ROPA, Mandatory Qualifications & the Property Sector

On Friday 26th September 2025, the Consultation for ‘Strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services’ ended.

At a time when the property and housing sector are under the microscope due to tragic events such as the Grenfell Fire and the trade that befell a small child who was exposed to severe mould in a property that was managed by a local authority, exposes by Panorama about Estate Agency conduct and ethics, the Government has revised the possibility of Regulating Property Agent. A cause close to Lord Best’s heart, the working group which he chaired, produced the white paper in 2019 gave an overview of what the potential outcome would be if the regulation of property were to become mandatory in England.

The above-mentioned consultation included questions which related to the regulation of managing agents. The following provides an overview of the summary within the Consultation :-

 4.0 Regulation of managing agents

Managing agents play a vital role in the housing market. They are appointed by the landlord in leasehold properties, or estate management companies in the case of freehold estates, to manage and maintain multi-occupancy buildings (or estates) on their behalf. They will also have an important role in supporting the management of buildings owned on a commonhold basis. Managing agents deliver a number of functions on behalf of their client, including significant financial responsibilities, resident liaison, managing disputes, arranging and managing contracts and ensuring compliance with statutory obligations. The proposals in this part of the consultation specifically relate to managing agents of leasehold, commonhold, and share of freehold properties and estate managers of freehold estates, and do not relate to estate agents or letting agents.

Under existing law, anyone can become a managing agent. There is no legal requirement for agents to demonstrate they possess the required knowledge and skills to carry out the required functions. This is important given the increasing complexity in managing buildings (particularly buildings over 18 metres tall), the financial responsibilities, the vital role managing agents will play when measures are brought forward to make commonhold the default tenure for new flats, as well as known challenges in managing common areas on freehold estates.

Many managing agents provide a good and fair service to leaseholders. However, too often, leaseholders are left to endure unacceptable living conditions, are not treated with courtesy or respect and have valid concerns ignored by their managing agent. The UK government is committed to protecting leaseholders in England from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous managing agents. In 2018 the previous UK government committed to regulate the whole property agent sector (covering estate, letting and managing agents) and commissioned a working group chaired by Lord Best to advise how to do it, though the proposals were not taken forward. The UK Government is considering the proposals in Lord Best’s report and we are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents. However, we believe that there is an overwhelming case to take forward one of Lord Best’s key recommendations now and to introduce mandatory professional qualifications for managing agents in England.

4.1 Mandatory qualifications for managing agents

Mandatory minimum qualifications will ensure that managing agents and estate managers on freehold estates have the skills they need to deliver their role to a high standard, will professionalise the important work of the sector, and support the industry to attract and retain talent. We recognise that many agents already hold qualifications, but given the importance and complexity of the role, we think that a voluntary approach is not enough. Given this, consultation sections 4.1 to 4.8 propose a route to introducing mandatory minimum qualifications for managing agents in England.

We think that individual managing agents should be responsible for achieving qualifications, following the principle of individual accountability seen in other professions. We also think that firms employing managing agents should have responsibilities for ensuring that their employees achieve qualifications. We also propose that, in principle, estate managers on freehold estates should face the same requirements as those managing leasehold or commonhold blocks.

Given the complexity of their roles and responsibilities, we propose, in line with Lord Best’s report, that most managing agents should achieve a minimum of a Level 4 qualification (1st year of a bachelor’s degree equivalent). We recognise that there may be managing agents with lower or higher levels of responsibilities in the functions that they undertake and therefore are seeking views for where there is a case for agents to hold a qualification that is lower or higher than Level 4. We also think it important that agents undertake continuing professional development and are seeking views on how this should be best achieved. There are already building management qualifications offered by the market and propose that the UK Government works with the sector to develop a core list of key topics that qualifications should cover.

We consider that there are three possible routes to implementing mandatory minimum qualifications. Our preferred approach is to create new statutory requirements that all individual managing agents and managing agent firms must join a designated professional body, and that all agents must achieve or be working towards a minimum qualification to join the body. The designated professional body or bodies would be responsible for ensuring that agents had achieved qualifications and could act where they had not. In this model, we also think that local authorities could play a key role in being responsible for enforcement against agents and firms who operate without complying with the requirement to join a designated professional body.

We also seek views on two alternative options. Firstly, on giving the UK Government-approved redress schemes a statutory role in the implementation of qualifications, working with local authorities. Secondly, we seek views on making local authorities solely responsible for enforcement.

We also make proposals for a transition period to allow agents time to achieve qualifications, as well as the grandparenting of existing qualifications to avoid  unnecessary duplication where agents are already fully or in-part qualified.

Although specific commitments have been made by the UK Government in relation to this issue for England, Welsh Ministers also have an interest in ensuring the quality of property management practices in Wales. Therefore, the consultation also includes questions to determine whether a similar approach should be taken in Wales.

Beyond this consultation, the UK Government is looking again at Lord Best’s Report of July 2019, which made a range of recommendations across the property agent sector, and we will respond in due course. We are clear that this consultation is not the final step in the regulation of managing agents.