARLA Buy to Let Charter. This was supported by the ARLA panel of lenders: Birmingham Midshires, GMAC Residential Funding, NatWest Mortgage Services, Paragon Mortgages and Standard Life Bank.

These leading lenders in the Buy to Let sector work actively with ARLA to help the Association maintain standards for both the Private Rented Sector and the Buy to Let market.

"ARLA and Your Money" has been issued with existing landlords, investor landlords and their tenants in mind. It shows how to protect rents and management floats held for landlords and the deposits held on behalf of tenants. These sums of money are often large and must be kept safe from misuse, misappropriation or theft.

"Despite ARLA's efforts to explain the extraordinary lengths to which it goes to protect the public, it happens frequently that both landlords and tenants end up in the hands of rogue agents and others whose systems of control and accountability would prohibit them being accepted for membership of ARLA. These totally unregulated agents often have no experience or qualifications and sometimes they can be downright dishonest," said Adrian Turner, Chief Executive of ARLA.

"ARLA and Your Money" describes the safeguards that ARLA requires its members to have in place including the independent auditing of client accounts. These client accounts are the only proper place to hold rents, deposits and management floats.

The leaflet also explains that letting agents must hold Professional Indemnity Insurance and outlines the ARLA Bonding Scheme of First Resort.

Like Professional Indemnity Insurance, the ARLA Bond is compulsory for all members, and is the only Bonding Scheme of its kind in the Private Rented Sector. It means that with any evidence of misappropriation, landlords and tenants using ARLA letting agents can call on the Association for restitution and ARLA will do the rest. Unlike other bonding schemes there is no need for lengthy court processes to prove theft or dishonesty before applying for restitution.

ARLA also stipulates professional indemnity insurance is in place for all its members. This covers landlords and tenants against negligence or mistakes that can be honestly made but can be costly to the public.

The new leaflet also covers deposit clearance, insurance and holding deposits and the complaints procedures to be used in the event of grievance against ARLA members.

"All our safeguards for the public have been in place for years and have been widely publicised," Adrian Turner pointed out. "The Association and its member firms continually repeat that this is why there is a need to use only ARLA member letting agents. We are repeating this imperative again. It compliments the Buy to Let Charter which restates the principles that should be followed by investor landlords, mortgage lenders and letting agents engaged in Buy to Let."

The ARLA leaflet is available by sending an s.a.e. marked ARLA and Your Money to ARLA Administration, Maple House, 53-55 Woodside Road, Amersham, Bucks HP6 6AA. It is also published on the ARLA website: http://www.arla.co.uk