Property Standards Board Dissolved

For immediate use, 18 October 2010

 Property Standards Board Dissolved

With the prospect of statutory regulation of the whole residential property sector no longer on the political agenda, the Property Standards Board has voted to disband and suspend future activities.

 The joint Board was set up by RICS and NFoPP (incorporating both NAEA and ARLA) as a direct response to Sir Brian Carsberg’s Review of Residential Property, published in June 2008, which highlighted a number of areas where improvements could be made to the information available to consumers and to the process itself and the control of agents.  The Board set itself the task of bringing together stakeholders involved in the residential transaction process, both sales and lettings, with a view to establishing a set of standards to which all agents, whether members of a professional body or not, could subscribe, so that consumers could have a clear understanding of the quality and scope of services offered by their professional advisers.

During its three year life, the Board, whose members also include representatives from ARMA, Trading Standards, redress and consumer interests, successfully published a set of best practice principles, the PSB Consumer Charter, setting out the standards to which all agents, whether involved in sales, lettings or block management, should adhere, and which consumers have the right to expect from those providing agency services.

The retiring chair of the Board, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, said:

“I am naturally extremely disappointed that we were unable to bring the residential property sector together to raise standards and improve consumer protection throughout this vitally important sector, which involves one of the most important transactions in peoples’ lives – the securing of a home.

“I strongly believe that consumers need to have confidence in the professionalism and integrity of agents, and this can only be achieved by the adoption of and compliance with effective standards, and the proper monitoring and enforcement of that compliance.

“Although the Board has established a Consumer Charter, users will only have confidence in it if the industry – with some independent and consumer oversight – ensures those who claim to adhere to the Charter are monitored, insured and subject to discipline should they fail to comply.  Whilst it has not been possible without legislation to take the agreed Consumer Charter to the next stage, the outgoing Property Standards Board hopes that the individual parts of the industry  - and particularly those who have not voluntarily joined a professional body - will move quickly towards adopting the Charter and monitoring compliance, so that consumers can have confidence in all their dealings during this complex and often stressful process.”

Baroness Hayter, who is also Chair of the Legal Services Board Consumer Panel, will continue to champion consumer rights in the House of Lords, and – along with the professional bodies which established the Board – press for the effective regulation of residential agency, to protect buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants from detriment arising from the actions of the unscrupulous minority in the sector.

ends

The Consumer Charter is at: http://www.propertystandardsboard.org.uk/718_PSB_A5_4pp_leaflet.pdf