Regulation for Estate Agents on the Horizon

25th April 2018

Terry Holmes, Director, Beresfords:

"At Beresfords we welcome the latest proposals to professionalise and regulate the estate agency sector as outlined by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government."

"Buying a property is one of the biggest decisions a homeowner will make - for 99% of us, our property is our most valuable asset. It seems bizarre that qualifications and minimum standards are required to carry out the legal work to owning a property, or to give mortgage advice, but anyone could set-up shop and try and sell your home so it''s essential consumers are looked after."

"At Beresfords we have always supported our professional body, NAEA Propertymark, where minimum standards are required. However, it's a voluntary decision for estate agents to sign-up, and there are many agents who, for whatever reasons, choose not to do so.

"NAEA Propertymark offers qualifications from new entrant level upwards, and these would make an ideal benchmark to standardise practise in estate agents across the UK."

"However, it would be counter-productive if new measures were introduced too quickly and the industry lost a lot of people who had been in estate agency for some while but didn't have a qualification so it would make sense to have a transition period to embrace those experienced agents who have can demonstrate their knowledge of the sector over a period of time."

"At Beresfords all new starters, regardless of their experience, receive training on relevant legislation, professional codes of conduct and working practices together with ongoing refresher training. We use some of the most respected external trainers in the business as well as internal trainers to meet our needs."