Homebuying reforms will fail if estate agents not regulated, warns CLC
Conveyancing regulator warns reforms to the buying and selling process risk being undermined unless consistent professional standards apply across the transaction.
Estate agents must be subject to the same professional and ethical framework as conveyancers, or reforms to the home buying and selling process will not work, according to Stephen Ward (pictured), Director of Strategy and External Relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
Responding to the Government’s recent consultations on home buying and selling reform and material information in property listings, which closed on 29 December, the regulator warns that uneven standards across the transaction process risk undermining efforts to fix a system in which around £400m a year is lost to failed deals and roughly one in three transactions fall through.
Clear responsibilities
The CLC says all participants in the process should have clear responsibilities, adhere to comparable ethical and professional standards, and be subject to similar regulatory oversight. Without that alignment, it argues, improvements elsewhere would struggle to translate into fewer aborted sales and greater certainty for consumers.
It does, though, give its backing to requirements for material information to be provided upfront, describing this as “of fundamental importance” to creating a faster, smoother and more secure process that builds confidence earlier on. The regulator also supports the mandatory introduction of digital property logbooks, provided they are standardised and meet clear criteria, and the use of binding agreements where these allow for fair withdrawals.
Collaborative efforts can make our vision a reality, raising standards so that consumers’ interests are protected at all stages of the home buying and selling process.”
Alongside its calls for collaboration, the CLC also cautions that progress will stall without firm direction. It says that, despite the professions’ ability to drive change in the public interest, Government or regulatory intervention may be needed to ensure reforms are implemented consistently.
Ward says: “We welcome the Government’s support for the agenda for transformation of home buying and selling and hope our collaborative efforts can make our vision a reality, raising standards so that consumers’ interests are protected at all stages of the home buying and selling process.”
