Legal Updates

BLYTHE LIGGINS WRITES NEW CONTRACT FOR ESTATE AGENTS

21/10/2011

A firm of Leamington solicitors which runs a legal helpline for some 10,000 NAEA members has written a new contract for estate agents that is destined to become the model for the industry.
David Lester, joint senior partner and head of commercial clients at Blythe Liggins – a legal adviser to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) – said the contract set out the terms and conditions for when someone placed a property with an estate agent.
“We decided to write a new contract which would comply with all the relevant legislation and also with The Property Ombudsman’s new Code of Practice, which came into force on August 1,” said Mr Lester.
“We looked at the various types of contract for estate agents and modernised and revamped them. We now have a single new version which is destined to become the model contract for all,” said Mr Lester.
The new contract contains many improvements which make it easier for the client to understand such matters as the double commission warning (where a client changes estate agent but remains liable to pay the first agent a fee for any subsequent sale), liability for fees, data protection, copyright and complaints procedures.
“This was a specialised task and we drew on our many years experience of advising the NAEA - and handling their members’ various enquiries on the legal helpline - to get it right. Since each agency operates different practices and procedures it was important that we devised a model that could be tailored to individual firms,” he said.

CAPTION: David Lester.