The panel members were Mr Jim Atkins PPNAEA (Honoured) (member panellist acting as the Chairperson for the Tribunal), Ms Jacqueline Stone FNAEA (member panellist) and Mr Noel Hunter OBE (lay panellist).
The presenting Case Officer for Propertymark was Mr Ali Haider. Mr Kemp was in attendance in the hearing.
Allegations
The Tribunal considered the allegations set out in the case summary sent to Mr Kemp.
It was alleged that Mr Kemp had acted in contravention of the requirements of the following Propertymark Conduct and Membership Rules:
- Conduct Rule 1.7: Access to, or availability of, Client Money
- Conduct Rule 1.13: Payments into a Client (Bank) Account
- Conduct Rule 1.14: Payments out of a Client (Bank) Account
- Conduct Rule 1.23: Reconciliation(s) – format and frequency
- Conduct Rule 13: General duty to uphold high standards of ethical and professional behaviour
- Conduct Rule 21: Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Decisions
The Tribunal considered the submissions from the Case Officer and the bundle of evidence and after deliberation came to the following findings:
- Conduct Rule 1.7: Proven
- Conduct Rule 1.13: Admitted
- Conduct Rule 1.14: Admitted
- Conduct Rule 1.23: Admitted
- Conduct Rule 13: Proven
- Conduct Rule 21: Admitted
Sanctions
- Conduct Rule 1.7: £250
- Conduct Rule 1.13: £200
- Conduct Rule 1.14: £200
- Conduct Rule 1.23: £200
- Conduct Rule 13: £200
- Conduct Rule 21: £500
In addition, the costs of this hearing of £457 were imposed against Mr Kemp in favour of Propertymark.
Closing Statement
The Tribunal made the following statement:
'Mr Kemp, we thank you for attending today’s Tribunal. It greatly assists us in our deliberations when the member is present. It is clear from the evidence we have read and heard that your client account has not been correctly operated for a number of years. Your admittance of certain breaches has been taken into account when deciding penalties. However, we take poor management of your client account most seriously and you must take appropriate steps to ensure that the procedures you use are fully compliant.
It is essential that you invest in a recognised letting and accounting programme in order that you can satisfy yourself and Propertymark of adherence to the appropriate accounting regulation. You should discuss the timeframes for this with Propertymark compliance department within the next four weeks and agree and longstop date. In the circumstances, the Tribunal directs that you submit an Accountant’s Report or HealthCheck Report within three months of today’s date demonstrating that you are fully compliant.
Despite being a member of this association for over 30 years you have never submitted or recorded evidence of your CPD hours. Propertymark have strenuously advertised the need for members to record. Once again, we thank you for attending here today, we hope you reflect that you will reflect on the serious ness of the breaches.'
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