In England, estate agents do not need any professional qualifications, licences or prior training. It is an outlier compared to neighbours such as Scotland, where agents have to be on a government register and undergo a “fit and proper person test”, and Wales – where they have to obtain a licence and complete a training course.
The committee first told the Government to fund a new regulator back in 2019, after former housing secretary Sajid Javid committed to regulating estate agents in 2017.
Lord Best said: “We want a comprehensive regulator of property agents. Everyone would feel a lot more secure and safe if agents adhered to a code of conduct with a regulator to back things up if things go wrong.
“A regulator would allow other agents who understand the law and can spot bad practice to inform their peers. It could go beyond compensation and put a firm out of business. It could come down on them like a ton of bricks.”
Currently, the Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme can offer consumers up to £25,000 in compensation if they fall victim to a rogue agent – but redress schemes have told the Telegraph that the full amount is rarely awarded.
Lord Best said this figure needs to at least be doubled, to reflect the harm caused if misinformation provided by an agent leads to a buyer ending up with a faulty, worthless home.
He added: “Regulation has been kicked down the road by the Government for five years. Now we need teeth.”
