Estate Agency blog

You will be aware that all residential estate agents must belong to an approved redress scheme.  The OFT have now issued a prohibition order against a Southampton estate agency and the two principles of the firm after the local Trading Standards office had issued a £1,000 penalty charge for failing to register with an approved scheme.  Neither the agency, nor the two principles can now engage in estate agency work.

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme earlier in the year also expelled two agents, one in London the other in Merseyside, because they did not pay awards the TPO had made against them.  In both cases the agencies then paid up and were eventually allowed to re-register.  Recently another agency in Ilford has been expelled from the TPO for not paying a £2,000 award made against it.

In the Ilford case part of the problem was the agency claiming to be a member of NALS and the NAEA when they were not members.  This is clearly a breach of the TPO code of conduct but is also a breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 so there is a risk of a prosecution under these Regulations which would then be a trigger offence for a warning or prohibition order from the OFT.

Clearly the OFT and the redress schemes are flexing their muscles and taking action against agents and agencies that breach regulations.