Government announces plans for new estate agency regulations
The blueprints for new estate agency regulations have been announced after recommendations from the Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) were released in a report.
The plans were made public by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government today (18th July), nine months after Housing Minister Heather Wheeler MP set up ROPA in October 2018.
The group has proposed a new compulsory framework which includes a new licencing regime for agents, a new regulator to police a code of practice for the industry and a requirement that both sales and letting agents must have a minimum qualification in order to work.
The working group has recommended in their report that:
1) All agencies operating a residential property business should be licensed and licensing should include a fit and proper person test for company directors.
2) All customer-facing staff employed within residential agency business should be licensed and adhere to a Code of Practice.
3) All customer-facing staff employed within residential agency business should hold a qualification at Level 3 or above.
4) All company directors and management agents should be qualified to a minimum of Level 4.
5) A new regulator to be appointed to oversee compliance with an overarching Code of Practice.
For more information, visit the Government’s official website here.
