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In the wake of this week’s BBC Panorama undercover exposé on estate agents, the HomeOwners Alliance has renewed its call for stronger protections for buyers against conditional selling practices.
The organisation also highlighted the lack of response from several prominent industry bodies and expressed hope that more will choose to publicly address the concerns raised by the programme – a step Propertymark has now taken.
“I’ve increasingly come to believe that estate agents and other property professionals must be banned from receiving financial benefit from both the buyer and seller in the same transaction,” Paula Higgins, chief executive, HomeOwners Alliance told EYE. “It creates an inherent conflict of interest. Conveyancers aren’t allowed to act for both sides – and the same principle should apply to estate agents.”
The HomeOwners Alliance, which recently, joined FT Adviser’s campaign to ban conditional selling, has been campaigning for change for years.
As far back as 2017, the organisation exposed this issue with a story that included an audio recording of an estate agent pressuring a buyer.
“We said then- and still believe – that estate agents should be banned from offering financial services, such as mortgages, to buyers on properties they’re selling,” Higgins explained.
She added: “In 2018, our research found that 300,000 buyers a year felt pressured into using in-house services. It may be time to revisit and update those figures.
“We’ve published a consumer guide to help buyers stand their ground and avoid being misled. No buyer should feel forced into using a particular mortgage broker or conveyancer. Buying a home is stressful enough without these coercive sales tactics.
“I raised this very issue in Parliament in May 2024, during a session on improving the homebuying and selling process [ Watch here – from 14:39]
“I continue to raise this with both NTSLEAT and TPO. In fact, I brought it up at the TPO Consumer Forum on 9th July—before the Panorama programme even aired.”
Trading Standards reacts to Panorama documentary with official statement
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