Charter for Independent Estate and Letting Agents
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CIELA ceases to exist
New trade body failed to gain enough support from independent agents or serious momentum, forcing it to close on 31st March 2018.
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Finally! CIELA to launch in April and tackle rogue agents head on
The Charter for Independent Estate and Letting Agents or CIELA has revealed that it will launch on 2nd April 2018 despite several false starts. Soft launched in March to gauge levels of support among independent agents, it then announced in June that it had too few members to go to a full launch, then revealed that it would kick off a full membership plan in July before announcing in October that it would cancel everything. CIELA now says it believes there is a place for an organisation because, its recent research among the industry and members shows, many agents view rogue operators as the biggest threat to the industry, not online agents, the tenant fees ban or corporates. In a statement released this morning, CIELA says it believes looming government regulation of the industry via organisation such as the NAEA and ARLA will not be effective. Rogue directory Instead, it is to launch a directory of legally-compliant agents that can be searched by anyone and be used by any agent regardless of size to prove their integrity and download a certificate. A system to enable rogue agents to be reported for non-compliance with industry regulations and relevant UK laws will…
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Difficult market conditions to blame for CIELA failure, says founding agent
Kristjan Byfield, one of the founding agents of the Charter for Independent Estate and Letting Agent (CIELA) says the organisation was launched at the wrong time and that it would have been more successful if it had focussed on fewer issues. CIELA launched in January this year but after struggling to attract enough agents to sign up, it threw in the towel in June despite having a large group of experienced founder agents (pictured, right) behind it. “We just tried to launch it at a difficult time,” says Kristjan, who says he realises “hindsight is a wonderful thing” but thinks CIELA launched with too many objectives, and that difficult market conditions meant too many agents didn’t have the time or energy to commit to a new membership organisation. “The trouble with our industry is that we’re a funny old bunch. There were too many voices trying to get their points over; it would have been better to be more focussed,” he says. “Our industry is too fragmented. For example, the issues facing a Welsh agent with a few hundred properties to manage are very different to those facing a business like mine in central London. “I am disappointed that CIELA…
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CIELA launch now very likely to proceed, says founder
The CIELA launch strategy to highlight the organisations potential downfall unless agents sign up in enough numbers has worked after founder Charles Wright revealed that it is on track for a full launch on October 1st. In June the Charter for Independent Estate and Letting Agents predicted the organisation would face a bleak future unless independent agents who had shown interest paid to join the organisation and give it enough revenue for a launch. But now Charles says agent recruitment is back on track after initial worries if “current trends continue”. The organisation has also recently launched its full website, positioning itself as a new voice for agents to prevent the “corporate takeover of the industry”. CIELA has set itself some tough initial goals for its first few months following the official launch including stopping the ban on letting fees and locking horns with Purplebricks and other online agents. “It has become clear that the most important post-launch priority for our members is to shine the spotlight on rogue independent agents,” says Charles (pictured, left). “The consensus is that sloppy standards among lower-quality agents, who are the ones most likely to be avoiding legislative requirements, stimulate the most public complaints…
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CIELA to start pre-launch memberships from April, full launch on October 1st
The start-up of a new membership organisation just for independent estate agents called the Charter for Independent Estate and Letting Agents (CIELA) has moved on to its next phase. CIELA is the brain child of Charlie Wright, CEO of software firm Easymatch, who says independent agents need a separate organisation to help them fight against ‘corporate domination’. Charter Secretary Samantha Westlake says inauguration is due to take place tomorrow and that an interim monthly pre-launch membership fee of £35 is to be introduced for agents wanting to join from 1st April. This will be a few days before CIELA is due to launch the organisation to the press. Since announcing their intentions in January, CIELA’s 11 founding members have been consulting among independent agents, who they say have a strong desire for a ‘collective voice’. They also looked closely at several key questions including; whether there were enough issues and problems facing independent agents to justify a new organisation, whether CIELA would benefit consumers too, and whether there was enough support within the industry given the number of existing membership organisations. “It was agreed that the answer to all three questions is ‘yes’,” a CIELA briefing document circulated today reveals.…
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