News Made Clear · Loading…
Housing secretary Angela Rayner says property agents would need licences under proposed changes for England and Wales, alongside caps on some charges to leaseholders.
Review information is loading.
Housing secretary Angela Rayner has announced plans for an independent regulator of property agents, with powers to set standards and revoke licences. Speaking at Labour’s annual conference, she also said the government would seek powers to cap permission and administration fees charged to leaseholders. Both measures would require legislation; neither is in force. [1]
Under the proposal, agents would have to obtain a licence and meet standards for conduct and complaints handling. The regulator could withdraw licences if those standards were breached. Whether estate agents would be covered remains unclear. [1]
A public consultation would help set the fee caps, which would also apply to freehold and privately managed estates. Rayner said she had heard of leaseholders being charged £250 for permission to keep a pet and £400 to change a front door. The changes would cover an estimated five million leaseholders in England and Wales. [1]
The new fee caps have no announced amounts or start date. They are separate from a previously announced £250 cap on annual ground rents, which the government expects to take effect in late 2028. MPs have called for that date to be brought forward to late 2027. [1]
1 listed sources · explore evidence, limitations and provenance.
Sign in to give this article a thumbs up or down.
Private test discussion. Comments are readers’ views and are not yet automatically fact-checked. Editing is available for 60 seconds after posting.
Sign in with a confirmed reader account and choose a username to read comments and participate.
Sorting applies to top-level comments; replies remain oldest first. New comments and likes can change the order. Refresh for the current ranking.
Loading comments…