The requirement for all letting agents to belong to a recognised ombudsman scheme does not go far enough – says Property Ombudsman Christopher Hamer.
Hamer has strongly reiterated his view that offering redress when something has already gone wrong is not enough to stop things going wrong in the first place.
He has once again called for the Government to prioritise regulation.
Hamer also expressed concern that the requirement – to be implemented early next year – only affects letting agents in England, but not in the rest of the UK.
He said: “Compulsory redress for letting agents in England will follow from the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act and we have been waiting for DCLG to advise how this will progress.
“Compulsory redress will be a significant milestone for consumer protection and will ensure letting agents in England offer landlords and tenants access to an independent dispute resolution service.
“It is hoped that the devolved administrations will bring about a consistent approach in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
“With around 60% of letting agents already registered with TPO and following the TPO Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents, making redress registration mandatory should be seen as the start of a process to create a level playing field for consumers and agents alike.
“However, redress and regulation are two very different issues.
“More needs to done to address the recommendations made in DCLG’s Select Committee Private Rental Sector report and its calls for a regulatory regime with defined standards of service, echoing what consumer groups and the industry itself have been saying for some time.
“I have also long stated that regulation is required in the sector and I gave evidence to the Select Committee emphasising my view and detailing my experience from cases referred to me.
“I maintain that the Government needs to see regulation as a priority issue.”
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Comments
Here we go again, a blind call for regulation without due consideration of the consequences. I keep asking the same question “name an effective UK regulator?” costs are excessive, value limited and the crooks continue to be crooks. 1000’s of independent agents do a great job every day all over the UK, the last thing they need is a compliance department paid just to tick boxes and keep the regulator happy, whilst the cowboys keep on shooting.
Hamer appears to be empire building again.
If you or I advertised that we were the only Agent in town the ASA would be down on us like a ton of bricks.
Companies House require a letter of Authorisation to use certain words in a company name registration. Christophher Hamer never corrects his status as THE Property Ombudsman when in fact it is far from certain where that title came from.
It all seems a bit chummy up at the top for anyone to ask the question.
By endorsing CMP protect he is actually providing the credibility that any dubious sorts require to appear.
legitimate.
Perhaps someone at the Negotiator Do could ask the question! There is bound to be someone there, trawling the internet on their smart phone and ready to spice up the afternoon Q&A session
OSP never seem to comment . TPOS never fail to do so. Now they endorse a new CMP scheme. It seems they are becoming a commercial lobbyist.
I always thought THE property ombudsman implies' the one and only.'
That said, I actually agree with the principle.
Is Christopher Hamer the official government appointed ombudsman to the Property Industry and does the TPO have the necessary consent to use the word ombudsman in its company registration?