Consumers, Estate Agent and Redress Bill receives Royal Assent

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has welcomed the news that the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill has now received Royal Assent. However, the Association points out that there are still some key issues which need to be addressed.

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive at the NAEA, comments: “This is clearly a positive step for the industry. We believe redress for consumers is extremely important, to the extent that we already insist all our Principal, Partner and Director members belong to an independent redress scheme, as provided by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA).

“While the latest legislation is certainly welcome, moving forward there are a few key issues still to be dealt with. As we have said before redress on its own is not enough. Initiatives need to be put in place to prevent bad practice from happening in the first instance. By requiring all agents to belong to an approved industry body with competency standards the government could very easily address this issue. The industry does in fact already have the structure in place for this to be achieved quickly and in a straightforward manner and we urge the government to consider this.

“In addition, the issue of redress for residential lettings still needs to be addressed. The lettings market is extremely active in the UK, yet no provision has been made to provide compensation for consumers who deal with lettings agents in the latest Bill. Fortunately, this is something the government has now recognised and we eagerly await further feedback on the matter.”