New housing minister is linked with change to Estate Agents Act

Vince Cable’s Business, Innovation and Skills department (BIS) yesterday announced that it will amend the Estate Agents Act.

It is doing so as part of the Red Tape Challenge, the initiative that was headed up by Mark Prisk, who has now moved from BIS to become the new housing minister.

BIS said that businesses hosting private property sales advertisements, without getting involved in the sales process, will no longer be subject to various regulations aimed at estate agents.

The announcement said that, together with the OFT’s simultaneous move to repeal the Property Misdescriptions Act, ‘will ensure that these businesses do not face disproportionate costs as a result of regulations intended for traditional estate agents.”

Consumer affairs minister Jo Swinson said: “A flourishing housing market is hugely important to the economy, and one of the ways to boost it is to cut through bureaucracy and allow people to buy and sell more easily. This is why we are proposing to change the rules so that businesses that facilitate private property sales aren’t caught out by the regulations for estate agents.

“These intermediaries help buyers and sellers contact each other at a low cost, but don’t engage in other estate agent activities, so it’s unfair to expect them to go out and check all the property details of all the sellers on their websites.

“Reducing the regulations for these businesses will open up the market and increase choices for consumers looking to save costs when buying or selling a property.

“Selling privately can be a useful and cost-efficient method, but consumers should always make sure they are well informed about the different levels of protection offered by these businesses compared to traditional estate agents.”

The BIS statement went on: “Whilst most people prefer to use estate agents to sell their house, some opt to do the work themselves and sell privately in order to save on estate agent fees.

“In recent years, web-based intermediaries and portals have started hosting private property sales advertisements, but stop short of getting involved in the sales process.

“These types of intermediaries have low costs, and do not engage in estate agents activities, such as providing advice. Currently, however, they may still be defined as estate agents under the EAA.”

The Government will bring forward an amendment to the Act as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows.