Despite collecting over a billion pounds of service charges each year from leaseholders for the upkeep of their buildings, the leasehold management sector is currently unregulated so anyone can set up as a managing agent and start trading. This has led to inconsistencies in service levels and has dented consumer confidence in managing agents.
Kay & Co is fully compliant with The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Service Charge Management Code. Furthermore we are members of The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and are proud to holders of their ARMA-Q accreditation, the new regulatory regime for residential leasehold managing agents.
Leaseholders, who use ARMA-Q accredited agents to manage their property, will be guaranteed a number of safeguards including:
- Higher professional standards and levels of customer care.
- A transparent and open service.
- Access to an independent regulatory panel.
- Regular audits of procedures and client files by ARMA
To achieve the accreditation, managing agents must demonstrate that they comply with more than 160 rigorous industry standards. It’s the first time such measures have been introduced for managing agents in England and Wales, where there are over two million leasehold properties.
