If you’re a renter, or have ever rented a home, you’ll already know the toe-curling truth about the sector – it’s expensive and involves, at least at the beginning of a lease, an awful lot of money changing hands.

The other thing about renting is that it’s a wholly unregulated industry, which means anyone can set themselves up as a letting agent. This becomes a problem when inexperienced letting agents go bust or disappear overnight taking renters’ (and landlords’) money with them.

Thank goodness then for SAFEagent – a scheme created by agents to help make the lettings industry “safer” for renters. And what better time to remind ourselves of the positive work the scheme is doing than during SAFEagent Awareness Week which was marked today in the House of Commons.

Are you safe? Look out for the SAFEagent kitemark when using a letting agent. SAFEagent Awareness Week was marked at the House of Commons today.

In a nutshell, SAFEagent is an income protection scheme that aims to stamp out the devastating stories of renters being left homeless, cashless and without a legal leg to stand on when their letting agent collapses. The idea is that would-be tenants (and landlords) look out for the SAFEagent kitemark (pictured above) and choose their agent knowing they have income protection in place. This simply means that renters (and landlords) are protected if the letting agent goes bust or tries to rip off its customers.

It’s of course worth remembering that the vast majority of letting agents are reputable, however, the unregulated nature of the industry means risky agents do exist.

Today’s gathering at the Palace of Westminster was a great opportunity to hear from SAFEagent about their success. After launching to the public in September last year, SAFEagent already has close to 2,000 agents signed up and plans to expand even further. It’s backed by some big names including the Association of Residential Letting Agents , the National Approved Letting Scheme, the Law Society and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

So whether you’re a renter or a landlord, the next time you use a letting agent, check they’re a SAFEagent first. It makes sense to be protected.

It’s not unusual to glimpse Oscar winning actor Colin Firth wandering the swanky high street near his Chiswick home in well-heeled west London. But the star of The Kings Speech and Pride and Prejudice had a decidedly more suburban property start in life.

Would Mr Darcy feel at home? Colin Firth's childhood home is for sale

It turns out that Firth, who is married to the Italian film producer and designer Livia Giuggioli and splits his time between London and Rome, grew up in a neat three-storey four bedroom home in suburban Hampshire, which is now on the market for £595,000, according to estate agents Paul Hellard and Company.

Firth was born in Hampshire, but spent the first four years of his life in Nigeria where his parents were working as teachers. The family eventually moved back to Hampshire where Firth went to school close to the Alresford, Hampshire home, which is now for sale.

“Situated in a well established tree-lined road within a short walk of the town centre, schools and amenities, this exquisite family home in which the actor, Colin Firth, evidently grew up now incorporates a great many features including a long rear garden, a newly-built open garage/car-port plus plenty of parking,” says the property details.

We wonder what Firth would make of the place now.

We’d shell out more for a home if it had an extra bedroom, study or bathroom, but it turns out nearly half of us would also pay extra for a property with a good neighbour – £15,321 to be exact.

What's your neighbour worth?

As long working hours and technology force many of us to spend more time out of sight and in front of screens, new research from FindaProperty.com reveals 9.5 million of us, or 19%, say they’d like a better relationship with their neighbours.

It’s not so surprising. One of the things people want most from a home is to feel safe, comfortable and welcome, and this is almost entirely dependent on the people who live close to us.  It’s not just tangible factors like transport links and square footage that contribute to property prices – the strength of the local community can be a powerful selling point for many buyers too.

Despite the fact that just 39% of us would call our neighbour a friend, we clearly value them. Forty per cent of us say we’d pay more for a home – to the tune of 7% of the cost of the property or £15,321 – if we knew the person living next door would be a trustworthy neighbour.  And that’s a lot of extra money for simply making friends across the garden fence or at the front door.