THE WATCHDOG OVER auctioneers, estate agents and property management companies has been moved into the remit of the Department of Housing amid calls for beefed up oversight of the entire sector. 

The bodies that oversee property service providers, including auctioneers, letting agents, and property management agents were transferred from the Department of Justice to the Housing Department on 1 August. 

The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) has a number of key functions including, the administration of a system of investigation and adjudication of complaints against Property Services Providers.

Social Democrats housing spokesperson Rory Hearne has welcomed the move, stating that there are major issues in the housing market which are pushing up prices including well known practices such as gazumped, phantom bids and facilitated bidding wars. 

“These practices are allowing prices be inflated to the maximum possible squeezing home buyers in an already overheated market,” he said. 

In a parliamentary question, he asked the Housing Minister James Browne if he is aware of reports in The Journal regarding the lack of transparency and culture of bidding wars that has emerged in the Irish housing market and if he is concerned by these trends. 

The minister responded by stating that under the programme for government it was agreed that the PRSA, which is the watchdog over the operations of property providers and those in the industry, should move into his department.  

The Housing Department said in a statement that this transfer brings the PSRA into the broader housing infrastructure and will “enable the achievement of the shared goal of a healthy, fair and functioning housing market for Ireland”.

“The transfer will help maintain national housing stock at the highest quality in line with the standards already set by the department,” the statement said, stating that “bringing together the regulation of this important sector, with housing standards functions under one department will boost consumer protection and public awareness of property services”.

Updating regulation law

The Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011 created the PSRA and the PSAB [Property Services Appeals Board] to oversee property service providers, including auctioneers, letting agents, and property management agents and to handle complaints.

The department said it is now a priority to resume work already underway to amend several provisions within the 2011 Act to bring them up to date.

“The focus is on ensuring everyone has a range of housing options, whether they want to buy a house, rent one, or need social housing. An adequate supply and mix of housing across housing types and tenures is critical to addressing the current imbalance between supply and demand in the housing market, including home ownership, social housing and private rental,” said the housing minister. 

Increased supply will help moderate price increases, address affordability in the market, and help those aspiring to own their own home to realise this goal, he added. 

Bidding wars and phantom bids

Hearne said it is important that the PRSA has come under the responsibility of the Department of Housing, but criticised the government for making the “wrong decision” not to investigate practices such as phantom bids and facilitated bidding wars. 

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“I am urging the Minister for Housing to undertake an investigation into practices in the property market that is inflating housing prices.

“There are clearly huge problems in the Irish house purchase market that is adding to rising house prices. The Government doesn’t want to know about it and has ditched plans to look at what could change,” he said. 

Hearne said France and Scotland have sealed bids that remove bidding wars, stating that this should also be introduced in Ireland. 

Speaking about management companies and estate agents, who Hearne said have an important function in the rental market, he said there are concerns that they are acting in ways that exploit tenants.

“We would like an investigation of the role of these actors in the rental market in terms of tenant protections and inflating rents,” he concluded.