Positive steps forward in the regulation of property agents

Introduction

It is 12 months since the publication of Lord Best’s recommendations on the regulation of property agents. A lot has happened in that time. We have seen a general election, Brexit, Megxit, a global health pandemic, two Housing Ministers, and Liverpool winning the Premier League.

However, one thing that hasn’t happened is the implementation of Lord Best’s recommendations. Indeed, we are still waiting for Government’s official response to Lord Best’s report. With 53 recommendations, there is a lot to consider but if we are to put the consumer at the forefront of property dealings, we can’t continue to wait for Government, our sector needs to take a lead.

One of the recommendations in the Lord Best report included the development of a single, high-level set of principles as a code that would be applicable to all residential property agents, along with the establishment of a new Regulator and mandatory qualifications for practitioners.

In December 2019, RICS and the TPO agreed to work collaboratively with a range of sector bodies to develop an overarching code for residential property agents. This included appointing Baroness Dianne Hayter as the Chair of an independent steering group overseeing the drafting of the new overarching code.

Why now?

Research cited by Lord Best found that trust in property agents remains low. According to a survey conducted by Ipos Mori in 2018 only 30% of respondents agreed with the statement that they trusted ‘estate agents’ to tell the truth: this was less than half of the 62% who trust ‘the average person on the street.
Lord Best also noted that a 2018 report from Which? found that 64% of tenants who had recently moved and used a letting agent had experienced a problem; and a 2016 survey by LEASE and Brady Solicitors found that 66% of leaseholders somewhat or strongly disagreed that the overall service provided by their managing agent was good.

COVID-19 has changed our experience in our homes. The past few months have seen the home in which we live become our workplace, school, leisure space, exercise space, and sanctuary. We have had an intense relationship with our homes and for many it has made us question where we live. Whether this is moving from renting to buying, shared living to living alone, or just wanting to be somewhere the lift works and communal areas are well looked after. And for all of this we need property agents who we can rely on and trust.
As we come out of lockdown property agents are dealing with three months of pent up demand, high expectations, hopes and dreams. If, as predicted we move into a recession, property agents will bear the brunt of worried movers looking for a home during a time of great uncertainty. Knowing you can rely on and trust your property agent will become even more important.

Why RICS?

RICS was a member of the Regulation of Property Agents Working Group convened by Lord Best. As a professional body whose role it is to set and enforce standards across the built environment, we wanted to see the same rigour that other members of the profession are held to extended to property agents.
Our documents lay out the ethical-, conduct- and competence-related standards we expect our members to follow and our enforcement of these standards, protects consumers and businesses by ensuring the utmost level of professionalism. With a commitment to working in the public interest we want to ensure that whether you are renting, buying or living in an agency managed home, members of the public know exactly what they can expect from their property agent and, if their agent falls short of these expectations what can be done.

Next steps

We are now at the stage where we have a draft of the overarching code and are ready to consult across the sector. In the next few weeks we will be sending a link to RICS members setting out how you can provide your feedback. Once we have analysed the results we will share these publicly. It is our intention that we will be able to ‘hand over’ a final version of the overarching code at the end of this year – either to Government or a new regulator.