APD moves into housing market with COVID-19 compliance system

July 2020

APD Compliance Solutions have experienced significant demand for its services from the housing sector as estate agents look to introduce and standardise a process for checking buyers are Coronavirus free before house viewings.

Estate agents have seen a surge in business since the easing of the lockdown restrictions but have been slow to implement measures to protect their employees and vendors whose properties they are selling according to Paul Turner, executive chairman, APD Global Research.

‘Their approach to informing buyers of the rules under which house viewings could take place, including checking for symptoms of COVID-19, were disjointed and in many cases did not meet a basic duty of care. 

They were potentially in breach of the terms and conditions of their employer and public liability insurance policies,’ explained Paul.

He continued, ‘Many either had no written rules in place or had created lengthy health questionnaires which buyers found time consuming to complete and challenging to return in time. We knew this sector faced the same challenges as motor dealerships have when arranging service bookings and test drives, and recognised it used similar technology to confirm customer appointments.’

The APD COVID-19 declaration tool uses embedded artificial intelligence (AI) which can be integrated into any existing automated appointment booking system or conventional email platforms.

Using the same APD product developed for vehicle dealerships, house buyers can complete a declaration online in minutes, enabling estate agents to accurately evidence the steps taken to ensure government guidelines on social distancing and the protection of their staff and vendors.

Buyers’ answers are automatically screened and can trigger a COVID-19 alert should the system detect a potential health issue and the need to re-schedule an appointment.