NAEA hopes regulation will remove cowboys

“For years, the National Association of Estate Agents has been calling for an appropriate level of regulation to be introduced as mandatory in the UK housing market.

“The sums of money are too large and the potential impact on families too great for the industry to remain liable to abuse by unqualified cowboys.

“Professor Jones recognises that estate agents should be better regulated to ensure that every branch has suitably qualified employees. This is a welcome step, and we look forward to the Government’s response to the report’s suggestions.

“I would like to reassure all of the hardworking and reputable estate agents in the industry, as well as the thousands of people considering getting onto the property ladder, that the NAEA will fight to ensure that any reform to the industry is effective.

“In the meantime, I would advise anyone entering the property market or moving up the housing ladder to ensure that their estate agent is bound by appropriate rules of conduct, as is the case with NAEA members.”