It said more needed to be done to protect consumers from unprofessional agents and a licensed estate agent will guarantee that at least one agent within the branch is qualified in residential property sales through a formal qualification or length of service in the industry.
The licence will also ensure an agency is covered by the required amounts of Professional Indemnity Insurance, that agents undertake 12 hours of Continuing Professional Development every year and keep up-to-date with industry developments, and are bound by the NAEA’s rules of conduct.
The licence will not be a legal requirement, which the NAEA believes will give consumers a clear choice over choosing a licensed or unlicensed estate agent.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said: “Nobody would knowingly get into an unlicensed taxi. However, thousands of people are willing to entrust one of the most important transactions of their life to people who are not qualified or experienced.
“We would like all sellers and buyers to ask their prospective agents, ‘Do you have a licence?’. If they don’t, they should ask themselves whether that’s the best place to market their property.”
He added: “”Estate agency in the UK will now be a two-tiered industry – those agents who are licensed and those who are not. I think the public will welcome the distinction and I believe that this move will raise standards across the industry.”
Housing minister Grant Shapps backed the scheme and called on estate agents to sign up.
He said: “This is exactly the sort of measure the housing market needs – simple and sensible changes that are driven by industry and designed to deliver results.
“By ensuring they enjoy the trust of people buying and selling homes, estate agents will inject greater confidence and movement in the housing market.”
The NAEA aims to get as many of its members as possible licensed by June 2011.
