Propertymark will appear in front of the House of Lords’ Industry and Regulators Committee tomorrow morning, urging the regulation of lettings agents.

The committee has launched a short inquiry to examine the current approach to regulation of agents, and in particular will consider whether there should be a new regulator of property agents, as recommended by the report of the Regulation of Property Agents working group back in 2019.

Led by the chair, veteran Labour Baroness Taylor of Bolton, the committee will hear from Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark.

He says: “Propertymark has long campaigned for the regulation of property agents and is pleased that the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee is looking at this important issue. There are regulatory models for agents already in existence across parts of the UK so it’s important that we learn the lessons from implementation and how they can help shape future reform and policy making in this area. 

“This is particularly important in light of legislative proposals from the UK Government to reform the leasehold system and renting in England with property agents playing a key role in supporting, guiding and providing information to consumers. Propertymark remains committed to ensuring any new legislation is workable for the sector as a whole.”

Separately, Propertymark has linked the regulation of agents with the Renters Reform Bill.

Douglas says: “The Bill offers a huge opportunity to reform the private rented sector in England. However, as with all legislation there are unintended consequences. 

“For the Bill to succeed for tenants, landlords and property agents it needs to be strengthened in a number of areas. Allowing fixed term tenancies will give tenants more choice and security. Further clarity is needed on the role of new redress requirements for landlords as this is crucial to the effectiveness of any overhaul. 

“The regulation of property agents must be included in the legislation and the court system must have capacity to bolster the confidence of landlords and property agents in an evidence-based possession process following the abolition of Section 21. Unless there is provision for all stakeholders the changes will not overall improve renting for tenants.”