Ahead of Propertymark One on 27 June, Russell Quirk, co-founder of Proper PR, who will be hosting two panels at the event, is hoping to generate conversation surrounding the necessity that is licencing ahead of the conference.
Quirk will be hosting two panels, one is sales and the other, lettings where the main thrust of that conversation is going to be about the market.
“I want licencing to come up in these conversations, because I think it’s a very important subject for agents,” he said.
Quirk believes the topic of licencing is highly controversial in England and continues to be heavily avoided.
Many countries around the world have mandatory licensing for estate agents, with England not even near making the list.
Licensing in counties like the US, Australia and most of Europe have a licensing regime, which is a necessity if an agent wishes to practise in their country legally. Before you act as an estate agent and before transactions can take place, you must gain a license.
To gain an estate agency license in these countries, an estate agent must demonstrate an understanding of the law, rules, and regulations of the sector.
An agent must also pass a knowledge test about general good practise and the best practise for consumers right now.
“Once you are licensed, it is a bit like having a driver’s licence, so if you mess up, do something bad or wrong, you are subject to sanction.” Mr Quirk explained.
“We are one of the only countries that doesn’t have licensing and I think it is completely outdated.
We need to be properly regulated as an industry, and counties like America and Australia have already set the standard for how the industry should be operating.
I also think that there should also be an ability to ban people and take licenses away if they have engaged in wrongful practise.”
With estate agents dealing with around one million sales transactions and three million lettings transactions every year, there needs to be more legislation in place to provide oversight on the industry, rather than the ancient legislation still in place.
“We mustn’t forget that we are dealing here, not with just big assets, not just something that is worth a lot of money, but the livelihoods and the financial vulnerability of millions of people,” Mr Quirk said.
“Licensing is an added benefit for consumers, knowing an estate agent is not going to take advantage of them, and their money.”
In a recent survey, Proper PR found that 75% of agents thought that estate agents in England should be licensed, meaning, 25% thought they shouldn’t be licensed.
“I would go as far as to say, agents that do not support the industry being licenced on an individual basis maybe have something to hide,” Quirk said.
“I believe that introducing licensing will raise industry standards. Every agent should have their client’s best interests at heart and be furthering their education and excelling in the best practise for the industry.
“In place of licensing, Propertymark Qualifications are a great example of how as an agent you can further your education and try and keep the industry as regulated as possible without mandatory licensing.”
