Major real estate agents in southern England have called on both current and past governments about the bureaucratic burden that is currently putting down the backs of all agents.
Des Simmons (main image), who has been running Bournemouth real estate agent BourneCoast for many years, says that while the landscape has changed dramatically and his business remains thriving, agents like him have essentially become “the government's unpaid administrative division.” 
“All governments have steadily introduced a wave of regulations that it is legally necessary for companies like Bournecoast to enforce legally without remuneration,” he says.
“These duties not only add significant costs and time burdens, but in some cases even force them to pay the government for the privilege of doing their job.”
The burden of growth
Simmons has recently accelerated to detail the growing burdens facing all real estate agents over the past 25 years.
He documented nearly 50 regulations, laws, laws, and fees that property management companies, real estate agencies, agents and businesses allow them to enforce, manage or pay on holidays (see list below).
“The government continues to outsource responsibility to private companies, making it increasingly difficult for them to run usefully,” he says.
“We are expected to enforce laws, process taxes, implement safety compliance checks and monitor the immigration situation, an unsustainable model that unfairly shifts the burden of governance to small and medium-sized businesses.
“It's time for policymakers to recognize the important role businesses play in supporting these regulations and to compensate for enforcement work or streamline the regulatory situation and ease the burden.”
Additional Regulations Money Laundering and Terrorism Loans (Adjusted) Regulations 2019 Right to Borrow Check Non-Resident Landlords Tax Revenue Tenants Deposit Protection Prescription Processing Methods HMRC Brokerage and Annual Report Safety Compliance for Fire, Gas and Electrical Equipment Electrical Installation Conditions Report (EICR) Smoke Alerts and Carbon Monoxanes General Production Protectors Smoke Risk Furniture Safety Regulation Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Requirements Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEE) Building and Fire Safety Act 2022 Data Protection Compliance (GDPR) Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI) DSS) HMO Licensing and Compliance Section 21 and Section 8 are behavioural monitoring and management Deposit Dispute Resolution Tenant Eviction Substance Information Act Client Money Protection (CMP) Digital (MTD) Relief Scheme Sanctions Facility Proof of Ownership, Address, Residential Address, Mortgage Authorization Regulation Property Agent (ROPA) (UK) (UK)
Additional costs/lost income
Tenant Fee ACT 2019 Credit Card Fee No Check-in and Check-out Fee Guarantee Contract Renewal Fee Number of Terms of Managing Changes to Tenant Contract
