
In the First Interim Report for 2010 by the Property Ombudsman reports a sharp increase in the number of new referrals to the office during the period 1 January to 31 March. Compared to the last quarter of 2009, the number of complaints in lettings has risen from 102 to 171.
Here’s a few cases from the report that might interest you:
Holding Deposit
The Complainant was in the process of renting the property and had paid a holding deposit of £350. He raised a complaint against the letting agent after he was informed he had failed the referencing checks and would need to put forward a guarantor to enable the let to go ahead. As he did not wish to bring in a guarantor, he was refused the let and his request for the holding deposit to be refunded was rejected by the agent, although he has said the agent offered him £175 as a gesture of goodwill, which he believed was an ‘absurd offer’.
Read the report to find out how the problem was resolved.
Holding Deposit/Complaints Handling
The Complainant was a prospective tenant who had paid a holding deposit of £250 to secure the property. He had also provided the letting agent the details for his references. Twelve days later the Complainant discovered that due to an alleged computer error the references had not been logged.
Read the report to find out how the problem was resolved.
Referencing/Holding Deposit
Straightforward transaction between the Complainants (the prospective tenants) and the member agent, which became contentious following the landlord rejecting the Complainants’ initial references and requesting that guarantors were provided, which resulted in the transaction breaking down. The member agent sought to retain the Complainants’ holding deposit on the basis that they had explained the terms and conditions of that payment to them during a telephone conversation. Whilst their progress notes did record that these terms and conditions were discussed, the Complainants contested the agent’s account of the conversation.
Read the report to find out how the problem was resolved.
Administration Fees
The Complainants were landlords who had paid the letting agent a fee to prepare the Tenancy Agreement on their behalf. After the tenancy had commenced they discovered that the letting agent had also charged the tenant the same amount (£170 + VAT) for the preparation of the Tenancy Agreement. The agent claimed that their terms were clear in both the Management and Tenancy Agreements and thus they had not done anything illegal. The Complainants however, believed that the money taken from the tenants should be payable to them and not the agent, as the agent was not a party to the Tenancy Agreement, and had acted in a misleading and deceptive manner.
Read the report to find out how the problem was resolved.
The Property ombudsman TPO offers an independent service for the resolution of disputes between member agencies and buyers, sellers, landlords, leaseholders, lessees and tenants of property in the UK. The service is free to complainants.