JULY & AUGUST 2012 |www.opp.org.uk They do not.


There will be times where we will need to lobby actively and aggressively. For example, in connection with the recent changes to ownership rights that took place in Turkey or the changes


ROUND TABLE


partly about ongoing monitoring and policing of their activities. Vetting potential members should be designed to make sure that those who are allowed to use the logo have the experience and integrity needed to


“We need to reach a position where...taking... training has a clear commerical value to the person concerned” - Ron Phipps


under consideration in Thailand. There will be other times when more gentle awareness raising will be all that is needed, but we need to keep the international property industry in the minds of the politicians making decisions that will affect all of our futures.


• Guarding the standards set by the association;


Ron summed up this objective: “Any association should be promoting standards that become the expectation of the consumer.” Those standards then need to be applied and enforced. Enforcement is partly about ensuring that people are vetted before being permitted to join the organisation and


be responsible members. If they do not they could cause reputational damage to other members or, at least reduce the value of membership as evidence of quality. We can still support new entrants to the industry but they should not be allowed to be full members (and so use the association’s logo) until they have established a good track record. As far as monitoring and policing is concerned, most organisations have a code of conduct. AIPP and NAR are no exception. To preserve the collective reputation of the association those codes of conduct need to be enforced. All those present recognised that this process would have to be reactive rather than proactive. In other words, the association would have to wait to


OPP’s agenda for the AIPP board


1. Go global but do so by encouraging local branches and by cooperation with other ‘partner’ organisations


2. Grow your numbers substantially


3. Try to agree some global standards for the industry. Standards that can be promoted by all of the partner organisations and then monitored and policed.


4. Set and maintain clear standards. Take strong enforcement action where necessary


5. Educate the public in the merits of the ownership of international property and the way to buy safely


6. Educate the industry. Insist on appropriate training for those running an international property company and for those working within such a com- pany. Insist on compliance


7. Lobby, at every level necessary, to try to ensure that legislators and others in power understand the economic importance of the industry and what it needs in order to provide a quality service to the consumer


8. Provide an alternative to the courts for disputes involving members deal- ings in international property


9. Explore the possibilities of a basic seal of approval for developments 10. Market AIPP to build its reputation.


receive a complaint before starting an investigation. AIPP has also started to provide arbitration services to deal with disputes between members and the buyers. Instead of referring such a dispute to the long and expensive process of going through the courts the dispute can be dealt with relatively quickly and relatively inexpensively. Not only does this help preserve standards, it should be a great marketing tool for agents and developers who are members. Jeremy made the point that there is a narrow gap between enforcing a code of conduct and formal regulation. He was not in favour of formal regulation by third parties. Nor, it turned out, were most of the others present. Jeremy also highlighted the


potential diffi culty of any association being seen as the promoter and protector of the industry and, at the


BUSINESS | 45


complied with its statutory fi ling and other obligations.


How feasible this might be is another


matter. The work involved would be considerable and it would have to be paid for. However, in today’s market, such an endorsement might well be commercially valuable from the company’s point of view. This is something that will need to be explored. What could be done? Who would do it? At what cost? What end user guarantees would come with it?


What standards do we want to apply? AIPP has a code of conduct but it may need to be reviewed in the light of the huge geographical expansion of the industry and the broader range of products now on sale. NAR and the other industry bodies also have codes


“There is a narrow gap between enforcing a code of conduxt and formal regulation by third parties” - Jeremy Aston


same time, as providing a regulatory and complaint-handling service that could be trusted by the public. This is not a new problem. It has led to organisations such as the Law Society having to separate, completely, their role as the representatives of lawyers and their disciplinary and complaint- handling function.


• Promoting best practise; On many occasions there will be several ways of dealing with a particular situation. None of them would put the person concerned in breach of the code of conduct and yet one or more may be much better than the others in terms of the perception of the consumer; or even in terms of the fi nancial outcome for the member. Any association should be promoting best practise by way of training and encouragement. This will involve members being prepared to share their experience and make suggestions.


• Certifi cation of product; We would also like any association to investigate ways of ensuring that members dealing with each other are not only dealing with reputable companies but also with good products. This could be by way of some AIPP certifi cation: preliminary ‘due diligence’ that the fundamentals of a development are OK. It has title. It has building consent. The company has


of conduct and it would be sensible to compare them and then choose the clearest, simplest and most relevant solution.


The position is made more


complicated by the new entrants to this industry. More and more countries now have their own statutory requirements for estate agents or developers and, of course, these need to be respected when drafting any international code of conduct. In short, all those round the table


felt that the standards to be applied should be taxing. They should offer genuine protection to the consumer and to other members. Yet they should not be set so high as to be impossible to achieve.


Can we guard against ‘cowboys’? No. What we can do is create an environment where cowboys cannot operate within our organisation and where membership of the organisation carries such recognition and weight that the public is unlikely to deal with a non-member. This would be a major achievement.


We would like to thank our panel for their time and for taking part in this Round Table. We would also like to hear your views about whether we need an industry body, what it should do and how much it should cost.


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