Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

My Lords, this is now the third time that we have discussed this amendment in one form or another. The noble Earl, Lord Caithness, has strong views on the need for the positive licensing of estate agents but, as I have explained before during the passage of this Bill, the Government do not agree. I do not intend to repeat the arguments again, as they have been made a number of times. The amendment is not a small addition to the Bill. It would be at odds with government policy in this whole area. The Government’s intention in this part of the Bill is to improve the current negative licensing regime. In addition to requiring estate agents to belong to approved redress schemes, the Bill will improve the enforcement powers in the Estate Agents Act 1979. Formal record-keeping requirements will provide enforcers with audit trails, making it easier to prove wrongdoing and to take enforcement action. Widening entry and inspection powers will enable enforcers to make proper use of these new powers. Expanding the circumstances in which the OFT can consider the fitness of estate agents will enable it to remove rogue agents from the market more easily. In addition, we are confident that compulsory membership of redress schemes will help to drive up standards, as well as compensate victims of misconduct. Improving the negative licensing regime, as outlined, will tackle problems in the industry without driving up costs for consumers. However, if this does not prove to be the case, we will look at the issue again.