Rental fraud occurs when tenants are tricked into paying an upfront fee to rent a property which in reality does not exist, has already been rented out or has been rented to multiple victims at once. Tenants lose the upfront fee and are not able to rent the property they thought they had secured.

Propertymark logo Misuse

Beware of rogue agents deliberately using logos or claiming to be Propertymark members in order to mislead you into thinking that they operate to the highest industry standards. Always use our Find an Expert search to determine whether or not an agent is Propertymark Protected.

We have addressed over a thousand misleading claims of membership, however not all instances of logo misuse are intended to deliberately mislead consumers. It is sometimes the case that:

• An agent in membership may not have advised us of a change of address or company name.
• They were once Propertymark members but due to an oversight forgot to remove our logo.
• They may have obtained a Propertymark Qualification and believe that entitles them to use the logo.
• They may be in the process of applying to join Propertymark.

In all instances, the agent may be misleading consumers and could potentially be in breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs). We will request that they cease using the logos immediately and if they do not co-operate we will refer the matter to the agent's local Trading Standards Authority. This can result in criminal prosecutions and fines imposed by the courts.

If you believe an agent to be making false claims of membership please email logos@propertymark.co.uk or call us on 01926 417 791.