John Heron, chair of IMLA, said it was encouraging that the unique characteristics of the UK housing market were recognised.
Heron however added: “It should be recognised that there is no version of the directive that excludes buy-to-let in entirety.
“Even the ECON approved draft would require the UK authorities to exempt buy-to-let and they will only be minded to do so if they are convinced that there is no material detriment being caused to consumers in the way buy-to-let products are advised on and sold.
“It is clear that the Financial Services Authority has concerns in this area and the industry needs to work hard to ensure that areas that have troubled the regulator such as "gaming" and fraud are effectively mitigated by water-tight processes.
“Overall this announcement is good news but it is far from being a "done deal"; this legislation has a series of stages to go through before it is finalised.”
