Regulator to ensure confidence for buyers

The Government has set up a regulatory body to ensure those buying or renting a property are not mislead on its actual value.

The Property Services Regulatory Authority will make sure selling and leasing properties are not only qualified to do so but that they are quoting a realistic “advised market value”.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said the body’s requirements also included the publication of residential property sales prices and the establishment of a commercial leases database.

“I believe that the lack of transparency in the residential housing market and the absence of proper consumer protection standards have contributed in no small way to the problems of recent years,” he said, adding that the selling price of all dwellings would be recorded in a publicly available national database.

The authority will take control of ensuring that auctioneers, estate agents, and property management agents meet:

* Standards relating to the required education, training, and experience levels of applicants for licences;

* Levels of professional indemnity insurance;

* Quality of financial accounting systems;

* Ethical standards to be observed in the provision of property services.

It is backed by the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011, which Mr Shatter said would force auctioneers to publish a realistic “advised market value” of a property for sale rather than the “discredited” guide price.

Furthermore, to avoid any conflict of interest and ensure transparency, an auctioneer who wishes to provide a financial service to a purchaser of property the auctioneer is selling will be required to obtain the agreement of the vendor of the property.

They will also have to find an auctioneer who promotes a loan package to intending purchasers and will be required to indicate whether the financial institution offering the loan had already funded the development (or was prepared to fund it where housing units are being sold from plans).

In the case of private treaty sales, auctioneers will be required to maintain records of all offers received in respect of property.

Elsewhere, the legislation requires the establishment and maintenance of a public database containing details of letting arrangements and rent reviews in the commercial property market.

Mr Shatter said the authority would provide “greater confidence in future property transactions”.