Shadow Solicitor General Helen Grant has asked Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook (pictured) in Parliament whether the Government’s policy plans will take into account “the adequacy of the service provided by FirstPort property management.”

As was reported in The Neg, the property management company was recently hauled in front of MPs and grilled over accusations it was hiking service charges, failing to carry out essential building maintenance and not responding to residents’ concerns.

Abuse and poor service

Pennycook responded to the question by saying: “The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.”

“Legislation is currently enforced by local authorities and by the National Trading Standards’ Lettings and Estate Agency Team, who have the power to issue warnings and banning orders to rogue estate and letting agents.

“The previous government committed to regulate the property agent sector in 2018 and asked a working group chaired by Lord Best to advise them on how best to do it.

Pennycook added, however, that: “They failed to respond to the recommendations set out in the working group’s 2019 Regulation of Property Agents.

As a minimum, this should include mandatory professional qualifications.”

“Managing agents play a key role in the maintenance of multi-occupancy buildings and freehold estates, and their importance will only increase as we transition toward a commonhold future. As a result, we are looking again at the 2019 report.

And he made it clear that the Government intends to strengthen the regulation of managing agents and drive up the standard of their service.

“As a minimum, this should include mandatory professional qualifications which set a new basic standard that managing agents will be required to meet. We will consult on this matter this year.

“We will set out our full position on regulation of estate, letting and managing agents in due course.”

FirstPort comments: “We welcome the government’s plans for regulation of managing agents. This has been a long-held objective for us to drive high standards of service for residents across the country.

“FirstPort have been implementing improvements over the last 12 months in transparency, communication and service which will deliver a standardised professional approach.

“As the minister notes, professional qualifications must be a key part of a regulatory regime. We have delivered this in our own work, enrolling all our colleagues on a 12-week industry-accredited training programme to support them to deliver the highest standards of service with over 1000 colleagues completing the course so far.”