Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced that he will not be pressing ahead with a scheme for the registration of landlords or the regulation of letting agents.
‘Whilst it was unrealistic to expect any legislation immediately, the decision by the Housing Minister potentially leaves landlords and tenants exposed to the rogue element in the lettings sector, particularly so in relation to client money protection,’ said Mr. Hamer.
‘I will continue to contribute to the current debate amongst industry bodies seeking a joined up and consistent approach to redress along with clear standards of business, consumer protection and awareness being developed and I hope Mr. Shapps supports this approach.’
TPO has already submitted its lettings Code of Practice for approval by the Office of Fair Trading. ‘More than 7,500 letting agency offices have already adopted the standards in the TPO Lettings code but this still leaves many operating outside the scheme leaving consumers outside the scheme and without access to redress when things go wrong and complaints are not resolved,’ added Mr. Hamer.