Rics: Letting agents need better regulation

News Category: Industry News

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Letting agents and landlords need to be properly regulated, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has said.

In yesterday's Queen's Speech there was no mention of a previously proposed Housing Bill.

As part of the Bill, housing minister John Healey had pledged to allow private tenants to stay in their homes for two months if their landlord had their property repossessed.

But the idea appears to have been dropped by the government, something that has disappointed Rics.

It said that because so many people now rely on renting, legislation was needed for the sector, especially as only 50 per cent of letting agents belong to a voluntary regulatory scheme.

Rics said the problem did not just rest with letting agents.

"Many landlords do not use an agent, meaning less than half of all rental transactions are regulated, with the attendant risks to tenants' deposits and landlord rents," it stated.

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