Conservative MP Mark Prisk, shadow minister for consumer affairs, has called for changes to be made to the consumer bill to crack down on ‘rogue’ estate agents.
Prisk has put forward three main proposals:
to modernise the 1979 Estate Act so it includes off-plan sales and direct sales by house builders as these are urrently not regulated.
widen the 1979 Act to include residential lettings and residential property management. The National Association of Estate Agents has also called for this change.
increase the maximum penalty for rogue agents from £1,000 to £10,000.
Prisk will seek to amend the bill when it comes to committee on April 17th. He said: ‘Rogue estate agents are bad for home buyers and give the industry a dreadful reputation. The current maximum fine is pathetic and it’s high time we increased it substantially to crack down on rogue agents.’