Residential members of the British Property Federation (BPF) will be required to sign up to a registered redress scheme under its new residential code of conduct.
The code, to be unveiled next week, is the latest in a long line of attempts to regulate the private rented sector.
It will require landlords to: (i) adhere to certain service standards; (ii) ensure that property advertisements are fair; and (iii) meet their legal obligations.
The code, which will be compulsory for new members, also requires BPF members to operate an internal complaints procedure and become members of either the Housing Ombudsman Service or the Surveyors Ombudsman Service.
Six of the UK’s largest institutional landlords – Dorrington, Grainger, Touchstone, Terrace Hill, Marston Properties and Fairbridge Residential – have already signed up to the code.
The BPF is also launching a new standard lease agreement for landlords, in a bid to make tenancy agreements more transparent.
Rupert Dickinson, chairman of the BPF’s residential committee and chief executive of Grainger, said: “Having a code, access to redress and an agreement that is easy to understand will, I hope, provide occupiers with the peace of mind [of knowing] that BPF members deliver a very professional service.”
The RICS has already drawn up a new code of standards to provide better regulation of the sector for its members, while the government-commissioned Rugg Review, published last October, has also called for an improvement in standards in the private rented sector.
A second report, commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and published in January, stated that the current regulation of the sector was inadequate.
BPF members will be able to sign up to the code of conduct and download the new lease agreement free via its website.