Lord Palmer of Childs Hill, Chair of the PRS advisory panel summarises this year's events
A perfect storm in 2023, but are calmer waters on the horizon? I could not introduce this, the tenth report for which I have written the foreword, without saying something about the climate that shaped 2023 and its effect on the property world. My Head of Redress, Sean Hooker, will go into more detail in his report, on the major changes that we have experienced, but the context of both national and global economies is never far from our day to day lives, especially for those who provide homes and those who hope to live in them. Following the tumultuous events of 2022, in a market still ravaged by the influence of Covid, the UK suffered levels of inflation not seen for over three decades. On top of this, although the percentage rise eased off towards the end of the year, the remedy that the Bank of England applied to achieve this saw a rapid rise in interest rates. This profoundly affected the property sector, as mortgage rates soared, and lenders took a pessimistic view of the economy and its long-term prospects. The result was in very quick order - the market swap rates used to determine fixed rate loans went through the roof and the upshot was that everyone who was coming out of their fixed rate deals was faced with a sharp increase in what they were paying.We have therefore seen the housing market for sales slow as demand has fallen, but an already overheated rental market has gone up a few more degrees. This has, of course, led to an increase in overall discontentment, which in turn has resulted in increasingly fractious disputes.
In spite of this, the Property Redress Scheme has dealt with this greater workload more quickly and more effectively than ever before; with a high level of satisfaction amongst the parties engaged in the process.
When I was asked to chair an advisory body for the PRS back in 2014, few people could see how far the organisation would go, but over the last almost ten years, thousands of complaints have been resolved, standards have risen, and millions of consumers have been reassured that they have a good measure of protection to help put things right and compensate them for the detriment they may have suffered. Not much in politics can be said to provide a lasting difference and no doubt future changes that are promised to improve the property industry will be greeted with both trepidation and hope.
But I can, hand on heart, be proud of what this scheme has achieved and look forward to its continued success.
In this report, we will look at some of the major things on the horizon that property agents need to be prepared for in 2024.
The PRS annual report 2023 also includes the results of the largest sentiment survey of the year, carried out across sector.
Finally, in terms of the Property Redress Scheme’s accountability, I am pleased to continue to chair the PRS advisory panel, recently expanded to include a wider selection of voices across the industry.The panel will contribute towards various projects to help enhance and improve the service that the Property Redress Scheme provides.
Both the advisory and member panels will work together to raise standards and professionalism in the sector.
I leave you with a quote from one of the greatest prime ministers of all time, who saw massive change in his lifetime: “You cannot fight against the future. Time is on our side.”
William Ewart Gladstone
We still have tricky waters to navigate, but I have no doubt that the more pilots and skippers like the PRS we have guiding the ship, the more this will ease the passage to a secure port.
