Estate agents 'should see same regulation as letting agents'

News Category: Legal

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Estate agents should be subject to the same levels of regulation as letting agents, it has been stated.

Regulation is a controversial issue for letting agents, with the National Landlords Association recently claiming that figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed more regulation of the industry was unnecessary.

However, after the Office of Fair Trading Home Buying and Selling Report stated regulation was only needed to protect customers, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has said lessons should be learned from the way letting agents are regulated.

"This is in stark contrast to the views of the Department for Communities and Local Government who are proceeding with the full regulation of letting agents," commented Peter Bolton King, the NAEA chief executive.

Mr King added that it was "difficult to understand" the inconsistency as letting agents often also deal with the sales of properties.

Earlier this year, a survey by Paragon Mortgages found the biggest fear for landlords in 2010 is regulation.

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