RICS Manifesto – better regulation in residential property as published on 26th April 2010
RICS believes streamlining regulation in property services will provide consumer benefit and underpin an efficient and innovative property market.
This can be achieved through:
• Universal, principles-based standards across residential property
• A review of Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) for residential and personal property
• Introducing an intelligent regulation in lending and effective consumer information in borrowing
Regulation of estate agents
RICS believes consumers should be able to use a property professional confident in the knowledge that they are suitably regulated to a minimum standard.
There is a clear opportunity for Government to regulate to deregulate, reform the old system and reinvigorate the residential property market.
A future model
RICS believes that all property professionals should be suitably regulated to a minimum level through the following model:
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Standards
There should be a suite of principles-based, over-arching codes which apply to all property professionals. Standards would be set by the Property Standards Board for estate agency, lettings and property management.
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Supervision
All property professionals should be supervised by a suitable body. A central body, most likely the Property Standards Board, would be responsible for approving supervisory bodies for different areas of practice.
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Redress
All those practising in residential property should offer consumers access to independent redress. All redress mechanisms should judge complaints against consistent standards to ensure that there is no possibility for firms to sign up to the mechanism with the weakest requirements. To assist consumers, there should be a single point of contact for property complaints.
Money laundering regulation in the property sector
RICS believes that there should be targeted, effective regulation to protect against money laundering and financial crime. Money laundering regulation in the property sector should:
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Be targeted at the areas which have the greatest risk of being used by criminals to launder money and avoid imposing regulatory burdens on low-risk areas of work;
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Be appropriately supervised by a single, competent regulatory authority; and
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Reflect the UK system of property transactions rather than being based on the European model.
Transparency in residential and commercial property sector
Transparency in fees/commissions in both the residential and commercial property sector has been in and out of the news for some time. In order to look at what was actually happening, RICS established the Transparency Working Group, which has now issued its final report and recommendations.
Future of RICS Regulation
RICS Regulation is currently engaged in a re-examination of the role of professional standards and ethics in the modern business world and the role that professionals play in providing customers and society with the confidence that things are being done properly.
RICS will work to ensure that Government understands the needs of the many societies where members operate and creates the right framework within which to practise.
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