RLA : RPI : Crackdown on estate agents

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other artilces from the August / September 04 issue

Crackdown on estate agents - August / September 2004

A crackdown on estate agents will include a requirement for them to sign up to independent ombudsman schemes or face being banned.

Under plans announced by Consumer Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, the ombudsmen will provide a Government approved redress system for consumers who receive poor service and will be required to refer rogue agents who commit serious offences to the Office of Fair Trading for further investigation.

Currently only about 40 per cent of estate agents, who can set up in business with no relevant qualifications, are members of the voluntary ombudsman scheme (which is not required to refer rogue agents to the OFT).

The new measures build on recommendations of the OFT in a report earlier this year, and will be put forward for consultation in the autumn in a package of proposals that will include giving the OFT and trading standards stronger enforcement powers and requiring estate agents to keep clear and full written records of all transactions (they are not currently required to do so).

'There have been calls to introduce a system where estate agents have to obtain a licence before they can set up in business. This would cut competition, deterring potentially good estate agents from entering the marketplace. But more importantly, it would not weed out the rogues and would push up prices without offering protection', said Sutcliffe.

'By beefing up enforcement and making it a legal requirement for estate agents to belong to an independent ombudsman-type scheme, we provide protection for consumers and honest estate agents and put the brakes on the rogues'.

The National Association of Estate Agents has welcomed the proposals.

other artilces from the August / September 2004 issue

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