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Further Rise In Letting Agent Complaints Leads To Calls For Industry Regulation

Wed, 31 Mar 2010
The Property Ombudsman has called for Britain’s letting agents to be regulated in order to protect both tenants and landlords .

The call comes after the Ombudsman revealed that the number of complaints made against letting agents soared by 45 per cent during 2009.

In his latest annual report, Ombudsman Christopher Hamer said disputes with letting agents accounted for nearly half of his workload last year, compared with 28 per cent in 2008, and added that he expects such disputes to make up two-thirds of all the complaints he handles this year.

The Ombudsman urged letting agents to "up their game" in terms of treatment of customers and called on whichever party wins the upcoming general election to introduce legislation so that tenants and landlords are protected against agents .

Under current rules, letting agents are not required to sign up to an official code of practice such as the Property Ombudsman scheme - unlike estate agents, which are obliged to register with an approved redress scheme.

Mr Hamer continued: "To my mind this needs addressing swiftly. In the meantime, my message to any landlord or prospective tenant is to ensure that they use an agent who is a member of a recognised trade association or any agent who is a member of the Property Ombudsman scheme."
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