Has Grant Shapps lost the support of estate agents?

HIPs – it’s a funny old game!

It was not too long ago when the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) was falling over itself to knock at every given opportunity the beleaguered home information pack. There were constant accusations that the HIP was nothing other than an unnecessary and costly barrier to speculative sellers and how this was in turn causing a major housing shortage.

On top of this we were seeing Grant Shapps and his loyal band of supporters proclaiming that the estate agents they spoke with were all united in their view that the HIP was not wanted and was making a major contribution towards the failing property market.

What a difference a couple of months of a recovering property market has had on estate agents as we have within the past couple of days seen Gary Smith, the President of the NAEA, write an open letter to the OFT in response to its survey on home selling in which it would seem estate agents are beginning to see the HIP in a more favourable light.

The letter that can be viewed in full below was written in response to concern over the lack of regulation within the Estate Industry ( I wonder what Grant Shapps makes of this !!) and of how this will allow the likes of Tesco to set up in competition.

Mr Smith says:

‘Presumably the OFT will also be excusing the supermarket chain the bother of having to comply with the Money Laundering Act and having to provide an Energy Performance Certificate or Home Information Pack. For a senior Director of the OFT to be happy to advocate the sweeping aside of carefully considered legislation aimed at consumer protection, energy conservation and anti-money laundering, defies belief’.

What a turn up for the books – the NAEA saying for the very first time that the HIP Regulations should be viewed as ‘......carefully considered legislation..’!

Is this really a turning point, can the NAEA really now be saying it recognises the importance of the HIP and of how this is providing protection and benefits for the consumer. If it is, I am not surprised as many of the estate agents I have spoken with clearly support the aim of the HIP. Though they feel it could be improved, they are firm in their view that it should remain. Returning to a system that was clearly not working is simply not an acceptable option.

The letter also brought a smile to my face as the call for further regulation clearly does not sit comfortably with the dislike Grant Shapps and other Conservatives have for regulation and of how they see the HIP as a symbol of over regulation. Perhaps the NAEA has woken up to the hypocrisy it would be guilty of if it were to persist with an anti-HIP campaign whilst calling at the same time for additional regulations to protect its members.

It will be interesting given his well know connections with the estate agency community how Grant Shapps deals with this rather interesting development.

'Dear Sir/Madam

The Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) proposals (18th February) to change the laws under which properties are sold in the UK to favour the involvement of Tesco, seriously both negates and brings into question the OFT's role of consumer protection in the UK.

Under the Property Misdescriptions Act of 1991, it is a criminal offence for estate agents to make false or misleading statements regarding properties placed on the market. The OFT is advocating a change in this law to allow certain corporations such as Tesco to be exempt from the Act. This would place the burden of responsibility on the seller to ensure that all information on the marketing of the property is accurate.

Presumably the OFT will also be excusing the supermarket chain the bother of having to comply with the Money Laundering Act and having to provide an Energy Performance Certificate or Home Information Pack. For a senior Director of the OFT to be happy to advocate the sweeping aside of carefully considered legislation aimed at consumer protection, energy conservation and anti-money laundering, defies belief.

The average home owner cannot be expected to have the skills to assess the state of their own property, nor navigate their way through the complex regulations that they would need to abide by in order to sell a property.

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has always been in favour of protecting consumer rights. We recognise that buying or selling a home will, for most people, be the most complicated and greatest financial transaction of their lives. But these OFT proposals have been ill-thought through and do not take into account the complexities of the buying and selling process which a private seller would have to face.

The NAEA has been calling for more stringent regulation of estate agents to offer additional and necessary protection for consumers, which is why we will be introducing our own licensing scheme for NAEA members later in the year.

The OFT really should not be seeking publicity with these wild headlines but should instead concentrate on fulfilling their role - that of consumer protection and adherence to Trading Standards.

Yours faithfully

GARY SMITH

President, National Association of Estate Agents'