Aidan J Reed News Article

HOUSING MINISTER AXES LICENSING PLAN FOR LETTING AGENTS

15th June 2010

HOUSING MINISTER AXES LICENSING PLAN

FOR LETTING AGENTS

On Friday last week Grant Shapps the Housing Minister of the new Coalition Government indicated that they will not be licensing Letting Agents or private Landlords as originally announced by the previous Government. The reason the Government has given is the fact that they do not want any more red tape in the industry.

James Etty (BA MARLA) Managing Partner of Aidan J Reed Lettings comments “we are really disappointed with the Governments plan to scrap licensing. As a Letting Agent we are regulated by both the RICS and ARLA and we feel that anyone involved in the industry should be licensed in order to practice. At the moment anyone can set up as a Lettings Agent, people have been doing this and this has resulted in the industry gaining a bad reputation.”

James believes that this situation is to the detriment of the consumer i.e. the Landlord and the Tenant.  James adds “if anyone is looking to let property they should ensure that this is through a qualified and regulated Agent”. Aidan J Reed are regulated by both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).