Guide
Client money protection: what your letting software has to support
Updated
This is the duty that turns a software choice into a licence-to-trade question.
The rule, in gov.uk's words
gov.uk states: 'You must join a client money protection scheme if you're a letting or property management agent in the private rented sector in England and you hold clients' money.'
The schemes compensate landlords and tenants if the agent cannot repay their money, for example if the agent goes into administration. The guidance is explicit that this is different from tenancy deposit protection.
The penalty is just as plain: 'You may be fined up to £30,000 if you do not join a client money protection scheme' (gov.uk, read 15 August 2026).
The six approved schemes
- Client Money Protect
- Money Shield
- Propertymark
- RICS
- Safeagent (previously NALS)
- UKALA Client Money Protection
Two more requirements that software touches
gov.uk sets out two further duties:
- hold your clients' money in an account with a bank or building society authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority
- get a certificate confirming membership of the scheme you join, provide it free of charge to anyone who asks, and display it in any office where you deal with the public and on your website
The fine for not displaying it or not providing it on request is up to £5,000.
The rules differ across the UK. The gov.uk guidance says Scotland has different rules. In Wales you need to join a money protection scheme before applying for an agent licence through Rent Smart Wales. In Northern Ireland you do not have to join one at all.
If you operate across borders, check each jurisdiction rather than assuming the English rule.
What the suppliers say about client money
- PayProp
- The most specific. States it holds all processed funds directly in CMP-recognised NatWest client accounts, in its words providing Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection, plus separate professional indemnity insurance, and a date-stamped uneditable log of every user action including editing bank details and paying out funds.
- Reapit
- Advanced auditing and transparent client accounting built in to track and protect client monies, with daily automated account reconciliation.
- Street.co.uk
- Client accounting included in Street Lettings with no bolt-ons and no extra cost, bulk receipting and reconciliation in one action, and a full audit trail maintained.
- Dezrez
- Reconciliation with direct bank integration, bulk payments to landlords and contractors, and tools stated to protect client money.
- Goodlord
- Collects rent, deposits and move-in monies with the agent's oversight, and displays a Client Money Certificate on its own site.
- Arthur Online, Acquaint CRM and Apex27
- All three describe client or tenant accounting as a module or feature. None of the pages we read describes a client account banking arrangement or a scheme relationship.
Every entry above records what appears on the supplier's own pages, read on 15 August 2026. None of it is a verification that a product satisfies any scheme's audit requirements. The scheme membership, the FCA-authorised client account and the certificate are all obligations on your agency.
Five questions to ask before you sign
- Can the system produce a client account reconciliation, at a date, that an accountant reviewing our scheme membership would accept without rework?
- Who can edit a landlord's bank details, is that action logged, and can the log be altered?
- Can we separate client money from office money in the system, and does a report exist that proves the split at any past date?
- If we hold money for multiple entities, does the system keep separate client ledgers per entity?
- On the day we leave, what format does the client ledger history come out in, and how long is it retained?