The House of Lords Industry and Regulator’s Committee’s call to regulate property agents has been welcomed after a letter was sent to MP Michael Gove warning that tenants, leaseholders, and others are being affected by the UK Government’s ‘stalling’ over this issue.
A letter was sent to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, which was published on 22 March.
On March 5, Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, spoke on ‘the desire for a code of practice, minimum qualifications, and licensing for estate agents across the UK and letting and managing agents in England’.
This is a central campaign and policy area for the professional body, in which it also played a part in the Regulation of Property Agents Working Group that originally published its first report in 2019.
Through recent evidence, the Committee discovered that standards could be increased in the sector by a new regulator responsible for enforcement against agents responsible for bad practice.
Propertymark said, after scanning evidence presented by the committee, that:
“It is vital that mandatory qualifications, a statutory code of practice and regulatory oversight exists through a new regulator to ensure compliance with new and impending legislation. The UK Government must not miss the opportunity to act on the recommendations of the Regulation of Property Agents Working Group and build in greater protections for consumers. Recent and proposed pieces of legislation for leasehold, renting and building safety are complex and need to be accompanied by overarching regulation that supports and promotes competent and professional property agents.”
The committee also claim that they found that existing forms of enforcement, redress are limited in scope and that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill must be supported by stronger regulation, as the legislation in its current form does not deal with the problems leaseholders experience.
Therefore, the committee is calling for legislation to establish a new regulator, alongside mandatory qualifications for property agents, and codes of practice managed by the new regulator.
It is also urging the UK Government to establish a Memorandum of Understanding to be agreed between the new regulator, National Trading Standards, and the redress scheme to create a more joined-up approach, ask the UK Government to legislate for statutory consumer representation and also appoint a single ombudsman for property agents.
Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns, said:
“Providing oral evidence to the House of Lords’ Industry and Regulators Committee’s inquiry regarding the Regulation of Property Agents, Propertymark responds to the Chair’s letter to Michael Gove on the Committee’s output to their inquiry.
“Propertymark welcomes the Committee’s findings and its recommendations for greater regulation of property agents. The inquiry highlights the importance of regulation and the need to improve consumer protections. It has also clarified the vital role that professional bodies currently play in providing qualifications and ensuring compliance with rules and regulations as well as taking action to drive up standards across the property sector.”
