First off, hello and welcome to this new series – appearing in Estate Agent Today’s Breaking News section each month –...
Archive
10 December 2020
From: Breaking News

It’s that time of year again. Black Friday has been and gone and the run-up to Christmas is well and truly...
02 December 2020
From: Features

HM Revenue and Customs and the Advertising Standards Authority are working together to cut out misleading marketing by promoters of stamp...
30 November 2020
From: Breaking News

Back in September, Westminster Council launched a new strategy to help 'protect tenants' and 'ensure they live in good-quality and well-managed...
28 November 2020
From: Features

An unidentified estate agency has been threatened with prosecution by a local council after opening its office to the public during...
12 November 2020
From: Breaking News

Housing Minister Christopher Pincher announced that the introduction of the Renters' Reform Bill will be delayed for an indefinite period due...
31 October 2020
From: Features

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has encouraged people to complain if they are unhappy about working conditions and thousands of complaints...
26 September 2020
From: Features

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that all retail staff will be obliged to wear masks when working - and it's now...
22 September 2020
From: Breaking News

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been criticised for its lack of enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) legislation so far in...
18 September 2020
From: Breaking News

NAEA Propertymark has thrown its weight behind a Competitions and Markets Authority investigation into whether consumer protection law has been broken...
07 September 2020
From: Breaking News

The Competition and Markets Authority is today opening enforcement cases focusing on the sale of leasehold homes by four leading housebuilders. They...
04 September 2020
From: Breaking News

There’s a record number of property industry companies, including agencies, in financial distress according to the latest Red Flag alert monitor. The...
27 July 2020
From: Breaking News

Arguments over the alleged gaming of reviews by and for some estate agencies have waged ferociously in recent years, and now...
02 June 2020
From: Breaking News

The government has at last issued extensive advice on home moving and the activities of estate agents during the continuing Coronavirus crisis. This...
27 March 2020
From: Breaking News

There is no doubt that the BBC News article in early February caused something of a stir within the Deposit Free...
12 March 2020
From: Sponsored Content

There’s been a broad welcome from agents and other industry organisations for the latest report from the Competition and Markets Authority...
02 March 2020
From: Breaking News

Future complaints about property raffles by individual home owners seeking to avoid estate agency fees will in future be handled by...
28 February 2020
From: Breaking News

There’s something of a conspiracy of silence over the problem of short lets. That is a stark claim but many siren voices...
22 February 2020
From: Features

It’s been clear for a while that the additional regulation landlords and agents are facing has helped professionalise the private rental...
30 November 2019
From: Features

The National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents have issued their manifesto for next month’s General...
05 November 2019
From: Breaking News

Since I started working with Zero Deposit for me the market leader in deposit replacement alternatives, the most common question I am...
19 October 2019
From: Features

London-focussed business-to-business deal data service LonRes has acquired an anti-money laundering compliance consultancy specialising in residential and commercial property. Financial Crime Services,...
01 October 2019
From: Breaking News

A leading figure in the PropTech sector says clarity and speed are vital to ensure agencies can adequately prepare for a...
22 July 2019
From: Breaking News

The industry press has given substantial space to recommendations from the Regulation of Property Agents, the government’s working party which has...
20 July 2019
From: Features

You may be right in thinking that Brexit has dominated the thinking of the government in the last three years. However,...
22 June 2019
From: Features

The Competition and Markets Authority has formally launched an investigation into the sale of leasehold properties - including possible mis-selling. This follows...
11 June 2019
From: Breaking News

It may well seem that the government is pre-occupied with one issue, and one issue alone. While preparations for Brexit take up a...
01 June 2019
From: Features

It’s clear that some agents are not fans of Trading Standards officers, described in the comments sections of the trade press...
27 April 2019
From: Features

Estate Agent Today has been given details of the new National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agents Team - the body...
23 April 2019
From: Breaking News

The jury appears to be out on whether the new enforcement body for estate and lettings agents will be resourced sufficiently...
18 April 2019
From: Breaking News

A new team has been set up to police all estate and letting agency legislation including the upcoming tenants' fees ban. The...
17 April 2019
From: Breaking News

I don’t believe it’s unfair to state that our government, indeed, the entire political establishment is in some turmoil at the...
16 March 2019
From: Features

It’s time, surely, for government to crackdown not just on rogue agents and landlords but on rogue councils that confuse the...
09 March 2019
From: Features

A slew of allegations have been made against agents and sometimes even by agents, over alleged misdemeanours over property listings as...
08 March 2019
From: Breaking News

A London council is considering a borough-wide ban on agents’ boards of all kinds. Labour-controlled Camden already has a ban for a...
15 February 2019
From: Breaking News

When it comes to letting a property, it is important that landlords and renters have faith in their agent. The more...
26 January 2019
From: Features

Alongside hundreds of agents and suppliers, I recently attended the Guild of Property Professionals’ annual conference. As ever, it was a great...
26 January 2019
From: Features

The government policies and enforcement plans for anti-money laundering measures are set to take centre stage at next month’s annual conference...
22 January 2019
From: Breaking News

You will perhaps have seen recently that the Government has decided to boost funding to the regulator, the National Trading Standards...
29 September 2018
From: Features

In a surprise weekend announcement the government has almost doubled funding for the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team - the...
01 September 2018
From: Breaking News

In 2014 The Properties Misdescriptions Act was repealed and replaced with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, otherwise known as...
29 August 2018
From: Sponsored Content

In our previous blog, we looked at the definitions outlined by the CPRs. In our next blog we’ll look at the...
21 August 2018
From: Sponsored Content

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has this morning issued a warning to agents that they must be signed up to...
19 July 2018
From: Breaking News

There’s a new twist in the row between a Cornish agent and the Advertising Standards Authority. The row revolves around a tweet...
16 July 2018
From: Breaking News

The director of an estate agency has been ordered to pay more that £1,800 for failing to dispose of waste properly. Adebayo...
03 July 2018
From: Breaking News

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Ben Robinson, Director of Agency Services at Landmark What is Landmark...
03 May 2018
From: 60 Second Interview

More details have emerged of the government’s proposals to enhance estate agency regulation, regulate referral fees, offer guides for buyers and...
09 April 2018
From: Breaking News

The government has announced further measures which will, in its words, “professionalise” house buying and the estate agency business. In yet another Sunday...
08 April 2018
From: Breaking News

An estate agent and former chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the government’s latest drive to build new...
06 March 2018
From: Breaking News

This week I carry out a question and answer session with one of the most high-profile names in property. Isobel Thomson has...
10 February 2018
From: Features

The Home Office has announced a new division to tackle fraud issues, including money laundering. A new national economic crime centre within...
04 January 2018
From: Breaking News

A large part of the DCLG’s Call for Evidence on the home buying and selling process focuses on the role of...
18 November 2017
From: Features

The spread and sophistication of financial crime in the UK in recent years has been unprecedented. Figures from UK Finance show that...
04 November 2017
From: Features

The Competition and Markets Authority has set out precisely what agents and other companies can and cannot do in the event...
10 October 2017
From: Breaking News

That the private rental sector has become the government’s whipping boy for housing problems - landlords in particular, letting agents almost...
14 July 2017
From: Features

A cluster of conveyancing and legal experts, known as the Legal Sector Group, has published a raft of proposals on leasehold...
21 June 2017
From: Breaking News

The National Association of Estate Agents has thrown its weight behind a government move to create a register of overseas companies...
07 April 2017
From: Breaking News

The Competitions and Markets Authority has released more details of its ‘calling-in’ of the acquisition of Expert Agent by Zoopla Property...
03 April 2017
From: Breaking News

The Competitions and Markets Authority is reviewing the acquisition of Expert Agent by ZPG, parent company of Zoopla and PrimeLocation. A statement...
31 March 2017
From: Breaking News

The Competition and Markets Authority has now fined agents over £1m in two landmark cases concerning price-fixing - and it says...
03 March 2017
From: Breaking News

The government has published details of the Criminal Finances Bill with prime central London property used for purposes of money laundering...
20 October 2016
From: Breaking News

A London council is seeking to impose an average £8,000 fee for securing planning consent on a below-ground extension - already...
05 September 2016
From: Breaking News

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team is warning agents not to engage in portal juggling - an activity it describes...
12 August 2016
From: Breaking News

The new mayor of London Sadiq Khan has pledged to do all in his power to help make London “better” after...
12 May 2016
From: Features

There is a substantial amount of misunderstanding over this question, which needs clarifying. In general terms, the Money Laundering Regulations require...
01 April 2016
From: Features

Money laundering compliance is the hot topic at the moment, with various organisations making statements about the need to change and...
04 March 2016
From: Features

Four well-known figures in the worlds of compliance and agency training have joined forces to launch the Property Professionals Support Centre. PPSC...
11 January 2016
From: Breaking News

Who are you? I’m the Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme. I previously worked for Legal & General PLC dealing...
23 December 2015
From: 60 Second Interview

A report from anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International says British estate agents reported only 179 suspicions of money laundering in a...
24 November 2015
From: Breaking News

The Competitions and Markets Authority - which earlier this year fined an estate agency trade group £735,000 - has set out...
19 November 2015
From: Breaking News

The consumer is King and to protect sellers and buyers' best interests estate and letting agents have to operate in the...
09 October 2015
From: Features

It’s been nearly a year since all lettings and property management agents have been legally required to join a redress scheme...
25 September 2015
From: Features

A new ‘enforcement toolkit’ has been designed to assist local authority trading standards teams beef up its policing of local estate...
08 September 2015
From: Breaking News

A new trading standards Guidance on Property Sales has been launched aimed at improving estate agency service to customers. The Powys-based National...
02 September 2015
From: Breaking News

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has prepared a draft of revised guidelines on property sales, to replace the old...