RICS’ director of external affairs, Gillian Charlesworth, said: “RICS broadly supports the initiative as long as it focuses on better and not more regulation. We urge the Government to embed Better Regulation principles in its plans, emphasising a goal-based, intelligent approach to regulation of financial services in order to ensure protection of the vulnerable individual and innovation amongst the capable, responsible members of the sector.
”RICS is again disappointed there are no specific provisions in the Queen's Speech covering the private rented sector, given that the Government has committed to adopting proposals by Professor Julie Rugg and that large parts of industry support the plan and are preparing to assist Government in implementing it . Without teeth provided by legislation this initiative will have limited impact and be confined to agents and landlords who are already protecting consumers.
“The introduction of standards and supervision in this sector is long overdue and RICS believes that now is the time to introduce measures, when many more people have to rely on private renting, both as individual landlords and tenants. Currently only 50% of letting agents belong to a voluntary regulatory scheme and many landlords do not use an agent, meaning less than half of all rental transactions are regulated, with the attendant risks to tenants' deposits and landlord rents. Industry estimates are that up to £12bn - much of it unprotected - is in the hands of landlords and agents in this sector.”
