|
About Estate Agents
Estate Agents provide services to people buying and selling property, however estate agents are normally paid exclusively by their client, who is the person selling the property. You will find offices of estate agents in just about every town and village - some are small businesses that serve just a local area, others may be part of a larger chain that could even cover the whole country. Property ownership is a national obsession and estate agents often play a significant role in the market.
One particular feature of the UK residential property market is that it is very fragmented - estate agents compete agressively against each other and are reluctant to share information with competing offices - unlike other countries where sharing or mult-listing is commonplace. The result is that it can be extremely difficult to get a clear overall view of all the houses that are available in any area, although the internet is making an impact on this by making it possible to view properties on each agent's own website, as well as a number of property portal sites that list properties from many different agents.
Estate agents are not required by law to be licensed or qualified or even to be members of a professional organisation, however many individual estate agents are professionally qualified by examination and do belong to one or other of the main organisations such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) or the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). It is important to remember that an estate agent is being paid to represent their client, the seller or "vendor" of the property, so an estate agent's main aim should be to obtain the best possible deal for the person who is selling - not the buyer. The Government aims to reform the house buying process in England and Wales by the introduction of Home Information Packs.
* The Estate Agents Act 1979 and the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 regulate certain aspects of estate agency work.
* Complaints about Estate Agents may be directed to Trading Standards or the Office of Fair Trading.
* The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can ban people from acting as estate agents if it considers them to be unfit.
The Estate Agents Act 1979
This Act regulates the conduct of estate agents in the course of estate agency work concerned with buying and selling property; it does not cover the letting of properties. The Act gives the Office of Fair Trading the power to issue warning or prohibition notices against persons it considers to be unfit to carry on estate agency work. The Estate Agents Act lays down the duties that agents owe to their clients, which include:
* Passing on all offers to the vendor in writing
* Handling clients money
* Disclosing a personal interest if the agent may benefit from the sale of the property
* Giving written details of charges before entering into a contract
* Providing details of any services provided by the agent to buyers
Property Misdescriptions Act 1991
The Property Misdescriptions Act is designed to regulate people in the estate agency business who falsely describe or make misleading statements in relation to land. This includes descriptions of the address and location of a property, room sizes, easements and maintenance charges.
Internet
The Office of Fair Trading has published a report about the law as it applies to the sale of residential property using internet websites. According to the OFT, if you operate a business that accepts instructions from clients wishing to sell their homes, then if you either 1) do things to effect an introduction to your client or 2) after making an introduction, do things to secure the sale or purchase of the property, then you are legally an "estate agent" and must therefore comply with the terms of the Estate Agents Act. It seems the only exemption is if you are merely "publishing advertisements or disseminating information".
Ombudsman for Estate Agents
Some estate agents belong to the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA) Scheme, which deals with disputes between member agencies and consumers who are actual or potential buyers or sellers of residential property in the UK. The OEA will consider complaints where it is believed a member agency has infringed a consumer's legal rights, not complied with the OEA Code of Practice, acted unfairly, or been guilty of maladministration (including inefficiency or undue delay). The OEA scheme does not cover disputes about surveys and valuations of properties, or property letting and management. For more information about the OEA contact: Office of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents, Beckett House, 4 Bridge Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2LX; telephone: 01722 333306; website: www.oea.co.uk.
Complaints
If you have a complaint against an estate agent, you may contact your local Trading Standards office or the Office of Fair Trading, which enforce the EAA: Office of Fair Trading, Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8JX; telephone: 020 7211 8000; website: www.oft.gov.uk.
If you wish to complain about an estate agent who is a member of one of the professional bodies such as the RICS or NAEA, their contact details are as follows: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Surveyor Court, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JE; telephone: 0870 333 1600; website: www.rics.org and The National Association of Estate Agents, Arbon House, 21 Jury Street, Warwick, CV34 4EH; telephone: 01926 496800; website: naea.co.uk.
Home Information Packs
The Government's new Home Information Packs (HIPs), which will be introduced from 1st August 2007, are aimed at ensuring that essential information is available for buyers when the property is first put up for sale. For more information, click here to see our Home Information Packs page.
To find all UK estate agents use our comprehensive directory, by either clicking on the town or county links or by using the search box provided in the top bar.
These notes are offered as a general guide only and do not constitute legal advice.
|
