The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has backed proposals to regulate estate agents as part of planned reforms to the home buying and selling process, warning that failure to do so could undermine the changes.
The regulator said the government’s plans are aimed at reducing waste in a system where an estimated £400m a year is lost through aborted transactions, with around one in three property sales falling through.
All key players within the conveyancing process must “have clear accountabilities and responsibilities, adhere to comparable ethical and professional standards, and be subject to comparable regulatory oversight,” it added.
The CLC was responding to recent government consultations on reforming the home buying and selling process and the provision of material information in property listings, which closed on 29 December.
It said the upfront provision of material information was essential to creating a faster and more secure transaction process and improving confidence in outcomes. The regulator also supported the mandatory introduction of digital property logbooks, provided they are standardised, and the use of binding agreements where they allow for fair withdrawal by parties.
However, the CLC opposed plans for a proposed consumer ‘charter’ designed to help identify high-quality property professionals, arguing that similar schemes already exist.
While collaboration with industry bodies, including the Home Buying and Selling Council (HBSC) and the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG), would be important to delivering reform, the CLC said sustained government support would also be required.
“We regret that although the professions involved have it within their power to make the changes needed in the consumer and wider public interest, it might be necessary for government or regulators to require certain changes to ensure progress is made,” it said.
Stephen Ward, director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, commented: “The current fall-through rate of 30% simply must be reduced. Consumers need certainty much earlier in the process that their sale or purchase will complete, something which the CLC has been working with the HBSC and DPMSG to deliver.
“We welcome the government’s support for the agenda for transformation of home buying and selling and hope our collaborative efforts can make our vision a reality, raising standards so that consumers’ interests are protected at all stages of the home buying and selling process.”
