Letting market review welcomed

The decision to allow the former director of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Sir Bryan Carsberg, to review the UK private property sector has been welcomed by a body which represents the interests of letting agents and landlords in the UK.

Sir Bryan will head up the review into the UK's residential property sector and will look at how rental property and buy-to-let have affected the market.

In recent months, several industry bodies, including ARLA, Rics and NAEA, have all called for a review of self-regulation in the industry. Last month, these groups announced that they would sponsor the investigation.

Responding to the review, Caroline Pickering, chair of the National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS), commented: "We are wholly supportive of the lettings industry working towards a coherent approach to self-regulation, rather than going down the route of costly and lengthy licensing legislation.

"Accreditation is key to self-regulating the industry. It is the lowcost option offering all agents the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the consumer and raise standards."

When the review was announced in July, Sir Bryan said: "I am delighted to accept the challenge of carrying out this study and look forward to consulting with all stakeholders including government.

"I hope to deliver my report to as wide an audience as possible in the first half of 2008."