Donating your residual client account money to LionHeart is a legitimate and safe way to ensure you meet RICS regulations and, at the same time, support LionHeart's work.
RICS guidance says that if a firm holds surplus client money, best practice is to:
- ensure that all efforts are made to trace the clients or owners of the money
- hold the surplus money in a client suspense account
- hold surplus money for at least three years
If, after three years, the client or owner of the money has not been found and no true claimants to the money have come forward, it must be donated to a registered charity. The receiving charity should offer the donating firm an indemnity to enable the firm to recover a donation in the event of a claim.
Having surplus client account money can be quite a burden for firms, but we know that you need to have complete confidence that we can refund the money if reclaimed. We have sufficient safeguards in place to guarantee that we will be able to reimburse you and offer an indemnity for all donations of this nature, irrespective of the amount.
This type of donation is an important part of our fundraising and we are extremely grateful that so many firms choose to support us in this way - knowing they are supporting their fellow professionals at the same time.
If you would like to discuss donating your surplus client account money, please contact our Fundraising Team and someone will get back to you. Alternatively, you can send us a cheque along with this letter.
Thank you for your support. You can find out more about the difference these donations make by taking a look at our latest Impact Report.
