Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of NAEA, commented on the landmark decision to make it mandatory for all Principals, Partners and Directors members of the NAEA (of which FORUM is a member) to join the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA).

"Today marks the beginning of a massive change in estate agency. The NAEA is making it compulsory, rather than advisory, for all firms who have a Principal, Partner or Director who are NAEA members, to belong to the OEA. The only exceptions are those who belong to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which has its own scheme.

"The government has made it clear it wants all estate agents from each and every section of the industry to belong to a single redress scheme. The NAEA has taken this groundbreaking move one step further. All NAEA lettings members who are Principals, Partners or Directors, must also be members of the OEA and from 1 June 2006 the OEA will be accepting residential lettings complaints as well as the current residential sales one. To date, there has been no redress for letting agents what so ever.

"The fact that independent redress will now extend to private lettings is a significant step towards giving industry experts and consumers more confidence in the profession. This is an important move towards improving the industry dramatically and helping to ensure that in the future there will be no need for programmes such as BBC1's Whistleblower, as any rogue element will be quickly stamped out. However the NAEA still urges the Government to carry thought their pledge, follow the NAEA, and make it compulsory for all agent to belong to an Independent Redress Scheme"

About the NAEA

The National Association of Estate Agents is the UK's leading professional body for estate agency personnel, representing the interests of approximately 10,000 members who practice across all aspects of property services both in the UK and overseas. These include residential and commercial sales and lettings, property management, business transfer and auctioneering.

The NAEA is dedicated to the goal of professionalism within high street estate agency. Its aim is to reassure the general public that by appointing an NAEA member to represent them they will receive in return the highest level of integrity and service in both sales and lettings. Each NAEA member is bound by a vigorously enforced Code of Practice and adheres to professional Rules of Conduct. Failure to do so can result in heavy financial penalties and possible expulsion from the Association.

About the OEA

The Ombudsman for Estate Agents Scheme provides an independent service for dealing with disputes between Member Agencies and customers who are buying and selling residential property in the UK.