Estate agents 'must be licensed'

Many home buyers are unhappy with their estate agent

Licensing estate agents is the only way to clean-up abuses by rogue operators, a leading consumer group has said.

The Consumers' Association has launched a campaign to get the government to regulate estate agents by 2007.

It is urging the government to reject an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report, which it has dubbed "wimpy".

The OFT's two-year investigation acknowledged there was unhappiness with the current system, but did not recommend licensing.

However, the OFT told BBC News Online it had recommended that powers are put in place for a statutory scheme if self-regulation did not go far enough.

I feel sorry for those people who are forced to roll over and pay high estate agents' fees. We need regulation. Read how one homebuyer is taking on the estate agency industry

The trading watchdog said it would review the position in two years time.

In a statement, The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), said better regulation was needed.

"We largely support the report's conclusion that the OFT enquiry lacked teeth and we have consistently campaigned for improved regulation of estate agents.

"We also have been calling for minimum standards of entry into estate agency and have introduced our Technical Awards to raise standards (over 1,000 enquires have been received since the scheme's launch)."

'Ridiculous' situation

More than nine out of 10 people buying and selling a home in England and Wales use an estate agent.

Dodgy practice has left the public exposed to the unchecked, often illegal whims of rogue estate agents for far too long Nick Stace, Which? campaigns

But according to research by the Consumers' Association magazine Which?, only about one in 10 home buyers and sellers believe that estate agents can actually be trusted.

Seven in 10 people think estate agents frequently "massage" information about properties and work together to line each other's pockets.

More than half think that estate agents frequently invent offers from non-existent buyers.

The present legislation is unenforceable, Which? said, leaving consumers at the mercy of untrustworthy estate agents, who earn a total of £4bn in fees a year.

In a statement, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said it was backing the Which? campaign.

"In an environment where everyone else involved in the transaction will be regulated...it is ironic that the estate agent, who is in many ways the most important player in determining the outcome of the house sale, is the only professional who does not have to meet stringent, compulsory standards."

'Loose' regulation

The campaign, called Move It, will lobby for estate agents to be licensed by an independent body and for an effective ombudsman scheme.

Estate agents in a number of other countries, including the US, must hold a licence before they can operate.

While there are a number of codes governing the work of estate agents in the UK there is only one - the code of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents - that has been approved by the OFT.

However, it covers only 36% of estate agents - and some of the biggest estate agency firms in the country are not members.

Nick Stace, director of Which? campaigns, said: "Dodgy practice has left the public exposed to the unchecked, often illegal whims of rogue estate agents for far too long.

"And the recent OFT report wimped out of a perfect opportunity to protect long suffering home-movers."

"The situation is ludicrous."

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Your comments:

If estate agents wish to be treated as professionals, then they must adopt professional standards. The present conflict of interest, where an agent represents both buyer and seller cannot be right - no other professional is allowed to do this and neither should estate agents. Agents should also be required to disclose their fees in advance of negotiations and also disclose the average 'agreed fee' with previous clients. In addition, they should also be required to provide data in respect of property price trends over last three, six and twelve months, indicating level of properties that sold above or below asking price. This way, both vendors and purchasers would be better place to make more objective decisions.
Paul, Farnham, UK

People shouldn't taint the whole industry because of a few bad apples Angela Mealey, Croydon

My fiancé is an estate agent. He works seven days a week, sometimes until 10 at night, constantly trying to meet buyers and vendors needs. The fly in the ointment are solicitors who are not proactive in progressing their clients' sales. Solicitors work five days a week, nine to five but you don't hear many people complaining about their extortionate conveyance fees! I think if more people understood how much work goes in to holding a sale together and worked with their agent rather than mistrusting them, they might find that they would be less damning in their criticism. Of course there are rogues in every profession, but people shouldn't taint the whole industry because of a few bad apples.
Angela Mealey, Croydon, Surrey

As a chartered construction professional, and having recently bought my first house, I am disgusted at the unprofessional service, which I have experienced from estate agents, which on occasion defied common sense. If I behaved in a similar manner I would be unemployable. It is unbelievable that firms that deal in large capital transactions are unregulated.
T White, Herts

Regulating estate agents is long over due and should be the first step in making selling and buying a property easier. The laws governing the sale or purchase of a property should be more in line with Scotland.
Kirsty Bishop, London

The greatest joke in this country must be a rather wicked twist to the popular phrase - "Trust me I am an estate agent" is bound to bring wry/cynical smiles to everyone other than the estate agents themselves. I have personally had a bad experience with an employee of an estate agent who was trying to sell her house to us. The dirty tricks that were employed have made us - first time buyers in this country give up hope of buying any property in this country any time in the near future.
Vivekananda L Baindoor, Maidenhead, UK

Several years ago I used a well known chain of estate agents to market my house. They did precious little and after two months without a sale I took it off the market with them and decided to sell it myself, advertising it in the local paper at my own expense. I sold the house shortly thereafter at the full asking price from someone who responded to the advert. The sale was followed by a barrage of letters from my ex-estate agent and their solicitors demanding their 'cut'. The harassment only stopped when I threatened to see them in court.
Andy, Gillingham, UK

Buying a house with such a huge amount of borrowed money is the biggest financial commitment we make Shahin Hozhabrafkan, Sutton Coldfield

There should be more stringent rules to prevent underhand tactics used by, in my experience, an awful lot of estate agents. Buying a house with such a huge amount of borrowed money is the biggest financial commitment we make, so as consumers we are right to expect a quality service. Their primary concern for the vendor's interest is not in question. However, they must also meet their obligation to the purchaser. Too much of the whole process hinges on verbal agreements, which by their very nature are open to abuse by those in a position to capitalise.
Shahin Hozhabrafkan, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

Just how will a licence make any difference? To drive a car, you need training, you need to pass a rather difficult test, and then you get your licence. Yet there are still some very bad drivers out there!
Mike Towle, Nottingham, UK

Licensing can only do so much. Will having a licence stop an agent from being dishonest? I don't think so! What about a name and shame strategy from the OFT? Do random undercover investigations with OFT acting as buyer and seller. Then if an agent breaches any of the guidelines or seen to be unfair or dishonest then just name and shame them in the local newspapers or other media. That will soon put them out of business (since nobody would use them) and hence one less rogue trader!
Jason, London, UK

First time buyer January 2002, house was waterlogged due to burst pipe in loft six days before exchange and completion of contracts, the estate agent was informed on two separate occasions by adjoining house, yet did not inform myself or any other party involved. I have spent the last two years trying to get the estate agent to at least admit their mistake. The estate agent is Bairstow Eves which is a franchise of Countrywide, the owner of which I am told run the Ombudsman! A two page story was is in the local newspaper, Birmingham Evening Mail covering the story 26 April 2004. Estate Agents should be regulated independently.
Tristan Wilkinson, Birmingham, England

I would welcome regulation as it would only get rid of the type of people that tar all of our names Jonathan Dyson, London

As an estate agent for a reputable agency in Central London I would welcome regulation as it would only get rid of the type of people that tar all of our names. Unfortunately no one in this debate appears to be addressing the far bigger question - that of the entire home buying process itself. It is ludicrous that in this day and age the process still takes between four and eight weeks on average before anyone is contractually obligated to buy or sell a property. In the time between an offer being accepted and getting to exchange, everyone waits with fingers crossed in the hope that no one changes their mind. This system is intolerable and is the cause of most of the stress in the house buying process. Obtaining a financial commitment to proceed at an early stage would do away with much of the dodgy dealing and gazumping that perpetually seems to dog this industry.
Jonathan Dyson, London