UK estate agents have reacted in horror as
Business secretary Vince Cable department of Business Innovation and Skills
proposes to relax the Estate Agent Act. One Estate Agents body even issued
images of a battered pensioner suggesting that proposals would led to increased
assaults.
The British Government is committed to
reducing the regulatory burdens on business in order to help economic growth.
The ââ¬ÅRed Tape Challengeââ¬Â process is scrutinising UK legislation to see where
there may be scope for amendments or repeals to reduce regulatory burdens. As
part of this exercise there has been a proposal to amend the Estate Agents Act
(EAA)1979.
The proposal is to open up the UK estate
agency market to new business models which current legislation is holding back.
For Sale By Owner competition has been stifled by laws that were designed to
protect consumers.
CEO Nick Marr, whose company operate private
house sales website The Little House Company, said that he had made a
ââ¬Ësignificantââ¬â¢ contribution to the consultation process by the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills.
ââ¬ÅWe showed that several business models
that we want to launch that were potentially in breach of the law. Services
such as offering to sell by social media, matching buyers and sellers, and
erecting a For Sale board all breached the Act.
ââ¬ÅWe called for a relaxation of the laws
which were designed to protect consumers from unscrupulous estate agents. The
Act was keeping the status quo and not allowing innovation and creativity
within the industry.
Mark Hayward, president of the NAEA, said:
ââ¬ÅThe NAEA are of course submitting a response to the Governmentââ¬â¢s consultation
on the Estate Agent Act.
ââ¬ÅWe strongly oppose any measure that erodes vital consumer protection, which we
believe these proposals will do.
The Independent Network of Estate Agents
INEA were apologized to its readership after publishing distrurbing
images of an elderly women who had been assaulted. The newsletter was meant to demonstrate its fears in
allowing DIY home sales.
The apology issued today read ââ¬ÅFirstly INEA would like to
apologize for the upsetting images we sent out of elderly beaten people. I hope
all will agree that this is not something that we have done before or intend to
do again. It was intended as a call to action – an insight that the Estate
Agent Act keeps agents in place to provide more than budget internet marketing
by making all attempts to confirm that viewers are not bogus thugs.ââ¬Â
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