The Guild of Property Professionals and sister company Fine & Country have sent a letter to the Government stating why estate and lettings agents should be one of the first industries to return to work once deemed safe to do so.
The letter has also been made available to the whole industry to make its own representation.
Jon Cooke, Group CEO of epropservices, parent company of The Guild and Fine & Country says: “As the Government establishes a strategy around restarting economic activity, it is important that our industry is allowed to open, operate and transact. Our sector can play a key part in the drive to getting the economy on its feet again.”
The housing sector is one of the most important influencers in the economy and will be key to rebuilding the financial health of the country post COVID-19. Injecting life into the property market will help restart the heartbeat of the wider economy as restrictions begin to lift. Moving home has knock-on advantages to other aspects of the economy, so action taken by the Government to reignite the property market as restrictions relax will have a positive impact on the financial health of the country as a whole.
Estate and lettings agents are also one of the industries that can make the greatest economic difference with minimum face to face contact. Most estates agents now have the tech tools, processes and services in place to carry out the home buying process virtually through means of video viewings and valuations, and electronic contracts and documentation.
Added to this, The Guild’s compliance offer, Paul Offley, has produced a best practise guide for estate and lettings agents to operate within a safe manner which will available to the industry for free during the coming week.
Our emphasis during this process is to ensure that every precaution is taken to keep people safe. We are pushing for the industry to be able to get back to work, but it is paramount that we all follow the correct procedures to ensure everyone is protected.
We call on the Government to act now, to review and look at estate agency as an essential service to both the public and the economy.
[Source: PROPERTY REPORTER – 21ST APRIL 2020]
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