Last week three estate agents were fined almost £250,000 by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.
The Northampton-based chain Jackson Grundy was fined £169,652 while Hastings International UK of south London was hit with a penalty of £47,966. In addition, Cardiff firm Jeffrey Ross was fined £29,000.
Despite these and other rulings, estate agents have no regulator to monitor conduct, with the now-abolished OFT unable to intervene or perform investigations into individual complaints.
The latest Mortgage Solutions People’s Poll asked brokers whether they felt estate agents needed more formal regulation.
Almost three-quarters (72%) of brokers said there was a need for greater regulation of the sector compared to 23% who were happy with the current situation.
Since the OFT’s closure on March 31 its functions have since been taken over by Powys County Council, a move which drew criticism from Labour MP Stella Creasy.
“I question whether, at a time when we have growing concerns about estate agents, it is right to move the monitoring powers for the entirety of England and Wales to one trading standards body in Wales,” she warned ahead of the transfer.
“Having read the proposal, I do not think that anyone could doubt that Powys trading standards officers are committed to their national role, but there is a lack of clarity about how they might make decisions to enact that role.”
