One of the last bastions of zero-regulated estate agents looks set to fall after officials in Jersey have recommended that the island’s agents should be forced to join a redress scheme, get licenced and be qualified.

Although approximately 41% of the island’s agents have voluntarily joined either the island’s industry association the JEAA or The Property Ombudsman (TPO), a report by the Jersey government’s Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel has recommended that membership of a redress scheme become mandatory.

This, it says, should mean either a similar dual system of redress should be introduced for the island’s 50-odd estate agents whereby both TPO and the PRS operate on the island, or a specific Jersey redress scheme is set up.

The report also recommends that the island’s housing minister adopts many of the recommendations within the English RoPA report when looking at mandatory qualifications for agents – another key recommendation in the document.

Standards

“The Panel believe it is important to introduce regulation of the estate agency market in Jersey, to bring the standards and requirements expected of Jersey estate agents into alignment with their UK counterparts,” the report says.

“Whilst the Panel remains concerned about the significant body of evidence it received during its review, relating to the lack regulation and accountability of estate agents in Jersey, it does believe that the evidence-based recommendations it has proposed in this report, offer sensible ‘steppingstones’ towards a regulatory environment that improves the sector for both consumers and estate agents.”

The report follows heavy lobbying by the JEAA to regulate agents on the island and bring in licensing, largely because it is felt that without regulations there is no ‘entry requirement’ says Nick Dodsley, founder of ND Estates and President of the JEAA, which represents 14 of the 50 firms active in the Island.

Read the report in full.