The responsibility for regulating estate agents transfers to Powys County Council next week.
The OFT will cease to exist on April 1, and from that date it will be Powys’s trading standards department that will be responsible for investigating agents who may have acted dishonestly and/or breached the Estate Agents Act, and for issuing warning orders and industry bans.
Powys put in a joint proposal with Anglesey Council to take over the responsibility, which was confirmed on February 20 by a vote in an obscure secondary legislation committee of MPs.
Powys Council will get £170,000 a year for three years from the Government to regulate UK estate agents. It has created three new jobs.
The transfer of powers to Powys has been criticised by very few people, probably because no one noticed.
However, Labour consumer affairs spokesperson Stella Creasy has been a critic.
She told MPs: “Powys has had three different cabinets in as many months and had to be threatened with intervention by the Welsh government before they could agree a budget.
“Given that they can’t seem to get their own house in order, with practices like double charging and mortgages by tender being put forward by estate agents, why do you think they are the right people to get house sales in order?”
Eye has had very little success in establishing meaningful contact with Powys.
On our first attempt, the press office did not know anything about taking over the OFT’s powers and said they would get back to us. They didn’t.
Yesterday, we tried again, both by phone and email, asking whether the authority was ready for the new role, whether the handover would be smooth, whether they were taking over investigations already in the pipeline, and how they planned to publicise bans and warning orders.
We asked them to respond by close of play yesterday, but unfortunately, we have not yet heard anything. We will of course publish any response as soon as possible.
However, you have to say, it doesn’t bode well.
Comments (6)
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