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

A high-profile London agency is asking the police and property industry bodies including Trading Standards to investigate a fake company posing under...
19 February 2021
From: Breaking News

It’s now more than a year since the government offered an additional £4 million to councils to combat rogue landlords. At the...
13 February 2021
From: Features

A new body which says it will “champion better outcomes for buyers” is described as independent but is to be chaired...
09 February 2021
From: Breaking News

Countrywide and Foxtons have thrown their weight behind an idea to identify every single UK residential property with a unique number. The...
13 January 2021
From: Breaking News

Propertymark has told the government that it needs to introduce overarching regulation of agents now, because existing piecemeal provisions are unmanageable...
24 December 2020
From: Breaking News

Start-up letting agents looking to enter the market are finding it increasingly difficult to set up in business as banks point...
19 December 2020
From: Features

The Property Ombudsman says there have been more complaints lodged about agents so far in 2020 than in 2019. This is despite...
15 December 2020
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman has joined calls for greater disclosure of referral fees by agents. The issue has become a hot topic in...
30 November 2020
From: Breaking News

Firstly, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Lockdown 2, as it’s being known, is now with us, but fortunately...
07 November 2020
From: Features

“I’ve got 47 years of experience as an agent. Do I still have to get a qualification?” asked one attendee at...
31 October 2020
From: Features

The mandatory qualifications expected of agents have not been forgotten and will come into effect in two or three years. That’s the...
29 October 2020
From: Breaking News

A progress report on the Regulation of Property Agents recommendations will be made today by a key RoPA committee member, Mark...
28 October 2020
From: Breaking News

The National Association of Estate Agents has thrown its weight behind the recommendation of Trading Standards that agents must by law be...
05 October 2020
From: Breaking News

We all know what the problem is, but what’s the solution? The problem is that landlords, thinking they offer a valuable service...
03 October 2020
From: Features

Customers must be told about third party referral fees when buying or selling a home says the National Trading Standards Estate...
02 October 2020
From: Breaking News

The cross-sector group looking at reforming the sales process has agreed a new pledge which it says introduces greater transparency for...
25 September 2020
From: Breaking News

It’s no surprise the mainstream news remains dominated by coronavirus - not so much the actual effect of it right now,...
05 September 2020
From: Features

Agents have long been the victim of a poor public reputation, from scoring highly in most disliked profession polls to being...
03 August 2020
From: Breaking News

There’s been a very large rise in the number of complaints submitted by consumers to the Property Redress Scheme. This is partly...
29 July 2020
From: Breaking News

Earlier this month, it was revealed that property industry bodies have joined a new Code of Practice Steering Group to enact...
25 July 2020
From: Features

The new code of conduct for estate agents has been dismissed as “a waste of time” - and the senior industry...
21 July 2020
From: Breaking News

They are the names we hear about often, pushing for this or seeking clarifications on that. They are the representatives of...
04 July 2020
From: Features

A new estate agency Code of Practice is to be written by a group set up by the Royal Institution of Chartered...
01 July 2020
From: Breaking News

The recommendations to regulate and train the estate agency industry put forward a year ago remain on the Housing Secretary’s desk...
30 June 2020
From: Breaking News

It may be that by the time you read this it’s all over for Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for...
27 June 2020
From: Features

The only story that has come remotely close to pushing coronavirus – and its various knock-on effects – off the top...
06 June 2020
From: Features

The new Property Ombudsman taking over from October is Rebecca Marsh. She is currently Chief Ombudsman at the Legal Ombudsman and was...
05 June 2020
From: Breaking News

The industry should continue to prepare for large-scale reforms such as mandatory agency training, the licensing of agents and a new...
21 May 2020
From: Breaking News

There’s been a substantial 20 per cent rise in formal complaints about agents taken up by The Property Ombudsman. The figures refer...
11 May 2020
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman’s office is still receiving 40 to 50 calls a day from the public, even though most transactions with...
23 April 2020
From: Breaking News

The author of dramatic reform proposals for estate agents has given a clear message to ministers - Get On With It! Lord...
09 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

The government has - once again - announced the introduction of a New Homes Ombudsman. The news came yesterday when Housing Secretary...
25 February 2020
From: Breaking News

The landscape of the estate agency market in the UK is evolving to reflect changes in the way we live our...
19 February 2020
From: Features

It is possible that agents and their business partners in the conveyancing, mortgage and survey industries could be obliged to have...
29 January 2020
From: Breaking News

A leasehold reform campaigner claims estate agents face “growing calls to be held accountable for mis-selling leasehold properties.” Louie Burns, managing director...
21 January 2020
From: Breaking News

The annual conference of the National Association of Estate Agents takes place on February 27 - the date when the future...
21 January 2020
From: Breaking News

The Council of Property Search Organisations has named three industry figures as members of its newly-formed compliance committee, set to regulate...
16 December 2019
From: Breaking News

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 Property Ombudsman scheme is increasing its fees in January for the first time in six years - and it’s implementing...
11 November 2019
From: Breaking News

The National Association of Estate Agents has told the government that it wants one single Ombudsman to provide redress across all...
29 August 2019
From: Breaking News

Countrywide has thrown its weight behind the proposals for a new single industry-wide regulator taking on the roles of Trading Standards...
05 August 2019
From: Breaking News

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

Trade bodies and property firms have strongly welcomed the recommendations for root and branch reform of the agency industry - and...
19 July 2019
From: Breaking News

The government has published proposals for far-reaching changes to the way estate and letting agents are regulated, trained and licensed. The proposals...
18 July 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

The head of the Property Redress Scheme is urging agents to prepare for yet more regulation and legislation changes likely to...
28 May 2019
From: Breaking News

The trade body representing so-called quick sale companies is marking five years in business with two feathers in its cap. Firstly the...
16 May 2019
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has released its annual report for 2018, showing a 16% rise in the number of complaints made...
08 May 2019
From: Breaking News

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

The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) keeps deposit money safe for letting agents, landlords and renters during the course a tenancy....
20 April 2019
From: Features

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
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The government has revealed that it’s to ‘test’ the workings of the New Homes Ombudsman before the scheme formally launches. Housing Secretary...
01 April 2019
From: Breaking News

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

The dust may have settled on the government’s recent announcement regarding housing and property complaints, but opinion is still split on...
09 February 2019
From: Features

The Property Ombudsman’s annual conference is to hear from the chair of the government’s ‘Property Agents Working Group’ - just days...
07 February 2019
From: Breaking News

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency team has issued new guidance for those seeking redress over leasehold disputes. This guidance contains a...
30 January 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

The National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Lettings Agents have thrown their weight behind the government’s latest...
25 January 2019
From: Breaking News

The government has this morning set out wide-ranging changes to redress systems for agents, the sales and lettings sectors, and other...
24 January 2019
From: Breaking News

The man who is leading the government’s efforts to reform the house buying process will be one of the speaker at...
08 January 2019
From: Breaking News

The government says it will be releasing details of its ideas to revamp redress systems concerning agents and new homes “in...
02 January 2019
From: Breaking News

The government, which only recently said there would be one Ombudsman covering the entire housing sector, has announced that there is...
02 October 2018
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman has urged the government to bring the new homes build sector under consumer redress. New builds are not currently...
10 September 2018
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPO) has announced a series of changes to both its board and internal processes. The organisation has also...
06 September 2018
From: Breaking News

A specialist property law firm is calling on the government to speed up changes in the law to avoid abusive leasehold...
23 August 2018
From: Breaking News

The Property Redress Scheme says it’s recruited another 1,750 members following the shake-out last week when one of its rival redress...
13 August 2018
From: Breaking News

The redress scheme which formally quit the housing sector admits some estate agencies may have missed its deadline - and are thus...
07 August 2018
From: Breaking News

The government has revised its guidance to agents over redress schemes - amending it to take account of the fact that...
06 August 2018
From: Breaking News

It’s holiday time: schools have broken up, quite a few estate agents are taking time off, and the MPs are in...
28 July 2018
From: Features

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

One of three schemes with government backing to offer redress for complaints about estate and letting agents has reignited the debate...
18 July 2018
From: Breaking News

The government says its funding schemes such as Help To Buy will no longer be applied to what it calls “unjustified...
03 July 2018
From: Breaking News

Estate Agent Today is 10 years old this weekend. We hope you’ll agree that’s a cause for celebration and a great...
29 June 2018
From: Breaking News

National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team and two of the three industry redress organisations have launched a survey to measure the...
19 June 2018
From: Breaking News

We have the presidential seal of approval for our Agents Do Charity this week - well, sort of, but we don’t mean...
08 June 2018
From: Breaking News

Any letting agent appreciates the effort, dedication, and sometimes heartache, that comes with running a business yet equally knows that when...
30 May 2018
From: Features

The Property Ombudsman has issued its annual report for 2017 and there’s good news for the estate agency side of the...
17 May 2018
From: Breaking News

One of the three official redress bodies serving the estate and lettings agency industry has conducted a survey of complaints across...
02 May 2018
From: Breaking News

The battle to become the single ombudsman service after the government rationalises the redress system across housing has taken an unexpected...
24 April 2018
From: Breaking News

The Property Redress Scheme - one of the three government-approved redress schemes handling complaints about sales and lettings agents - has...
13 April 2018
From: Breaking News

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 Property Ombudsman, Katrine Sporle, is to hold a briefing on the government’s redress reform on Wednesday - five days before...
09 April 2018
From: Breaking News

Have you noticed a new turf war going on on the fringes of the agency world? It’s not a high-profile battle like...
17 March 2018
From: Features

Ombudsman Services, which recently announced it was quitting its role as one of three approved redress schemes for estate and lettings...
12 March 2018
From: Breaking News

The government has launched a surprise consultation on the creation of a new redress system for customers of agents and others...
18 February 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

A new year means new predictions for what’s to come in the letting industry. Sometimes things come to fruition as expected....
10 February 2018
From: Features

One of the three government-approved redress schemes for estate and letting agents says it’s quitting the sector this year - but...
06 February 2018
From: Breaking News

The government says it is going to look at “bold options” to improve consumer redress across all aspects of housing -...
30 November 2017
From: Breaking News

Four weeks today almost the entire industry will be finishing work for Christmas after another year - and ready to start...
24 November 2017
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

Even so close to the event, I don’t think anyone will be deeming 2017 as the ‘summer of love’. The summer of...
16 September 2017
From: Features

The Property Ombudsman has expelled a London lettings and estate agency for a year and is warning that the firm may...
23 August 2017
From: Breaking News

Without wishing to blow our own trumpet at this time, we did say at the start of the year that 2017...
28 July 2017
From: Features

Three agencies have been expelled from membership of The Property Ombudsman for two or more years, after failing to pay awards...
28 July 2017
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman has issued a year-long formal warning to consumers about an estate agency which failed to provide information concerning...
24 July 2017
From: Breaking News

It’s hot outside but that’s no deterrent to agents helping others, even at the height of summer. Before we honour this week’s...
07 July 2017
From: Breaking News

The political ebb and flow continues - seemingly with all the subtlety of a Boris Johnson rugby tackle on a 10-year...
01 July 2017
From: Features

The Property Ombudsman’s annual report reveals a significant increase in the number of formal complaints resolved by the scheme and a...
22 June 2017
From: Breaking News

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 industry’s three government-approved redress schemes have this week issued an updated version of their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU is...
07 June 2017
From: Breaking News

The recent rise in consumer complaints against sales and letting agents suggests that there is a general lack of trust and...
27 May 2017
From: Features

Baroness Diana Warwick (below right) has been appointed chair of The Property Ombudsman scheme’s independent council. A life peer for the past 18...
23 May 2017
From: Breaking News

The Advertising Standards Authority has given the green light to an circular which provoked complaints suggesting it deliberately did not appear...
05 April 2017
From: Breaking News

Earlier this week it was Dads4Daughters Day – a campaign that strives to promote gender equality in the workplace. I have three...
18 March 2017
From: Features

The Conveyancing Association wants the creation of a ‘log book’ and ‘Home Reports’ for each home on sale - reminiscent in...
15 March 2017
From: Breaking News

HMRC and the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team have agreed new procedures to “enhance and ease the current flow of...
20 February 2017
From: Breaking News

The story of the week has been the first steps of a trade body to represent independent estate agents - as...
21 January 2017
From: Features

Housing minister Gavin Barwell says the government will put forward proposals in the new year to stop abuses of the leasehold...
21 December 2016
From: Breaking News

New software has been devised which can allow users to identify individual properties that have been ‘portal juggled’ - de-listed and...
19 December 2016
From: Breaking News

A firm is warning of “a wave of litigation from home owners who were given inadequate advice from their solicitors or...
29 November 2016
From: Breaking News

It’s perhaps appropriate that we kick off this week’s Agents Do Charity with an appeal for winter clothing for the homeless...
18 November 2016
From: Breaking News

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is the latest body within the industry to warn its members against portal juggling. Following statements...
15 November 2016
From: Breaking News

When a tenant paid his initial one month’s rent in addition to a tenancy deposit in exchange for the keys to...
05 November 2016
From: Features

The Property Ombudsman scheme’s annual report, just released, reveals that there has been a dramatic 32 per cent surge in the...
04 October 2016
From: Breaking News

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team has followed up the recent announcement by The Property Ombudsman to counteract portal juggling by...
29 September 2016
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPO) has announced that it will be issuing updated versions of all its Codes of Practice on...
27 September 2016
From: Breaking News

The Conveyancing Association says it is continuing to campaign to reform the leasehold transaction process, despite the government saying there is...
02 September 2016
From: Breaking News

The Property Redress Scheme, one of three official redress schemes for the sales and lettings sector, has now signed its 5,000th...
18 August 2016
From: Breaking News

An agent at the centre of the campaign to expose and stop portal juggling wants to know whether the National Trading...
15 August 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 National Association of Estate Agents has warned an agency that it is misleading the public by using the association logo...
04 August 2016
From: Breaking News

The Conveyancing Association has set out recommendations to end what it claims are significant delays and overcharging taking place within the...
03 August 2016
From: Breaking News

The old and eternal debate over whether or not tenant fees should be banned continues to rumble on. It’s a major concern...
10 June 2016
From: Features

Running a business is not easy, but sometimes it becomes harder because we are expected to modify our behaviour due to...
20 May 2016
From: Features

The Competition and Markets Authority - which has been active in the estate agency industry since its inception in April 2014...
06 May 2016
From: Breaking News

In a surprise move, The Property Ombudsman is to allow all 420 registered firms in the British Association of Removers to...
03 February 2016
From: Breaking News

One of the three approved Ombusdman-style operators, the Property Redress Scheme, is to hold its first agents’ workshop in March. The morning...
26 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

There are a number of fairly recent regulations that agents need to comply with. One of them, now just over a year...
18 December 2015
From: Features

It was an end of an era in the property world this week. Christopher Hamer stepped down as the Property Ombudsman...
04 December 2015
From: Features

A former employee of consumer body Which? has been appointed to the council of The Property Ombudsman, one of the industry’s three...
01 December 2015
From: Breaking News

Two more agents have been expelled by TPO because they failed to pay awards when ordered to pay compensation, and because...
11 November 2015
From: Breaking News

Gerry Fitzjohn, currently vice chairman of the board of The Property Ombudsman, has been appointed as chairman. He takes over from Bill...
10 November 2015
From: Breaking News

The National Association of Estate Agents admits that “take up has been low” in its bid to persuade each member agent to...
26 October 2015
From: Breaking News

The Property Ombudsman, the largest and longest-established of three official redress schemes for agents, has recorded a significant rise in membership...
21 October 2015
From: Breaking News

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...
14 October 2015
From: Breaking News

The largest of the three government-approved redress schemes, The Property Ombudsman, has updated its codes of practice to include new legislation...
02 October 2015
From: Breaking News

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

Katrine Sporle is to be the new ombudsman at The Property Ombudsman, one of the three government-approved redress services for the...
21 September 2015
From: Breaking News

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

A consumer champion says a new privatised system of Alternative Dispute Resolution, being introduced in October, threatens to create ‘complaints chaos’...
10 August 2015
From: Breaking News

The first annual report from Property Redress Services, one of the three government-approved redress schemes applying to both the sales and...
22 July 2015
From: Breaking News

There is a very interesting but easily-overlooked piece of information at the end of the National Trading Standards Estate Agent Team’s...
17 July 2015
From: Features

After the passing of the Deregulation Act deposits deadline this week, Richard Price, Executive Director of UKALA, is in a contemplative...
26 June 2015
From: Features

The Property Redress Scheme (PRS) is delighted to announce their partnership with the award winning mediation provider, Small Claims Mediation (SCM) The...
11 June 2015
From: Sponsored Content

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme has announced that its first ever conference will take place in October. ‘Raise Your Standards’ is being...
05 June 2015
From: Breaking News

Earlier this week we passed the official deadline for letting agents to fully publicise their fees as well as providing evidence of...
29 May 2015
From: Features

The Brian Cox estate agency, at the centre of a weekend newspaper allegation about £2,000 deposits from buyers, has strongly defended...
12 May 2015
From: Breaking News

Two rival redress schemes applying to sales and lettings agents are claiming increased business. A press release from the Property Redress Scheme...
30 April 2015
From: Breaking News

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