As I complete four years as RICS Residential Director and start to face up to the realities of retirement, it is probably an opportune moment to reflect on what has happened in the agency field during that time and what the future of the sector might look like. [Note: these are personal views, not necessarily those of RICS.]
When I took the helm of RICS Residential, the Carsberg Report had just been published, with its recommendations around regulation of the sector and minimum entry standards for practitioners.
One practical outcome of that report was the formation of the Property Standards Board, an attempt to bring the sector together to agree a set of standards against which all practitioners could be judged by regulators and, more importantly, consumers.
A number of factors, not least the change of Government in 2010, caused the demise of the Board, although the aims of raising standards in the sector and providing consumers with the tools by which they can make informed choices based on service rather than purely cost, remain a key objective of professionals across the sector.
The parallel concern that has rumbled throughout the period has been the inconsistency in regulatory approach between the sales and lettings sectors. Practitioners and other stakeholders have almost unanimously lobbied for regulation of the latter, on the basis that the opportunities for consumer detriment and loss are as great, if not greater, in this highly complex area, where agents have access to potentially significant client monies and where redress, outside that required by the professional bodies, is entirely voluntary.
Ironically, having been told consistently by officials and politicians that there was no possibility of amending the primary legislation, the 1979 Estate Agents Act, to bring letting agents into scope, it now looks as if they are planning to amend the legislation as part of the Red Tape Challenge – but only to take certain practices out of its scope, not widen it.
I have still to be convinced that officials truly understand the nature of the role of estate agents, and that many of their views are coloured by the behaviours of the tiny minority rather than the vast majority who understand that this is the most important transaction that most people enter into in their lives and, for that reason, both sellers and buyers are potentially ‘vulnerable’ consumers, at least emotionally, and require professional, objective advice.
I therefore believe there is still a strong argument for minimum standards and expertise within the sector as a prerequisite of practising. Now is an ideal time, while the market is flat, for the ‘good guys’ in the sector, i.e. those who aspire to offer a genuinely professional quality service, to take this opportunity, to put egos aside and come together to agree standards that should be applied to all practitioners.
More importantly, we should be embarking on a major, and ongoing, programme to raise public awareness of standards and just what quality service looks like, so that consumers can make informed choices based on value for money and real service, not just who is cheapest and claims to be able to obtain the highest, often unsubstantiated, price just to secure the instruction.
There cannot be a better time for action. Those who have survived this extended recession can set the benchmark for the future of the industry.
And maybe, just maybe, if the majority of ‘good’ agents can get their act together and gain public demand for such standards, pressure from consumer groups and the industry could eventually lead to Government acknowledging the need to protect consumers at this vulnerable time, and put statutory backing behind some minimum standards of entry and practice.
However, be careful what you wish for: it is surely better to have industry self-regulation by consent than have centrally imposed statutory regulation.
Now my time is up, I leave knowing that the future of RICS Residential is in extremely capable hands with Peter Bolton King and it is certainly my intention to stay involved with the sector, and to continue to lobby for better standards and consumer information.
It has been a pleasure to work with so many committed individuals over the years and I would like to place on record my thanks to them.
Editor’s note: We wish David well in his retirement.
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