I read with interest the article concerning the failure of Youngs Owen letting agency in Western Road, Hove (The Argus, April 15).

Landlords should be warned that letting agents are not regulated and some have no qualifications and do not hold clients' money in separate accounts.

When a letting agent's business collapses, it is invariably the landlord who has to forgo rent and pay back the deposit the agent is holding for the tenant.

Landlords should be aware that letting agents who offer services at low rates of commission have more likelihood of failing than those who charge a sensible rate and have proper insurance protection.

No sensible landlord should use a letting agent that is not a member of a recognised professional association that has in place a bonding scheme covering all eventualities if the business fails.

Landlords should also insist on holding any deposit paid by the tenant and not leave it in the hands of the letting agent unless, of course, the agent has a first-class bonding scheme.

Landlords who have already lost money through the failure of an agent will find the police will do everything possible to find reasons why there is no fraud or that there is insufficient evidence to substantiate fraud.

To the landlords who have lost money there is, no doubt, one simple answer: The letting agent has misused it.

The Southern Private Landlords' Association exists to assist landlords in the operation of their lettings.

For information, please call 01273 600847.

-Mike Stimpson, Chairman, Southern Private Landlords' Association, Brighton