After scandals involving several of its estate agent members, the Association of International Property Professionals is defending the validity of its certification process.

“The AIPP is not perfect and has never claimed to be,” AIPP chief executive Paul Owen told Overseas Property Professional Magazine (free registration required). “What I find silly about some of the arguments out there is that you wouldn’t get rid of the police just because they didn’t stop every crime.”

Former AIPP member Bulgarian Dreams was recently featured on the BBC program Watchdog, which focused on complaints the company sold apartments without electricity or water. Other companies have also faced complaints, leading to charges AIPP is not doing enough to vet members. AIPP members typically display a sticker proclaiming “AIPP approved.”

“From a broader perspective, this is certainly not an indictment of the vetting process when evaluating potential members, but it is not perfect,” Owen told OPP. “If a company meets the criteria of AIPP then they are in. If they do not, they are out.”

Owen said the AIPP does not have the staff to investigate all the complaints. “At present we are reactive rather than proactive in assessing what is going on in the market,” he said.

* Paul Owen clarifies: “We do investigate all complaints made about the work of our Members. What we cannot do is to investigate every ’story’ we hear. Whenever something is brought to our attention, we ask for a complaint form to be completed and we then start our disciplinary process.”