Housing Minister announces intention to Regulate the Property Sector
Ahead of the BBC’s ‘Leasehold Day’ on the 22nd November 2024, the Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, unveiled the government’s plan to transform the property sector by abolishing the leasehold system and replacing it with commonhold as the default tenure.
This pivotal reform is set to be implemented within the current parliamentary term, possibly alongside the long-awaited introduction of the Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA).
The ROPA report, published in 2019, with Lord Best chairing the working group, highlighted the necessity for property agents to possess formal qualifications, ensuring they have the requisite knowledge and skills to serve clients effectively.
ROPA is back on the Agenda
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has confirmed that that the proposed reforms of regulating the private rented sector are still on the agenda. .
The Minister was responding to a question tabled in the House of Commons during the committee stage of the Renters Rights Bill and was asked if the recommendations of the Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) Working Group would be implemented.
The minister confirmed :- “The government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, management and estate agents in due course.”
The Demand for Regulation of the Property
I’ve been watching this ‘space’ for the last 18 years and when I started working in the property sector I did not understand why estate agents who assist consumers with the biggest purchase of their lives were not required to have even a minimum entry level qualification. But this also applies to letting agents who manage billions of pounds worth of stock.
We have a list of the primary, secondary legislation that agents need to be aware of and adhere to on behalf of their clients and it currently sits at 297. Clearly no one expects an agent to know each piece of Statute of by heart, but the fundamental principles of key legislation is paramount.
But the property sector does not just revolve around the law and compliance - think about key skills, customer service, customer care, complaints handling, building rapport and relationships, the benefits of NLP in business and so it goes on.
An Update from Westminster
An Update on the Renter's Reform Bill
The White Paper on the Renters' Reform Bill, should have been published in October and has now been delayed until 2022, The announcement made by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities was a surprise given that the Bill had appeared on the government's agenda and in the Queen's Speech. The government announced that the White Paper would provide an outline of it's plan to its reform the private rented sector. The proposed changes are set to include:-
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abolishing Section 2
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the introduction of lifetime deposits
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a Tenants' Redress Scheme
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a Landlords' Register & Regulation of Landlords
A recent survey looked at the difficulties individuals face when renting, letting or enforcing property standards in the Private Rented Sector.The Government’s said that they are committed to exploring the merits of a national landlord register and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are engaging with a range of stakeholders across the private rented sector.
The initial research exercise will complete in December 2021. The findings from this survey of private tenants and other sources of research will be used to inform next steps and further engagement.