A third redress scheme for estate agents has been given the go-ahead.

The Powys Council-based National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team – which took over from the OFT –  has approved the Property Redress Scheme, one of three Government-approved dispute resolution schemes for letting agents and landlords, to operate a compulsory nationwide redress scheme for sales agents with immediate effect.

The announcement – in a widely distributed press release –  means that the Property Redress Scheme, part of Hamilton Fraser, a firm of insurance brokers, will now offer a redress service covering both sales and lettings in the same way that the Property Ombudsman and Ombudsman Services do.

Hamilton Fraser already runs Mydeposits, an insurance-backed tenancy deposit protection scheme, in partnership with the National Landlords Association.

Sean Hooker, head of redress at the Property Redress Scheme, said: “This is a major opportunity to offer an across-the-board service to scheme members and prospective members who offer both sales and lettings services, and to attract new and existing estate agents to an alternative scheme.”