Agents to benefit from Trading Standards partnership

The National Federation of Property Professionals has teamed up with Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service, to deliver what it says will be clear and consistent business advice to the UK’s property industry, cutting red tape and helping businesses grow.

Organisations representing small and medium sized businesses, can now build a "co-ordinated partnership" with their local Trading Standards Service, to ensure that all the firms they represent, whereever they are based, receive the same advice and guidance.

From now on, any estate agent or residential letting agent that is a member of the NFOPP will be able to seek advice on trading laws direct from NFOPP who will in turn obtain expert guidance from Warwickshire Trading Standards.

These smaller businesses will no longer need to contact their own local Trading Standards Service on an individual basis, reducing inconsistency of advice and enforcement.

National and multinational businesses with retail outlets across the UK are already able to benefit from an advisory relationship with a single Trading Standards service. This relationship helps ensure that inspection, advice and enforcement is consistent across the business’s entire organisation.

Now smaller businesses, will, through their professional organisations, be able to access the same consistency of legal interpretation and advice as large companies already do.

An NFOPP spokesman said: "NFOPP incorporating the ARLA and the NAEA very much welcomes this strengthened relationship with Warwickshire County Council and view this as a huge benefit for those of our members who wish to avail themselves of the service.

“We have long had concerns about the potential and actual varied interpretation of regulations by Trading Standards across the country. Now we have the opportunity to eradicate that for the benefit of both our members and the consumers.”