Speaking on behalf of the government as part of her annual speech, the Queen indicated that estate agents should be compelled to join a redress scheme. She said: “Legislation will provide for improved arrangements for consumer advocacy and for the regulation of estate agents.” As part of the set-up, the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress bill will see the merger of Energywatch, Postwatch and the National Consumer Council.
Currently about a third of estate agents are not members of the voluntary Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA), which the bill should change.
The proposals for greater regulation of estate agents comes at a time when the OEA revealed a 9 per cent rise in complaints. These ranged from allegations of over valuing properties, over-charging, listing incorrect property details and fee fixing among local agents. Over half of all complaints were made against non-OEA members.
However, Steven Gould, director of regulation at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), said the redress bill did not go far enough. He said: “ We want prevention as well as cure.”
Tony Catt,a sole broker, said: “They should be trying to introduce standard practices to improve trust.”
