The Property Ombudsman was asked to review a dispute from a landlord against a letting agent.  

The landlord incurred loss of income due to repairs to his property caused by fire damage due to an illicit drug farm in the property. The landlord requested the letting agent compensate him for unpaid rent and repairs that needed to be carried out at the property which was covered by a Guaranteed Rent Agreement. The total compensation requested was £30,350.68.  The landlord was made aware that TPO’s maximum award limit is £25,000.  

The Property Ombudsman was asked to review a dispute from sellers involving the commission fees charged by two sets of agents following the sale of a property.

The sellers raised a dispute against Agent 2, who maintained they had an entitlement to payment of sales commission as they believed they were the effective cause of the sale, not Agent 1 with whom the buyers first viewed the property with.

The seller instructed Agent 1 to market the property on a sole selling rights basis. This was a fixed price agreement, which also granted Agent 1 the option to purchase the property at a fixed price of £125,000 for a period of 16 weeks (the option period). Agent 1 would then resell the property to a third-party buyer, retaining the price difference in lieu of a traditional commission fee arrangement.

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from a tenant against a letting agent in relation to the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and the Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) for the property.

The property was let to the tenant under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) for a period of twelve months, for a monthly rent of £3,500.

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from a buyer against an agent following her request for the reservation fee of £13,650 to be refunded, which the agent denied.

The buyer said she was under a great deal of pressure when she offered to purchase the property and that she subsequently realised that it was not suitable for her, with its proximity to a busy and noisy road, as she cared for a daughter with additional needs.

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review a case from tenants in relation to the request for a refund of their early termination fee charged by the agent.

The issues that TPO was asked to examine included:

• The agent not refunding the early termination fee as per the terms of the agreement. The tenants said that the agent had agreed that depending upon when they moved out of the property, the sum paid would be refundable. The tenants said that the agent then informed them after they had moved out, that they had made a mistake and that the cancellation fee was not refundable as it had been paid to the landlord for the re-letting fees he had incurred.
• The tenants said the agent did not confirm the early termination date of the tenancy with them, and they found new tenants without informing the existing tenants (the complainants) in advance.

The tenants sought a return of the cancellation charge (£1,993.68) and an unspecified sum of compensation to reflect the aggravation that the matter caused.

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from leaseholders against an estate and management company over who were responsible for £1,020 in legal fees.

The leaseholders were seeking a refund of the £1,020 in legal fees to resolve the dispute, as they considered that the estate and management company had failed to correctly interpret the details of the residents’ voting rights, and as such were responsible for the disputed fees.

This dispute concerned a drainage and water search report prepared by a search provider for a buyer that the seller claimed had caused the sale to be aborted.

This dispute concerned the description of an item sold at auction.

The dispute concerned the provision of a health and safety report, the handover of management responsibilities to the new managing agent and the events that took place during an annual general meeting.

This dispute concerned damp problems resulting from construction issues on a new build development and the action taken by the managing agent.

This case concerned the requirements of the rent guarantee insurance policy in relation to the referencing conducted by the Agent.

This case concerned a hybrid rent to rent arrangement whereby the Agent became the primary tenant but was only required to install tenants and collect rent, with the Landlords managing the occupational tenancies.

This dispute concerned the Agent’s handling of reports of internal mould and broken decking by the Tenant.

This dispute underlines the importance of considering all material information when providing market valuations and advising on asking prices.

This dispute concerned the Seller’s perception that the Agent had provided false and misleading information in relation to the Buyer during the period between acceptance of offer and exchange. Importantly, it also provides a good example of how straightforward disputes can be avoided if clear and regular communication takes place and internal complaint procedures are accurately followed.

This dispute involved three parties, the Buyers and their Neighbours who made separate complaints in relation to the consequences of the Agent providing incorrect material information.

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to investigate came from a seller against a quick sale agent and related to their communication and approach to the purchase of her property.

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from a seller against a Quick Sale agent. The sellers felt that they were misled, poorly communicated with and treated badly by parties engaged by the agent. They subsequently raised three complaints:

The Complaint

Following a successful bid and a subsequent survey, the Buyer withdrew from purchase of the property. The Sellers (the complainants) were concerned that the Agent had allowed the Buyer to place a bid on the property, without paying a deposit and which was also conditional upon completion of a satisfactory survey.