Licensing of agents 'will not happen', says Carsberg

Wednesday 9th June 2010
Sir Bryan Carsberg has called for all estate agents to have to belong to a recognised body before they are allowed to practise.

The author of the 2008 Carsberg Review said, however, that he accepted that the current Government is not going to license the industry.

In his review, Carsberg – the former director general of the Office of Fair Trading – made a number of calls for reform of estate agency.

He said HIPs should be made voluntary and that both estate agents and letting agents should be licensed.

But this week, he said that the whole climate of the new Government is against more regulation. But he added: “Surely a law saying that an agent must be a member of an approved body would be a step in the right direction.”

He said that an approved body would not necessarily be only the RICS or NAEA but could be any organisation that fitted an approved framework.

He said the public were entitled to know which agents were regulated and which were “selling applies off the back of a barrel last week”.

He also admitted to being puzzled that novice agents who belonged to the Ombudsman scheme – as they now have to if they sell houses – were able to show instant credibility by displaying the OFT logo.

He said: “It’s a rather odd development.”

Carsberg is the new president of the E-Homebuying Forum, which wants to spearhead reforms. One of its ideas is to introduce interim contracts, signed after acceptance of an offer, with financial penalties if one of the parties pulls out.