Lord Palmer of Childs Hill,
Chair of Property Redress advisory panel, summarises this year's events
Welcome to Property Redress' annual report 2025.
The Government not only moves in mysterious ways, it moves incredibly slowly. Politicians announce policy priorities and promise change from day one, then the invisible hand of the Civil Service beaver away to put a workable solution on the table, and then Parliament cranks up the legislative process for a slow procession of a bill to becoming a law.
This is why, almost monotonously, I start this introduction with the words, last year was a year of change, but there is more in the pipeline to come.
This truism may be a reality, however it does nothing to help business to predict and plan for a future where they can thrive rather than just survive.
And when you have something that has remained constant and steady for over a decade, you appreciate the stability. Property Redress was the big change when it first came into existence and for many agents, it meant they had to rethink and readjust the way they operated, acted and behaved.
The first challenge was to comply with the new requirement, then to adapt and modify the way they worked and finally for the majority to embrace and promote the change as something positive and a mark of quality and standards. Get this right and your legislation or regulation has been a success.
This is what Property Redress has achieved and the contribution it has made to the property sector.
The industry now faces even bigger reforms and change with rights and responsibilities at the centre of their objectives. Whether they pass the test of robust and meaningful regulations, remains to be seen and we are only part way through what is a long process.
I am immensely proud of having overseen and scrutinised Property Redress since its inception and I am honoured they have asked me to continue in the role of Chair for another year. It is like a family and the achievements in this report speak for themselves.
