The Government has finally announced the date by which all letting agents in England must have signed up to an approved redress scheme.

Friday’s announcement by housing minister Brandon Lewis confirms October 1 as the deadline.

Agents are warned that there appears to be no grace period, meaning that any not currently signed up will need to move quickly, otherwise they will be breaking the law in a little over three weeks’ time and face a fine of up to £5,000.

Lewis said: “Most tenants and landlords are happy with the service they get from their letting agent, but in the small number of cases where people have complaints these should be addressed quickly and effectively.

“That’s why from October 1, letting agents will need to belong to one of three approved redress schemes. This will mean that anyone who feels they are not being treated fairly will have somewhere to go with their concerns – and could receive compensation.

“I’m pleased to see that already the vast majority of letting agents have signed up – but I would urge those who haven’t done so yet to follow suit.”

The schemes are run by The Property Ombudsman, Ombudsman Services and the Property Redress Scheme.

TPO Christopher Hamer said: “I welcome the announcement from the Government about this requirement for letting agents to register with a redress scheme.

“The lettings sector has been aware for some time that this was coming and we now have certainty about the date of implementation.

“The announcement does not mention anything about a period of grace for completing that registration, so agents operating in England (the obligations do not yet apply to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland) should deal with the matter with all haste.

“TPO has seen an increase in membership applications in recent weeks so it is encouraging to see that many firms have already reacted and are keen to show that they want to follow the standards in the TPO Code of Practice.”