Unlawful sale and rent back (sarb) companies are still operating and advertising their services despite the introduction of strict regulation, a new investigation by Shelter has revealed.
Many homeowners have fallen foul of unscrupulous sale and rent back companies who offer the false hope of keeping people in their homes, but can ultimately leave them homeless.
The Financial Services Authority introduced an interim regulatory system on 1 July this year to drive out rogue operators in the sale and rent back industry once and for all, with a tougher full regime launching in 2010.
Over the last two months, the housing charity Shelter has been investigating sale and rent back companies who take out adverts in national and regional newspapers to check whether the companies that are advertising are signed up to the FSA’s tough new regulations.
Results show that out of the eighteen main companies that advertise regularly in the press, four are still not signed up to the regulation and are therefore operating illegally. These companies are MPG Investments, Sell It Fast, House Direct UK and Home Savers UK.