Review calls for letting agents shake-up
Sunday 15 June 2008
Latest in Business News
On Facebook
Property agents in the rental sector must be better regulated, a major housing report launched tomorrow will conclude.
The Carsberg Review of Residential Property is expected to argue that the 1979 Estate Agents Act needs to be updated so that estate and letting agents require an entry-level qualification.
It is also likely to conclude that letting agents should be included in the definition of estate agency and regulated to the same standards. This would ensure that all letting agents become members of a trade body; only about 50 per cent are at present.
The report, led by the former director-general of the Office of Fair Trading Sir Bryan Carsberg, is expected to argue that the existing voluntary arrangements among agents confuse consumers. A summary of respon-ses given to the review panel concluded that customers do not understand the property buying process and that they believe estate and letting agents are licensed.
There will be criticisms that estate agents make up rival offers to interested buyers and inaccurate property descriptions.
Ian Fletcher, director for residential property at the British Property Federation, said: "The current regulatory regime is a patchwork quilt which leaves landlords and tenants confused and unprotected.
"Letting agents collect over £12bn in rent each year, so we need to see money-protection schemes for all agents."
The review was commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Association of Estate Agents.
Sir Bryan published his initial consultation paper in September last year and responses were invited by January this year. More than 100 responses were received.
- 1 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 2 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 3 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 4 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 5 Amanda Knox set to break her silence – and pocket a fortune from book deal
- 6 Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 1 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 2 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 3 Kate Allen: It's time for America to put an end to this shameful scandal
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 6 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 8 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 9 Rhodri Marsden: What we like and what we don't like are often closer than you'd think
- 10 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
No secularism please, we're British
Working as a jail torturer ruined my life
New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro




Comments