Labour has committed to regulating estate agents in a bid to oust the rogue operators within the sector who give the wider industry a bad name and often cost landlords money and time when their services fall short of minimum standards.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook revealed his intentions in parliament yesterday (main image), saying that his Government is “committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents.

“The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, management and estate agents in due course.”

Regulation of estate agents and in particular lettings agents has been looming since 2019 when the then Conservative Government set up the Regulation of Property Agents working group lead by Lord Best, which subsequently recommended sweeping changes for agents in a bid to weed out the cowboys who dog the sector.

After months of hearings, deliberations, debate and a lengthy report, successive Conservative housing ministers sat on its findings until finally admitting there were no plans to implement them. The recommendations included making all estate agencies to be licenced, requiring agents and business owners to hold minimum levels of professional training, a national code of practice and a single regulator.

"Many renters will be unaware that there is currently no requirement for estate or letting agents in England to be qualified or licenced to operate or open their own business leaving many people open to unscrupulous and illegal practice,” says Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark (pictured).

“With over 64% of landlords in England using letting and management services to rent their property, it's crucial that regulation is introduced to professionalise the industry, stamp out bad practice, create transparency and gives consumers more control over who manages their property."