If you are a UK real estate agent, dealing in residential property in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, read on.
What do the schemes do? Approved redress schemes will deal with all complaints about the buying and selling of residential property including those about Home Information Packs (HIPs) and their Scottish equivalent. The service is free for the public.
They will not deal with complaints regarding overseas property transactions. The OFT and local Trading Standards departments will continue to deal with complaints about breaches of estate agents legislation.
The OEA scheme The Ombudsman for Estate Agents (“the OEA”) currently provides the most popular scheme
for dealing with disputes between member estate agents and consumers who are actual or potential buyers, sellers, landlords or tenants of residential property in the UK (“the OEA Scheme”).
Obligations once in the OEA scheme Agents are not obliged to subscribe to a code of practice; however, there are core standards of business that agents will be required to follow. They include but are not restricted to the following:
Keeping accurate records of all transactions with actual or potential sellers and buyers of residential property;
Operating a structured in house complaints handling process, which must be in writing and available to all actual or potential sellers and buyers;
Publicising that they are registered with an OFT approved estate agents redress scheme and any disputes may be referred to the Ombudsman for Estate Agents;
Observing high standards of fairness, integrity and good practice;
Having appropriate Terms of Business including clear arrangements as to fees;
Ensuring that all members of staff are conversant with their legal responsibilities and have, where relevant, a good working knowledge of the applicable law.
Estate agents that fail to join an approved redress scheme will:
Be trading illegally should they continue to sell residential property;
Be subject to a £1,000 penalty charge, which can be repeated if necessary;
Put at risk their fitness to operate as an estate agent and may ultimately be banned from carrying out estate agency work;
Risk a criminal offence charge if they continue to practise after receiving a prohibition order.
Under the Housing Act 2004, estate agents in England and Wales marketing properties with HIPs are already required to join an approved redress scheme dealing with complaints about HIPs. This is not the case in Scotland. However, the new regulations extend to all estate agents in the UK and all complaints about the buying and selling of residential property. If you are in Scotland, you are not exempt.
What will happen to the HIP redress scheme? From October 1st 2008, the Housing Act provisions relating to Home Information Pack (HIP) redress schemes will be repealed. They will not be required as HIP-related complaints will be covered by EAA 79 redress schemes.
Where to sign up for the scheme
If you are not registered, sign up now.
Redress schemes approved under the Housing Act 2004, for the purpose of dealing with HIP-related complaints are:
Ombudsman for Estate Agents’ HIPs redress scheme;
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Surveyor Ombudsman Scheme;
IDRS Ltd Property Adjudication for Consumers Scheme (PACS).
The first seems the most popular. You can join here.
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