At the Labour Party Conference, Shadow Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook MP said that a future Labour government would look to introduce the recommendations in Lord Best’s report into regulating property agents.
Regulating property agents is a key campaign and policy area for Propertymark and its members which would introduce mandatory requirements for letting agents in England and for sales agents across the UK.
Following the publication of the Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) Working Group report in 2019 the current Conservative Government have continued to say the recommendations are being considered but no formal response to the report has been forthcoming.
The recommendations for regulating property agents include ensuing that everyone in the industry is licensed, adhere to a strict code of practice and hold a qualification.
Many politicians, local Councillors and delegates at the recent party conferences were surprised to learn that currently there is no regulation in place.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “The UK Government and policy makers appreciate the need for qualifications for property managers in the social rented sector.
“It is now positive to hear Labour acknowledge that regulatory oversight and protections should be extended to all tenants and consumers regardless of the housing tenure they live in.
“Estate agents are the only part of the home buying and selling process that isn’t regulated, outside of Scotland and Wales there are no requirements for letting agents to be suitably trained or qualified and with a huge focus on building safety in multi-occupied buildings, alarmingly there are no qualification or ongoing training requirements for managing agents.
“Propertymark will continue to work across party to ensure these important reforms are implemented through legislation.”
