Archive

Millions of people use online property portals every year to conduct their property search, whether it be for sales or for...

The property industry is fortunate in including many great people, doing great work across a range of businesses – from traditional agency...

A new Deputy Ombudsman, Lesley Horton, has been appointed by The Property Ombudsman Scheme. She will work alongside Property Ombudsman, Rebecca Marsh,...

It was a quiet first quarter this year for sanctions at The Property Ombudsman (TPO). The redress scheme has revealed that just...

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said it may consider complaints about ‘misleading SSTC listings’ on portals but suggests it may...

The market’s likely to slow this year as the rising cost of living saps some buyer confidence, so agents are understandably...

Industry figures have come out in favour of the long-term programme of new compulsory information to be contained on property listings. From...

The Property Ombudsman should ban agents from using so-called exclusivity agreements on sales, claims a law firm.  Donal Blaney, founder of Griffin...

The most senior Trading Standards officer policing the agency industry says he hopes the public will ask about referral fees in...

An hour-long webinar this week aims to inform agents how to deter property fraud by greater emphasis on compliance, due diligence...

Estate Agent Today understands that the civil servant who has been at the heart of plans to reform the house buying...

EAT readers may have seen a piece in Friday’s property section of The Times about the long-running Simplify saga, which has...

Within weeks the focus of the industry will be on the White Paper to be issued on rental reform before Christmas. Let’s...

Agents are being advised to go above and beyond the legal requirements for anti-money laundering requirements.  Paul Offley, compliance officer for The...

As virtual tours start to get even more popular, and in some cases become the norm for the majority of letting...

Day in, day out, I see how good estate agents really are.  Whether it’s in my day job on Location, Location, Location...

The Property Ombudsman says there’s been a big increase in enquiries to its service in recent months, despite the pandemic.  In its...

Tim Balcon, who lasted just four months in the role of Propertymark chief executive before a mystery resignation, has now become...

No fewer than seven estate and lettings agencies have been expelled from The Property Ombudsman scheme today. Most of them are now...

Movebutler, the digital onboarding platform from online auction specialist iamproperty, says it has some 900 agency branches signed up. These include Martin...

We have more regulations controlling the sector than ever before and we have more ‘regulators’ involved in controlling the sector than...

Agents are being advised on what course of action they should take to safeguard their right to fees should they be dis-instructed...

Our recent state of the property nation survey, which yielded nearly 350 responses from directors to junior negotiators, and many others...

From 4 May 2021, your agency could be blocked from charging late fees, compounding interest on missing rent and taking any...

Automatically changing the main marketing photo on a portal listing can attract up to 40 per cent more traffic, it has...

Being a letting agent today means keeping up to date with the long list of rules and regulations governing how a...

Members of Propertymark are left wondering today what if any future there is for the industry’s trade body. The shock resignation yesterday...

Scams are rife in the quick house buying sector with many companies seeking to take advantage of sellers in desperate situations. That’s...

Countrywide and Foxtons have thrown their weight behind an idea to identify every single UK residential property with a unique number. The...

Start-up letting agents looking to enter the market are finding it increasingly difficult to set up in business as banks point...

The Property Ombudsman says there have been more complaints lodged about agents so far in 2020 than in 2019. This is despite...

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

The industry regulator who comes into force when the Regulation of Property Agents’ recommendations are adopted may take over versions of...

The Property Ombudsman has joined calls for greater disclosure of referral fees by agents.  The issue has become a hot topic in...

The mandatory qualifications expected of agents have not been forgotten and will come into effect in two or three years. That’s the...

A progress report on the Regulation of Property Agents recommendations will be made today by a key RoPA committee member, Mark...

Customers must be told about third party referral fees when buying or selling a home says the National Trading Standards Estate...

The cross-sector group looking at reforming the sales process has agreed a new pledge which it says introduces greater transparency for...

It’s no surprise the mainstream news remains dominated by coronavirus - not so much the actual effect of it right now,...

It’s fair to say that UK estate agents don’t have the best of reputations, often featuring in the lists of the...

An agency that has now closed down has been expelled by The Property Ombudsman for failing to pay an award of...

A PropTech firm that regularly claims London homes are mis-measured in property descriptions has taken a swipe at Purplebricks. Pupil, a spatial...

Earlier this month, it was revealed that property industry bodies have joined a new Code of Practice Steering Group to enact...

The new code of conduct for estate agents has been dismissed as “a waste of time” - and the senior industry...

They are the names we hear about often, pushing for this or seeking clarifications on that. They are the representatives of...

A new estate agency Code of Practice is to be written by a group set up by the Royal Institution of Chartered...

The recommendations to regulate and train the estate agency industry put forward a year ago remain on the Housing Secretary’s desk...

The new Property Ombudsman taking over from October is Rebecca Marsh. She is currently Chief Ombudsman at the Legal Ombudsman and was...

Over the last few years, there have been a number of high-profile court cases in which renters took action against letting...

The industry should continue to prepare for large-scale reforms such as mandatory agency training, the licensing of agents and a new...

There’s been a substantial 20 per cent rise in formal complaints about agents taken up by The Property Ombudsman.  The figures refer...

The Property Ombudsman has announced the expulsion of eight agencies, all for contravening TPO codes of practice. Most of the expulsions were...

The Property Ombudsman is advising agents to use virtual viewings only as a filtering process with offers being agreed only ‘subject...

The Property Ombudsman’s office is still receiving 40 to 50 calls a day from the public, even though most transactions with...

If it’s really the case that estate agents’ offices could be in the category of High Street premises first allowed to...

To many less fortunate on the follicle front, high profile industry supplier Ed Mead has enjoyed an infuriatingly good head of...

Sellers are being warned to make strict checks before responding to advertisements apparently from prospective buyers.  The National Association of Property Buyers...

The Property Ombudsman has announced that it will postpone its annual conference, which was to have been on June 18, until...

There is no doubt that the BBC News article in early February caused something of a stir within the Deposit Free...

Training operator The Able Agent is to include a module on the Modern Method of Auction in its future programme.  Charlotte Jeffry-Campbell,...

The author of dramatic reform proposals for estate agents has given a clear message to ministers - Get On With It!  Lord...

Agents are consistently being told that they need to get on board with change. And one could quite easily make the...

The National Association of Estate Agents has launched its Sales Protocol Toolkit, in a bid to reduce fall-throughs and dramatically improve...

Agents now have only seven days to complete a referral fees survey, announced late on Friday by Trading Standards and The...

The National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team and The Property Ombudsman have launched an urgent survey to assess awareness...

It is possible that agents and their business partners in the conveyancing, mortgage and survey industries could be obliged to have...

Some older estate agents may end up retiring when mandatory examinations and qualifications are introduced as there will be no ‘free...

The annual conference of the National Association of Estate Agents takes place on February 27 - the date when the future...

The Property Ombudsman role is being advertised. The current Ombudsman, Katrine Sporle, is giving up the role in November after five years in...

The Council of Property Search Organisations has named three industry figures as members of its newly-formed compliance committee, set to regulate...

It’s a substantial Tory government for the next five years: what does this mean for estate agents, property and the market? We have...

Mark Bentley, the immediate past president of the National Association of Estate Agents, has become the highest profile agent yet to...

The Property Ombudsman scheme is increasing its fees in January for the first time in six years - and it’s implementing...

First details have emerged of the information vendors may have to provide up-front In future transactions if government house buying reforms...

Three key industry organisations have endorsed a best practice guide for the controversial Modern Method of Auction. The iamsold guide is aimed at...

A company operating the controversial Modern Method of Auction says it is trying to improve the sector’s image after a series...

iamproperty, parent company of IAMsold, says it now works with 2,500 estate agency branches nationwide and has sold over 16,500 properties...

Estate and letting agents are being urged to check that they are signed up with an approved redress scheme that covers...

How many of you are in favour of estate agents being licenced? Would most agents rather not be overseen by a regulator...

Improved communication and increased transparency throughout the buying process can manage vendors’ expectations, improve satisfaction scores and create long-term clients. That’s the...

A trade association of agents selling properties overseas has launched a new feature which it claims will give buyers greater security...

Some of the most radical reforms ever proposed for estate and letting agents are expected to be signed off today by...

The Property Ombudsman will in future refer more estate agents to the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team if...

A new industry regulator is likely to be in place within two years according to the chair of the government’s Regulation...

  Who are you and what does it say on your business card?             Becky Howes, mio Account Manager What...

An online auction service which only came into existence in September last year claims to have 150 partner estate agents already,...

The Property Ombudsman says its members must in future disclose referral fees in a bid to make previously-hidden costs open and...

The founder of franchise giant Belvoir, Mike Goddard, has now stepped down as chair of the company, two years after quitting...

The trade body representing so-called quick sale companies is marking five years in business with two feathers in its cap. Firstly the...

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has released its annual report for 2018, showing a 16% rise in the number of complaints made...

The jury appears to be out on whether the new enforcement body for estate and lettings agents will be resourced sufficiently...

When they first came onto the scene, online-only estate and lettings agents were predicted to swiftly spell the end for traditional...

The founder of the Hunters franchise agency group, Kevin Hollinrake - now a Conservative MP - is the latest parliamentarian to...

The Property Ombudsman has issued new guidance over what it calls “a growing issue” - that is, disputes over dual fees. TPO...

The Property Ombudsman’s annual conference is to hear from the chair of the government’s ‘Property Agents Working Group’ - just days...

Kit Malthouse has been making headlines this week, but – in keeping with his tenure as Housing Minister so far -...

The Property Ombudsman is to give agents new guidance on dual fees, following a surge in complaints from the public. In 2017, TPO received...

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

It’s been revealed that the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team is to deliver new guidelines to agents for referral fees...

The man who is leading the government’s efforts to reform the house buying process will be one of the speaker at...

The Property Ombudsman scheme has taken action against another six rogue agents in recent days, bringing the total number expelled this...

Hard not to mention two major breaking news stories of recent days; one directly affecting the property market and one which...

Peter Knight, co-founder and public face of Agents Giving, is stepping down as the charity’s chairman. He is to be succeeded by...

An estate agency trading under two different names has been expelled by The Property Ombudsman after refusing to refund a £2,000...

The Property Ombudsman has urged the government to bring the new homes build sector under consumer redress. New builds are not currently...

As the property market gears up for a busy autumn period, agents and property firms have been equally busy bolstering their...

The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPO) has announced a series of changes to both its board and internal processes. The organisation has also...

In our previous 2 blogs we have covered the definitions of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) and what the practical...

In our previous blog, we looked at the definitions outlined by the CPRs. In our next blog we’ll look at the...

The UK division of US-based estate agency Keller Williams says agents need access to internal training if service levels across the...

There’s been another call for the government to reform stamp duty - and this time the request is that the duty...

The Property Redress Scheme says it’s recruited another 1,750 members following the shake-out last week when one of its rival redress...

The redress scheme which formally quit the housing sector admits some estate agencies may have missed its deadline - and are thus...

The government has revised its guidance to agents over redress schemes - amending it to take account of the fact that...

The couple at the centre of a court case about agents’ fees say the issue could have been resolved earlier had...

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has this morning issued a warning to agents that they must be signed up to...

National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team and two of the three industry redress organisations have launched a survey to measure the...

The Property Ombudsman has issued its annual report for 2017 and there’s good news for the estate agency side of the...

The battle to become the single ombudsman service after the government rationalises the redress system across housing has taken an unexpected...

The Property Ombudsman, Katrine Sporle, is to hold a briefing on the government’s redress reform on Wednesday - five days before...

The Property Ombudsman has launched an online training module which it describes as the first of its kind.  The interactive module -...

Have you noticed a new turf war going on on the fringes of the agency world? It’s not a high-profile battle like...

Representatives from estate and lettings agencies as well as professional organisations have formed The Home Buying And Selling Group with a...

One of the three government-approved redress schemes for estate and letting agents says it’s quitting the sector this year - but...

Pressure continues to mount on Purplebricks to reveal its sales data after a weekend during which claims about its effectiveness continued...

The Daily Mail and other papers are reporting that a buyer is suing an estate agent who allegedly failed to tell...

The government says it is going to look at “bold options” to improve consumer redress across all aspects of housing -...

A large part of the DCLG’s Call for Evidence on the home buying and selling process focuses on the role of...

David Westgate, group chief executive at Andrews Property Group, has been presented with a long service award in recognition of his...

The Property Ombudsman has taken the unusual step of warning all estate and letting agents to act with caution over fraudulent...

Chris Wood - the Cornish estate agent who unsuccessfully attempted to get on the ballot paper as a candidate for NAEA...

easyProperty has unveiled details of its relaunch, declaring itself to be the UK’s second largest hybrid estate agency - second only...

The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPO) has partnered with Yomdel to provide a 24/7 live chat service.  Consumers can now seek 'independent dispute...

When a tenant failed to pay any rent after the first month his tenancy last year, the landlord did not expect...

The Property Ombudsman has expelled a London lettings and estate agency for a year and is warning that the firm may...

The Property Ombudsman has told Estate Agent Today that it is happy with the controversial deferred payment scheme operated on behalf of...

After a roller-coaster day on the Stock Exchange yesterday, Purplebricks has sought to defend itself against further possible share price losses...

Three agencies have been expelled from membership of The Property Ombudsman for two or more years, after failing to pay awards...

The Property Ombudsman has issued a year-long formal warning to consumers about an estate agency which failed to provide information concerning...

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

The Property Ombudsman’s annual report reveals a significant increase in the number of formal complaints resolved by the scheme and a...

The industry’s three government-approved redress schemes have this week issued an updated version of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU is...

Baroness Diana Warwick (below right) has been appointed chair of The Property Ombudsman scheme’s independent council. A life peer for the past 18...

There were only 14 complaints to The Property Ombudsman about so-called 'quick sale' firms - the professional buying companies that purchase...

The Property Ombudsman has reiterated its new guidance in relation to agents accepting pre-contract deposits in certain circumstances. Estate Agent Today reported...

The Property Ombudsman’s office has defended a change to its code of practice which, according to a national newspaper, means agents...

New software has been devised which can allow users to identify individual properties that have been ‘portal juggled’ - de-listed and...

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is the latest body within the industry to warn its members against portal juggling. Following statements...

When a tenant paid his initial one month’s rent in addition to a tenancy deposit in exchange for the keys to...

eMoov founder and chief executive Russell Quirk has launched another online petition, this time calling for mandatory licensing of estate agents. The...

The Property Ombudsman scheme’s annual report, just released, reveals that there has been a dramatic 32 per cent surge in the...

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has followed up the recent announcement by The Property Ombudsman to counteract portal juggling by...

The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPO) has announced that it will be issuing updated versions of all its Codes of Practice on...

With ever increasing obligations, estate agents know that compliance matters now more than ever.  However, being able to obtain access to the...

As I sit here writing this on the Glorious 12th, I realise I’m going on about my favourite grouse – agents...

The Advertising Standards Authority has stepped in to resolve a complaint about a small London estate agency’s online references to its...

A disillusioned vendor has been running a campaign against standard term agency contracts for almost two years.  Paul Tranter has been specifically...

In a surprise move, The Property Ombudsman is to allow all 420 registered firms in the British Association of Removers to...

Right, so it’s one more week till Christmas and two more weeks until we head face first into 2016. Both these...

What is the biggest change you’ve seen in the agency industry during your time at TPO?  For me, the biggest change has...

Last week, on the latest series of The Apprentice, Lord Sugar threw his teams into the London property market.  As expected, Twitter...

It was an end of an era in the property world this week. Christopher Hamer stepped down as the Property Ombudsman...

A former employee of consumer body Which? has been appointed to the council of The Property Ombudsman, one of the industry’s three...

Two more agents have been expelled by TPO because they failed to pay awards when ordered to pay compensation, and because...

Gerry Fitzjohn, currently vice chairman of the board of The Property Ombudsman, has been appointed as chairman.  He takes over from Bill...

The National Association of Estate Agents admits that “take up has been low” in its bid to persuade each member agent to...

The Property Ombudsman, the largest and longest-established of three official redress schemes for agents, has recorded a significant rise in membership...

The Property Ombudsman and the Competition and Markets Authority have prepared a supplementary guidance note to help agents ensure compliance with the Competition Act.  The...

The largest of the three government-approved redress schemes, The Property Ombudsman, has updated its codes of practice to include new legislation...

Katrine Sporle is to be the new ombudsman at The Property Ombudsman, one of the three government-approved redress services for the...

A consumer champion says a new privatised system of Alternative Dispute Resolution, being introduced in October, threatens to create ‘complaints chaos’...

The internet and rapidly evolving digital landscape has revolutionised the way people buy and sell properties. With some reports suggesting 95 per...

Jonathan Hopper, the managing director of Garrington Property Finders - the search agency originally founded by Phil Spencer - has joined...

Another week, another online estate agency launches - but the latest, called YOPA, claims not to charge any upfront fee to...

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme has announced that its first ever conference will take place in October.  ‘Raise Your Standards’ is being...

The managing director of Hatched online agency is accusing Purplebricks, eMoov, Tepilo and House Network of advertising their rates exclusive of...

The Conservatives’ election victory came as a surprise, so much so that television pundits spent all night after the vote rubbishing...

The Brian Cox estate agency, at the centre of a weekend newspaper allegation about £2,000 deposits from buyers, has strongly defended...

An estate agency says it is returning money to buyers after a newspaper revealed it was demanding would-be purchasers paid the...

Two rival redress schemes applying to sales and lettings agents are claiming increased business.  A press release from the Property Redress Scheme...

There was a whopping 42 per cent rise in referrals to The Property Ombudsman last year according to the annual report...