Respected Colchester businessman and founder of PMS Managing Estates Terry Sutton has met with MPs Will Quince and Bernard Jenkin at Parliament to affect a legal change to make it harder for rogue property managing agents to mismanage their customers’ money and property.
Terry, Chairman and founder of PMS Managing Estates, along with Dr Nigel Glen, who runs the industry’s Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), are spearheading a campaign for better regulation of the industry.
They met with Bernard Jenkin, MP for Harwich and North Essex and Colchester’s MP Will Quince to urge them to support changes in the law, with an aim to raise standards in the residential property management industry.
They want the two MPs to have an input in to the All Party Parliamentary Group looking in to residential leasehold and commonhold, a body that Will Quince is already signed up to. PMS has been in business for 29 years and looks after properties containing flats, houses and many commercial properties.
It has signed up to a code of conduct set up by ARMA, the leading trade body for residential property management in England & Wales. The body promotes the highest standards of property management and campaigns for improvements in legislation and policy.
Yet Terry says the industry is largely unregulated meaning anyone can set up in business with little controls over the vast sums of money they look after on behalf of property owners.
Terry said:
“As it stands, you need no licence, professional qualification, membership of a trade or professional association to set yourself up as a managing agent to manage people’s properties and their service charge money. This affects millions of people.”
MP Will Quince said: “As a former property solicitor, I am well aware of the issues in the sector. There are strong arguments for regulation of the sector to protect those who pay a service charge and this is an area I will be encouraging the Government to look at.”
MP Bernard Jenkin said: “The idea of introducing some regulation of residential property management companies is not at all unreasonable, and would provide assurance for dwelling owners who pay a service charge, and some redress if these dwelling owners are being ripped off with poor management or excessive charges. At the moment, anybody can set up as a property management company, and there are some terrible cases as a consequence.”