We are directors of a 24-flat RMC and are interviewing managing agents. One firm keeps talking about accreditations and another says qualifications do not matter much in practice. What is actually required by law, what is voluntary, and how much weight should we give any of it?
There is no single statutory licence or mandatory qualification for residential managing agents in England. Membership of a government-approved redress scheme is a legal requirement for property agents, and agents that hold client money are required to belong to an approved client money protection scheme. Everything else is voluntary: membership of The Property Institute, formed from the merger of ARMA and the IRPM, individual TPI qualifications, and RICS membership where the manager has a surveying background. Directors should therefore verify the legally required memberships and the firm's professional indemnity cover, then weigh voluntary credentials alongside relevant experience of buildings like theirs, the workload of the named property manager, and references from comparable developments.
Residential leasehold management is not a licensed profession in England. There is no qualification a person must hold before calling themselves a managing agent, and no register of approved individuals. What does exist is a small number of legal requirements aimed at consumer protection, plus a voluntary professional framework.
Redress scheme membership. Property agents carrying out property management work in England are required to belong to a government-approved redress scheme. In practice this means the Property Redress Scheme or The Property Ombudsman. Membership gives leaseholders and clients a route to an independent decision once the agent's own complaints procedure has been exhausted. Ask for the scheme name and the membership number, and check it against the scheme's own register rather than a logo on a website.
Client money protection. Property agents in England that hold client money are required to belong to an approved client money protection scheme, and to display and provide evidence of that membership. Whether it applies to a particular arrangement depends on whether the agent holds client money at all. Where service-charge banking is established in the name of the RTM company, RMC or freeholder rather than held by the agent, the picture is different, so ask specifically how your money will be held before assessing which protections apply.
Company and insurance basics. Not qualifications, but worth verifying: the legal entity you would contract with, its Companies House record, and its professional indemnity insurance.
The Property Institute (TPI) is the professional body for residential leasehold management, formed from the merger of ARMA and the IRPM. Firms may hold TPI membership; individuals may hold TPI qualifications at Associate, Member or Fellow level. Older guidance still refers to ARMA and IRPM separately.
RICS membership is held by some managing agents, particularly those with a surveying background, and brings its own professional standards and complaints route.
Other relevant qualifications include IOSH or NEBOSH health and safety certificates, AAT or similar accounting qualifications for the service-charge accounting side, and building-safety specific training where a firm manages higher-risk buildings.
None of these is compulsory. All of them are evidence of investment in training.
Credentials tell you a firm takes competence seriously. They do not tell you whether the person managing your building answers the phone, understands your lease, or has handled a building like yours before.
Weigh them alongside:
A well-qualified firm with no experience of your building type, or a qualified manager stretched across too many developments, is not a safe appointment. Equally, an experienced manager with no professional accreditation and no evidence of continuing training is a risk of a different kind.
Ask for each of the following in writing before appointment: redress scheme and membership number; client money protection arrangements, if applicable; professional indemnity certificate showing the limit of indemnity and expiry; professional body membership at firm and individual level; and the complaints procedure. A firm that treats these as awkward requests has answered a different question for you.
East Valley Block Management Ltd is a member of the Property Redress Scheme, membership number PRS054254, and carries GBP 1 million of professional indemnity cover. We publish our complaints procedure, including how to escalate to the redress scheme.
Treat credentials as a filter rather than a decision. Confirm the legally required memberships and the indemnity cover, discount any claim you cannot verify on a public register, and then spend your remaining assessment time on experience, staffing and references.
Treating an accreditation logo as verification
Logos are easy to display. Membership numbers can be checked on the scheme's own register.
Assuming managing agents are licensed
There is no statutory licensing regime for residential managing agents in England.
Referring to ARMA and IRPM as separate current bodies
They merged to form The Property Institute; older guidance is out of date.
Ignoring professional indemnity cover
It is what stands behind a professional error, and the appropriate level depends on the size and complexity of the development.
Choosing on credentials alone
A qualified firm with no comparable experience, or an overloaded manager, is still a poor appointment.
Most questions on this topic are management questions rather than legal ones, and the two are worth separating. A managing agent can tell you how something works day to day and what it will cost. A solicitor tells you what your rights are and how a Tribunal is likely to view them.
East Valley Properties provides management expertise, not legal advice. Where a matter turns on the wording of your lease or on formal proceedings, we will say so and work alongside your solicitor.
The official material behind this guide. We summarise it in plain English rather than reproducing it.
Approved client money protection schemes and the requirements on agents holding client money.
Government-approved redress schemes and the requirement to belong to one.
Professional body for residential leasehold management, formed from ARMA and the IRPM.
Professional body whose members include some residential managing agents.
Free government-funded guidance for leaseholders and directors.
We manage small and medium residential blocks across Greater London and Essex from our Romford office. Fixed fees, no insurance commissions, and directors deal with us directly.
Answered by Romain Maillard - Director, East Valley Properties
Affiliate member of The Property Institute
Romain manages residential blocks and estates for RTM companies, residents' management companies, share of freehold developments and freeholders across East London and Essex.
Published · Updated
Based on the legislation and official guidance cited on this page.
General property management information, not legal or professional advice. Where a decision depends on an individual lease, building, dispute or technical assessment, obtain specialist advice. See our editorial standards.
This answer has been anonymised. Personal details, addresses and company names have been removed. Guidance is general and does not replace advice from a solicitor or surveyor on your specific block. East Valley Properties is a managing agent, not a firm of solicitors or legal advisers.
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