Government Undermines Our Work, Claims ARLA

Government Undermines Our Work, Claims ARLA

8:38 AM, 6th September 2011, About 13 years ago 2

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Grant ShappsLetting agents have turned up the heat on the government to regulate the private rental sector another notch.

The spat is over who controls letting agents by managing accreditation.

The Association of Residential letting Agents (ARLA) is the self-proclaimed arbitrator of standards because their organisation has operated for longer than most and also has more professional members – around 6,500 letting agents.

The prize is which organisation is paid to run accreditation if the government decides to regulate the industry.

ARLA is finding its position is eroding as a number of large letting agent chains have set up a rival scheme – SafeAgent – that has clocked up more than a thousands members in less than six months.
The government has also repeatedly announced no landlord or letting agent regulation is envisaged in the near future – the last occasion was a couple of weeks back in a letter to ARLA.

The letter also pointed out that between a third and half of all letting agents belong to ARLA – putting the number in the UK at between 13,000 and 20,000 – and that the industry seems to have effective self-regulation.

Now the Communities and Local Government Department has trodden on ARLA’s toes again by issuing a series of fact sheets for landlords and tenants

ARLA claims housing minister Grant Shapps is undermining the groups work by failing to regulate.
Operations manager Ian Potter said: “We are disappointed that the housing minister has once again refused to implement any kind of regulation on the private rental sector.

“There is no requirement for lettings agents or landlords themselves to take any kind of professional qualification. This means their professionalism cannot be guaranteed. In today’s market, when people are becoming increasingly desperate to find a home, there will be increasing opportunity for unethical operators to take advantage of consumers.

“We have worked hard to introduce a licensing scheme for letting agents to boost consumer protection among our members and we would recommend any consumer uses an ARLA licensed agent. All licensed ARLA members offer consumer redress for service failure and client money protection should the agent default with its client funds.”


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Comments

10:51 AM, 8th September 2011, About 13 years ago

There is no evidence that ARLA members provide any more of a professional service than those who are not. Infact one of your members in the local area still charge Landlords regardless if the tenant remains in the property without actually doing anything for it, another against the rules of ARLA still runs her business from her back bedroom.

Having been a letting agent and in business since 1988 what is apparent is the self righteous attitude of ARLA who todate have acheived very little in raising standards. By allowing large chain of Estate Agents who entered letting in an attempt to keep trading during the recession, it is often the case that these branches are filled with inexperienced staff whose only training is that of a one day course then hid under the umbrella of being an ARLA Agent. Perhaps when ARLA actually make membership something to be acheived by knowledge and experience then perhaps the letting industry will enjoy a better reputation

15:58 PM, 8th September 2011, About 13 years ago

Since when was it the job of government to create an income stream for a private enterprise by granting them a monopoly? (shhh - nobody mention CRB's.....)

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