In July 2019 a report was published giving the recommendation that a recognised standard for “Property Agents” should be created and rolled out across England. The aim of this would be to raise standards across the sector, to ensure those working within it would be appropriately trained and qualified.

The report recommended the following:

1

All agencies operating a residential property business should be licensed and licensing should include a fit and proper person test for company directors.

2

All customer-facing staff employed within residential agency business should be licensed and adhere to a Code of Practice.

3

All customer-facing staff employed within residential agency business should hold a qualification at Level 3 or above.

4

All company directors and management agents should be qualified to a minimum of Level 4.

5

A new regulator to be appointed to oversee compliance with an overarching Code of Practice.

We will obviously keep you updated when we hear of any progress!