Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

My Lords, Amendment No. 7, tabled by my noble friend Lord Dubs, seeks to increase the maximum amount of a penalty charge notice from £500 to £1,000 and is supported by the noble Lord, Lord Lee of Trafford, and the noble Earl, Lord Caithness. The Government have listened carefully to the arguments made in Grand Committee, on Report and today. As I said on Report, the objective is to find a sensible balance between the rights of estate agents not to be given a large fine without any due process and ensuring that the penalty charge is not an insignificant amount. Given the views expressed, we believe that setting the maximum level of the fine at £1,000 is a sensible compromise. Although the actual level will be set by regulations, a maximum of £1,000 will allow some headroom to increase the fine over time, therefore future-proofing the legislation. I thank noble Lords for their contributions and I am content to accept the amendment proposed by my noble friend Lord Dubs.