The Scottish Government has introduced a new and wide-ranging Housing Bill.
It seeks to end all right to buy. This would prevent the sale of 15,500 council houses over the next ten years in an attempt to preserve a stock of affordable homes.
Housing minister Margaret Burgess said: “With 400,000 people on waiting lists for council and housing association houses, we can no longer afford to see badly needed homes lost to the social sector.”
The Bill will also create a new housing tribunal for the private rented sector, transferring jurisdiction for civil cases from the sheriff courts to a PRS tribunal.
The Bill also seeks to regulate all letting agents – an ambition shared by the new Housing Bill in Wales.
The Scottish Bill, if passed, would force all letting agents in Scotland to follow a statutory code of conduct and belong to an ombudsman scheme.
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Comments
You are aware of "Only 2 agents providing poor service"? Is that in your town or nationwide? Confusing statement.
I think you chaps really do need to read the bill properly. There is nothing to fear or to get dramatic about.
I agree with Andy there is no case for regulation.
Shelter's case was based on the increase in complaints recorded by The Property Ombudsman, but this rise in complaints can easily be explained as it corresponds to the increase in letting agents becoming members of The Property Ombudsman.
Personally I am aware of only two letting agents who were providing a poor service to their tenants and landlords. Both of these agents were primarily Property Investment companies with letting agents bolted on to them.
Both of these agents have now cleaned up their act and it was not a regulator who told them to clean up their act it was the market (the best regulator there is).
If tenants and landlords want to use a regulated firm then theis option is available to them by using an ARLA or RICS regulated letting agent.
The fact that most don't shows that there is little demand from the market for regulation and that the regulation of letting agents is just an excuse for Civil Servants to justify their existence.
I do not believe that government intervention and regulation will solve the problem. In fact I could make a strong argument that such activities could make things worse. Perhaps my initial comment was a little ‘throw away’ …….
Can anyone make the case for regulation? Just take a look at the regulated industries and markets in the UK, which one would we consider to be the right model for the PRS. Every day we wake up to new and serious issues with banks, utilities, pension companies etc.
In Scotland the government intervened and implemented a very good scheme for tenant deposits; only 55% or so of the deposits have been paid in to the scheme and many agents / landlords continue to operate outside of the legislation.
Tenant fees have been made illegal (questionable) in Scotland, making life difficult for the more professional agents who make every attempt to comply with the law, whilst the less professional firms / individuals continue to charge tenants regardless.
Regulation will force more independent agents out of the market and make way for the corporates to take control, I believe that this will be bad for landlords and tenants alike. Just take a look at financial services in the UK; where does an average salary earner go for advice? The answer is almost nowhere, independent advice is now the preserve of the wealthy.
We already have a sound legal framework, this needs to be adhered to and the consequences for breaking the law should be serious. As I have said on many occasions regarding regulation, be careful what you wish for, the unintended consequences could be devastating.
Citizen Agent - well said
Andy - what there won't be if the penalties are harsh enough is any clown agents or indeed private self managing landlords.
England prepare - especially if Labour wins in 2015. Mind with Wales and Scotland leading, and similar intentions in Northern Ireland, it is only a matter of time before Westminster simply has to follow suit and act - or enact.
How can it be any other way?
And how exactly is there going to be no Letting Agents left in Scotland assuming you have actually read the Bill? Judging by your slapstick response you have not.
The good to have came out of our difficulties up here is that there is a lot more collaboration and a willingness between agents to work together to improve the industry and restore trust. Most of my fellow professionals are all for a code of conduct and dispute resolution which will also protect ourselves as well as Landlords & Tenants. Prior, there were rules that nobody knew (and neither enforced by previous administrations since the 80's) and following that we were somewhat hung out to dry.
Now I am no fan of the SNP's overall objectives for the country, but credit where it is due...they have worked with us and I feel there is a better understanding from all sides to give all stakeholders a lot more confidence in the industry.
If the Scottish Government carry on with their crazy intervention in the PRS there will be no letting agents to regulate!