Blog Post
Time to Regulate?
I was going to write a post about something completely different this week, however the last two Sundays in a row including Easter Sunday the government have announced new measures to tackle rogue Estate and Letting Agents by way of nationally recognised qualifications.
First came the announcement on Easter Sunday regarding letting agents following consultations on the industry regulation and client money protection in England, the result was to suggest a new code of practice for the industry sector and a nationally recognised qualification. This comes after almost 20 years of campaigning by ARLA to have the industry regulated, coincidentally I have been in the industry for 20 years now and have been one of the voices asking for the industry sector to be regulated properly and have to adhere to a strict and policed code of conduct with tough sanctions for any breaches, the government have said that there will be tough sanctions for any breaches which would lead to rogue agents being closed down and even criminal prosecutions brought. I have placed a link below to the governments website and their press release on the matter;
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-crackdown-on-rogue-agents-to-protect-renters-and-leasehold-homeowners
Then more recently on Sunday 8th April I awoke to a statement from the current Housing Secretary Sajid Javid aimed at estate agents also be professionally qualified, further points on raising standards in the estate agency sector were; Voluntary use of reservation agreements to prevent sales falling through and stop gazumping, local authorities ensuring searches are returned within a 10 day period, managing agents and freeholders to provide up to date information for a set fee ensuring buyers and sellers are no longer at their mercy and strengthening the national trading standards agency team to ensure more enforcement activity and include banning agents from trading or individuals from holding directorship. The link to the governments website and their press release on the matter is below;
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-professionalise-the-estate-agent-market
As mentioned at the start of the blog I have long been an advocate of both the sales and lettings industry being fully regulated and for sales and lettings agents to hold a recognised professional qualification as this should in theory bring an end to rogue agencies and individuals that have unfortunately over the years ensured that Estate and Letting agents continue to have a poor reputation.
At Peter Anthony we strive to ensure we are not one of these agents with a poor reputation and provide the best customer services to our clients across the board, just read our reviews on our All Agents page or the testimonials on our Peter Anthony website.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss the above and any questions you may have regarding selling, buying or renting a property on 0161 480 1400.
First came the announcement on Easter Sunday regarding letting agents following consultations on the industry regulation and client money protection in England, the result was to suggest a new code of practice for the industry sector and a nationally recognised qualification. This comes after almost 20 years of campaigning by ARLA to have the industry regulated, coincidentally I have been in the industry for 20 years now and have been one of the voices asking for the industry sector to be regulated properly and have to adhere to a strict and policed code of conduct with tough sanctions for any breaches, the government have said that there will be tough sanctions for any breaches which would lead to rogue agents being closed down and even criminal prosecutions brought. I have placed a link below to the governments website and their press release on the matter;
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-crackdown-on-rogue-agents-to-protect-renters-and-leasehold-homeowners
Then more recently on Sunday 8th April I awoke to a statement from the current Housing Secretary Sajid Javid aimed at estate agents also be professionally qualified, further points on raising standards in the estate agency sector were; Voluntary use of reservation agreements to prevent sales falling through and stop gazumping, local authorities ensuring searches are returned within a 10 day period, managing agents and freeholders to provide up to date information for a set fee ensuring buyers and sellers are no longer at their mercy and strengthening the national trading standards agency team to ensure more enforcement activity and include banning agents from trading or individuals from holding directorship. The link to the governments website and their press release on the matter is below;
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-professionalise-the-estate-agent-market
As mentioned at the start of the blog I have long been an advocate of both the sales and lettings industry being fully regulated and for sales and lettings agents to hold a recognised professional qualification as this should in theory bring an end to rogue agencies and individuals that have unfortunately over the years ensured that Estate and Letting agents continue to have a poor reputation.
At Peter Anthony we strive to ensure we are not one of these agents with a poor reputation and provide the best customer services to our clients across the board, just read our reviews on our All Agents page or the testimonials on our Peter Anthony website.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss the above and any questions you may have regarding selling, buying or renting a property on 0161 480 1400.
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