Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce regulations covering the operation of letting and property management companies in order to rectify bad practices.

As part of a fair and just housing system, the Government is committed to making sure that homeowners and tenants are protected from abuse and poor service. This commitment includes raising professionalism and standards amongst property agents (letting, estate and managing agents), protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. We therefore welcome the ongoing work being undertaken by the industry itself to raise professionalism and standards across the sector, including on codes of practice for property agents. We will continue to work with industry on improving best practice.

When parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to legislate to ensure that freehold homeowners who pay estate rentcharges have the right to challenge their reasonableness and to go to the tribunal to appoint a manager to manage the provision of services.

Mandating professional qualifications was one of the areas the Government asked Lord Best's independent working group on regulation of property agents to look at as part of its review. We are considering the recommendations on qualifications and training for property agents alongside the others in the working group's report.

There are several qualification providers operating in the property agent marketplace, including those not affiliated with any trade association or professional body. It is also a legal requirement for letting and managing agents in England to belong to one of the two Government approved redress schemes.