Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward proposals for primary legislation to require (a) letting agents and (b) online property platforms to only advertise and let domestic properties that are compliant with private rented sector regulations.

The Government wants to strike the right balance between supporting good landlords and agents and tackling criminals. This is why it is already the case that rented homes must be fit for human habitation and free from serious hazards, that the property electrics and gas must be safe, and these properties must meet minimum energy efficiency standards. If they don’t, local authorities have strong enforcement powers and can impose heavy fines.

We are also committed to raising professionalism and standards amongst property agents, protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 impose a general prohibition on traders from engaging in unfair commercial practices with consumers, protecting consumers from misleading trading practices.

In addition, since 2014, it has been a legal requirement for letting and managing agents in England to belong to one of the two Government approved redress schemes. Where an agent fails to comply with their legal responsibilities and fails to rectify the issue, consumers are able to escalate the matter through the agent’s redress scheme, which can investigate and make an adjudication which is binding on the agent.