Franchise agency Century 21 says the government should create more significant barriers to entry to the lettings market and measures which would prevent unscrupulous agents and practices.
The firm's UK chief executive Rob Clifford says last week's vote by MPs requiring letting agents to publish full details of all their fees was common sense and expressed delight that MPs voted down Labour's amendment.
He said Labour's proposals could have resulted in a total ban on charging fees to tenants, were misguided and would ultimately have left tenants facing higher rents in order to cover the extra costs faced by landlords.
Clifford says the government needs to show what he calls a complete commitment to driving out poor practice and unprofessional operators from the lettings market, which he feels can be achieved without altering the economics of the market through such a blunt instrument as prohibiting fees.
The government and regulators should be concerning themselves with the fact there are no real fitness and propriety thresholds for prospective lettings agents neither are there any compulsory professional qualifications or mandatory professional indemnity insurance requirements he says.
He suggests the implementation of a model like that which now exists in the mortgage intermediary market, where ensuring the quality of the agent is the primary method of protecting the interests of the consumer.
Labour's proposals - which have been almost unanimously criticised by the private sector - includes legislation to introduce three-year minimum contracts for tenants to provide what party leader Ed Miliband claims will be greater security of tenure, and a strict limit on the amount that any rent could increase over the course of the three-year contract.
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Comments
You can already offer an assured shorthold for three years with fixed rental terms. Regulation destroyed retail financial services, it's a confusing expensive mess that increases costs and does not ensure value. It is far more effective to regulate products than people. People can follow rules without taking exams.
Large letting agents should stop pretending they want barriers of entry to drive up standards and stop poor practice in the industry.
The reason they want barriers of entry is to reduce completion and raise the fee percentage they can charge.
Every agent we deal with seem to be in favour of regulation, unfortunately for the government it is too expensive to implement and police.
This is what we all, as an industry should be pushing for. We should be demonstrating why the public should be able to trust us and that we adhere to professional standards. Better standards and quality will ensure all our futures.
On the point about the Labour proposals, I am no Labour supporter, but in a humane society, we really should be able to offer longer contracts, but only the basis that 1. It is easier to get a tenant out if they misbehave/do not pay and 2. The tenants know that the agreement is two sided and that if they want a longer agreement, it does not mean that they can walk away and that there will be financial consequences to them if they do.