The regulator confirmed last Tuesday that its remit would soon be extended to firms that offer home reversions . . . heretofore treated as property transactions . . . in a package of new rules that will also cover subprime lending and hire purchase agreements. While such products are already covered under the Consumer Credit Act, they currently fall outside the purview of the Financial Regulator's new Consumer Protection Code, which came into full effect on 1 July, as well as the oversight of the Financial Ombudsman.

Once the new legislation is passed, lifetime loans . . . which allow homeowners over 60 to borrow against equity without having to make repayments . . . and home reversions, which release equity through the sale of part of the home, will be subject to the same set of consumer protections.

Equity release firms had been calling for a level playing field in the industry for more than a year, but the push received a new impetus in April after the UK's Financial Services Authority adopted its own uniform set of standards for equity release companies. In June, the Financial Services Consultative Industry Panel, which advises the regulator, also called for gaps in the rules to be closed.

James Wyse, managing director of Residential Reversions Limited, said he welcomed the changes since his company's products could now be offered by brokers, who must adhere to a 'best advice' standard, and mitigate a market perception that home reversions are a poor product.

"A salesman will use a lack of regulations to his advantage, so we need [the legislation] to be on a level playing field with lifetime mortgages, " he said.

Seniors Money Ireland, which markets lifetime loans, told the Sunday Tribune that a uniform regulatory regime would help "do away with the taboo surrounding" equity release products.

"We welcome this initiative. . . It's good for consumer confidence and good for the industry, " said marketing manager Tara Collins.

Equity release companies had a rough start to the year after a February "warning" notice by the regulator's consumer director Mary O'Dea led to a drop in new business of up to 80% in the first quarter.