Uncertain Future Of The Property Misdescriptions Act

 

A new consultation suggests that the Property Misdiscriptions Act (PMA), a key piece of legislation affecting estate agents, may be phased out in the future.

The PMA could be replaced by a newer, non-property specific European law that is currently running alongside the existing legislation.

The PMA was first introduced in 1991 and came into force 2 years later. It makes it illegal for estate agents to make false or misleading statements, whether deliberately or not, about a property for sale. If the European law is to take precedence then the PMA could be phased out by late 2011.

However, since the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive was implemented in the UK, in the form of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRS), consumers are effectively now protected by two similar pieces of legislation.

The purpose of the consultation, carried out by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS), is to evaluate whether the PMA should be repealed and then replaced by the CPRS.

The PMA gives trading standards officers the power to enter offices and seize documents if they suspect an offence under the act. An estate agent’s only defence is due diligence and to how they took all reasonable steps, for example staff training, to prevent an offence being committed.

The CPRS is generally aimed at stopping dishonest, aggressive and misleading commercial practices as they impact on consumers.

In the consultation, it is argued that the PMA has the advantage of being specific to property, and therefore is easier to understand in relation to estate agency practice, whereas CPRS is a principle-based legislation that is not specific to property.

The consultation was published on January 11 and will close on April 5. It can be found online at the following link: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/consumer-issues/docs/c/11-505-consultation-repeal-property-misdescriptions-act

 

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