ARLA recognises the need to differentiate itself from the growing number of cowboy agents exploiting vulnerable tenants and landlords.  This should also be a boost for promoting best practice in relocation, a cause already championed by the relocation industry, Re:locate magazine and the professional bodies of ARP and EuRA.  ARLA’s announcement comes ahead of the government’s likely proposals for a registration scheme to be outlined in a Green Paper within the next two weeks, in response to the Rugg Report’s call for regulation.

As of today, all ARLA members will need to be licensed as part of their membership, which includes the following implications:
• Each individual member will hold a gold standard professional qualification relating to lettings;
• All members must undertake Continuing Professional Development
• Agents must ensure they have client money protection schemes in place to protect all tenant and landlord funds held by their office;
• All clients funds require to have an annual independent audit
• Agents must have professional indemnity insurance in place;
• Agents must sign up to an independent redress scheme;
• Agents must abide by a strict code of practice.

None of the above is compulsory for letting agents as standard at the moment, something fewconsumers realise as revealed in their recent survey. ARLA’s sister organisation, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) will follow suit with the launch of its own licensing scheme later this year.

Housing Minister Iain Wright will be speaking at the launch of the scheme in the House of Commons, saying that the establishment of competency and qualification standards will have wide-ranging benefits for consumers.

Ruth Lilley, of ARLA, added: “ARLA has lobbied the Government for 10 years to assist us in establishing higher industry standards. For too long the rental sector has been seen as the black sheep of the property market with a lack of regulation of and a requirement for redress to protect the consumer when the agent’s failings are to the financial detriment of that consumer.