There is to be an official review later this year as to how letting agents are complying with the legal requirement for transparency.

It is not clear how far-ranging the review will be.

Agents are required, among other things, to be transparent about their fees, membership of redress schemes, and whether they offer client money protection.

The review was revealed in the House of Lords, where moves to make it mandatory for all letting agents to protect client money have been resisted by the Government.

Labour peer Baroness Hayter last week withdrew her amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill that would make Client Money Protection mandatory – but vowed to reintroduce it at a later stage.

Hayter’s amendment would require every letting agent to protect money they hold, whether it is advance rent, rent received or other funds.

However, government whip Viscount Younger opposed the move.

He expressed concern that “requiring lettings agents to belong to a client money protection scheme will introduce burdens and costs into the sector that could have implications on rent levels.

“Instead, this Government’s approach is to encourage lettings agents to adopt client money protection without the need for regulations.”

He said that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires lettings agents to be transparent about whether they offer client money protection.

However, he said a review of the transparency arrangements will take place this year.

He also said that two-thirds of letting agents already offer client money protection.

Younger said: “To introduce mandatory client money protection would be a step too far and overburden a market that is perfectly capable of self-regulation.”