A leading estate agent in the south of England has called out both the current and past governments for the bureaucratic burden now bearing down on the back of every agent saying they have now become ‘unpaid civil servants’.

Des Simmons (main image), who for many years has run Bournemouth estate agency Bournecoast, says the landscape has dramatically shifted, and that although his business remains a thriving one, agents like him have essentially become an “unpaid administrative arm of the government”.

“Successive governments have steadily introduced a wave of regulations that businesses like Bournecoast are legally required to enforce – without remuneration,” he says.

“Not only do these mandates add significant costs and time burdens, but in some cases, they are even forced to pay the government for the privilege of doing their work.”

Growing burdens

Simmons has gone to great lengths to detail the growing burdens facing every estate agent over the past 25 years which has been accelerating recently, including many about to go live under Labour.

He has documented (see list below) the nearly 50 regulations, laws and fees that property management firms, estate agencies, letting agencies and holiday lets companies must enforce, manage or pay.

“The Government continues to outsource its responsibilities to private businesses while making it increasingly difficult for those businesses to operate profitably,” he says.

“We are expected to enforce laws, process taxes, conduct safety compliance checks and monitor immigration status – all without compensation, and in many cases, at our own cost. This is an unsustainable model that unfairly shifts the burden of governance onto small businesses.

“It is time for policymakers to recognise the critical role businesses play in upholding these regulations and to either compensate them for their enforcement work or streamline the regulatory landscape to ease the burden.”

Extra regulations

• Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019
• Right to Rent Checks
• Non-Resident Landlord Tax Collection
• Tenancy Deposit Protection
• Prescribed Information
• How to Rent Guide
• HMRC Intermediary and Annual Reporting
• Fire, Gas and Electrical Equipment Safety Compliance
• Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR)
• Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations
• Legionnaires’ Disease Risk Assessments
• Consumer Protection Act 1987 & General Product (Safety) Regulations 1994
• Furniture Safety Regulations
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Requirements
• Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES)
• Building and Fire Safety Act 2022
• Data Protection Compliance (GDPR)
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
• HMO Licensing and Compliance
• Section 21 and Section 8 Reforms
• The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act
• Short-Term Let Licensing and Planning Restrictions
• Enforcement of Local Licensing Schemes
• Housing Condition Complaints Handling
• Anti-Social Behaviour Monitoring and Management
• Deposit Dispute Resolution
• Mediation for Tenant Evictions
• Material Information Laws
• Client Money Protection (CMP)
• Making Tax Digital (MTD)
• Redress Scheme
• Sanctions Check
• Proof of Ownership, Home Address and Mortgage Approval
• Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) (England)

Extra costs/lost revenues

• Tenant Fees Act 2019
• Credit Card Fee Ban
• Check-in and Check-out Fees
• Guarantor Arrangement Fees
• Renewal Fees
• Late Payment Fees
• Ban on Admin Fees for Changes to Tenancy Agreements
• Pet Fees
• Referencing Fees
• Council Tax Liability for Vacant Properties
• Cap on Tenant Deposits