Sir : In what I thought was your very good
leader on the Race Relations Bill (19 April), you said that whilst it Was necessary to take in owner-occupied houses, it should be suffi- cient to make estate agents liable 'without the invasion of privacy involved in bringing in the house owner himself.' I am with you in the wish to defend the privacy of house owners, or for that matter, all people. But this aspect of the Bill cannot be made effective (assuming it can be made effective at all) by making estate agents liable. This is a misconception of the agent's function. It is the house owner and he alone who has the decision to make as to which offer he shall accept for his house, and it is the agent's duty to report all offers, not just those that he feels like reporting. It has, therefore, to be the house owner who i; liable if this part of the Bill is to have any chance of being effective.
The estate agent's liability is a different one, for he would presumably be committing an offence if he accepted instructions to dis- criminate between applicants, or if he in fact
(lid so whatever his instructions were. That is another point.
33 Grosvenor Street, London WI C. D. Pilcher
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