Complaint

After the tenant vacated the property owing four months rent, Mr D (the Landlord) raised a complaint with the Agent, stating that they had failed to inform him about the increasing debt and, therefore, denied him the opportunity to take action. The Agent’s response was that, whilst they acknowledged communication failures, they had assumed that Mr D would have identified the problem for himself from the lack of rent going into his account.

Complaint

Following the tenant falling behind with the rent, Mrs C (the Landlord) applied to the Court for possession of the property.

Complaint

After discovering a water leak, Mr B (the Tenant) reported the matter to the Agent who promptly arranged for a contractor to investigate the problem.

Letting agents, consumers and acceptable standards

Following another year which saw a further increase in letting complaints, The Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, is renewing his call for standards to be raised across the lettings industry in his latest Annual Report.

Complaint

Following the completion of the sale, the Agent wrote to Mr and Mrs J requesting payment of their commission fee. Mr and Mrs J responded by making a number of allegations which included the property being overvalued and the Agent failing to adequately communicate with them.

Complaint

A year after selling his property, Mr H alleged that the Agent had provided the address of his new property to an unauthorised third party, which then resulted in that third party threatening him outside of his house later that day.

Complaint

Following the property being sold, Mrs G (the Seller) complained that the Agent she had previously instructed to market the property had wrongly claimed a commission fee when it was eventually sold by another agent. The Agent argued that they had introduced the buyer to the purchase and were therefore due a commission fee.

Complaint
Following the sale of the property, the son of the Seller, Mr F, accused the Agent of failing to disclose a conflict of interest. Specifically Mr F asserted that a conflict of interest had arisen as a result of another department within the Agent’s offices acting on behalf of a neighbour by submitting a planning request to the local council which had resulted in lower offers being received for the property.

Complaint
Shortly after the sale of their property, Mr and Mrs E (the Sellers) raised three complaints against the Agent concerning access to their property, a number of viewings and the provision of the Memorandum of Sale.

Complaint

Following their successful purchase, Mr and Mrs D (the Buyers) complained that the Agent had failed to inform them of a proposed development which would impair the view from the property. Mr and Mrs D considered that the Agent was in breach of the Property Misdescriptions Act and Paragraph 4h of the Code of Practice.

Complaint

Mr and Mrs C (the Sellers) alleged that, although they had instructed the Agent to market the property for sale, the Agent had, without their knowledge or consent, marketed their property for rent, let the property to tenants under a 12 month Tenancy Agreement and had accepted both a deposit and rent from the tenants.

Complaint
Mr B (the Potential Seller) asserted that the Agent had undervalued the property and had then failed to disclose their interest in a company that had made an offer which the Agent had advised him to accept. The Agent denied that they had a financial interest in the company which they had introduced to the purchase.

Complaint

After moving into the property, Mr and Miss A (the Tenants) advised the Agent that the television aerial sockets did not provide adequate reception and that they were unable to access the loft space in order to inspect the aerial. The Agent did not respond to the request and Mr and Miss A installed satellite television the following month.

Complaint
Following their withdrawal from the transaction, Mr and Mrs A (the Potential Buyers) complained that the Agent had not divulged the full details of a local farmer’s tenancy claim for occupancy of all of the land attached to the property. Mr and Mrs A said the sales particulars had not included any reference to the dispute, yet the Agent had been aware of the problem six months before they began marketing the property as the farmer’s representative had written to the Agent setting out the claim. The Potential Buyers also asserted that the Agent had failed to divulge the extent of the land that the farmer was
claiming a tenancy on when they asked the Agent a direct question during the first viewing. The Agent acknowledged that they had received the letter, but said that, as it was unclear whether the farmer had any valid claim on the land, they did not include any details in the sales particulars.

Complaint
Mr J (the Landlord) had retained monies relating to advanced rent following the end of the tenancy. As a result the tenants took him to Court where the judge ruled in their favour. During this process Mr J incurred legal costs in excess of £30,000 and, following the judgement, he raised 39 different complaints against the Agent which he considered had contributed to a proportion of those costs arising. The core issue was Mr J’s assertion that
the Agent’s failure to provide all of the prescribed information concerning the deposit to the tenants at the start of the tenancy, had resulted in legal action being taken and his subsequent loss of the Court case.

Complaint

Following the property being let for a year, Miss H (the Landlord) was surprised to receive a demand for a further annual renewal fee when her tenants stayed on as periodic tenants. The Agent ignored her subsequent query and, seven months later, with no further contact, issued a final demand. Following further correspondence being issued to the Agent, Miss H raised a formal complaint.

Complaint

After a 10 year relationship with the Agent, Mr and Ms G (the Landlords) decided to move the management of their two properties to another agent. Mr and Ms G provided the Agent with two months’ written notice of their intention, to which the Agent responded by advising them that they would be liable to pay ongoing renewal fees of 10% of the annual rent on the anniversary of each tenancy whilst the same tenants remained in the properties. The Agent also withheld one month’s rent from Mr and Ms G in lieu the unpaid fees.

Complaint

Miss F (the Prospective Tenant) complained that, after informing the Agent that she was pregnant, they had provided a poor level of customer service by breaching the terms of the holding deposit and discriminating against her by refusing to refund the holding deposit. The Agent argued that the change in Miss F’s circumstances, divulged to them after her offer had been accepted, had inconvenienced them and the landlord, adding that Miss F’s future reduced
income and potential claim for maternity/housing benefit had left the landlord no option but to withdraw from the tenancy.

Gerry Fitzjohn has become chief operating officer for the company running The Property Ombudsman Scheme with effect from January 1.

Fitzjohn became vice-chairman of the operating company in 2010, assisting chairman and chief operating officer Bill McClintock.

A party of 20 officials from the Chinese Government has called on the Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, as part a fact-finding tour of the UK.