The Property Ombudsman has launched a new code of practice to cater for the growing number of residential buying agents in the UK.
TPO will implement The Buying Agent Code of Practice on 1 January 2014. It has been designed to create a uniform set of standards for buying agents based in the UK to protect the interests of consumers and to promote best practice in the industry.
The largest property ombudsman scheme in the UK, TPO has more than 22,000 sales and letting agents have registered with it.
Property Ombudsman Christopher Hamer said: “The Buying Agent Code of Practice is a milestone for the industry. More than 95% of residential sales agents have signed up to TPO’s Sales Code of Practice and we recognised that buying agents are a growing market sector in their own right.
“Unlike sales agents, who are instructed by home owners during a property sale, buying agents act in the interest of buyers to search for and secure the best price on a property. However, both sales agents and buying agents are subject to the same property and consumer protection laws, which is something many consumers and agents are unaware of.
“Consumers on both sides of a property transaction deserve the same levels of protection outlined in The Estate Agents Act 1979, and should be able to use a redress service to resolve disputes if they feel they have been treated unfairly.”
annabel.dixon@estatesgazette.com
