The Neighbours’ Garage

Published on Tuesday, 01 August 2023. Posted in Case Studies

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.

Auction Fall Through

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

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.

Flooded Garden

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

Within two weeks of moving into the property the Buyers (the complainants) discovered extensive flooding to the rear of their back garden.

New Home Water Ingress

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

Following the purchase of their new home, the leaseholders became aware of flooding issues within the new development that impacted a number of communal areas, including corridors, the basement and a purpose-built bike shed.

Disclosure of Insurance Commission

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

Following receipt of an insurance demand in which the premium had increased substantially, the leaseholder questioned this with the managing agent. The correspondence between the two parties did not resolve the leaseholder’s concerns and following the matter evolving into a formal complaint, the dispute was escalated to TPO.

Search Providers - Chicken Farm

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

Whilst pursuing the purchase of their property the Complainant (the Buyer) instructed a search report to be completed by a Search Provider. The report did not find any planning applications within a 750m radius of the property and so the Buyer went ahead with the sale.

Surveyors - Japanese Knotweed

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

The Buyers moved into the property which was located next to a care home. Between the care home and the property was a strip of land which, at the time of the survey inspection, was fenced off and did not appear to form part of either the property or the care home

Alternative Deposit Options

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

Upon reviewing the tenancy agreement, the Tenant (complainant) found that the only option available to them on the online form provided by the Agent was to select a No Deposit Option (NDO) which was a £35 per month charge.

Referencing and Criminal Activity

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

The Landlord (the Complainant) brought the case to TPO as they considered that the Agent did not conduct due diligence during the referencing process which resulted in them accepting Tenants that went on to use the property to cultivate cannabis plants.

Early Resolution Case Studies

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

EARLY RESOLUTION – MARKETING ISSUES

The Sellers submitted a complaint to us following their Agent acknowledging their request to stop marketing the property but failing to remove it from a number of portals for a period of two months.

Enquiry Case Studies

Published on Monday, 31 October 2022. Posted in Case Studies

TENANT ENQUIRY – DAMP & MOULD

A Tenant contacted us to seek advice about maintenance issues that were causing problems. The Tenant explained that his flat was suffering from damp and mould issues which had grown to the extent that it was beginning to damage his belongings.

FLOOD SEARCH FAILURE – Homescreen search report

Published on Monday, 23 August 2021. Posted in Case Studies

The complaint

The Buyers located a property which they wanted to buy. Once they had made an offer they instructed a search provider to carry out a ‘Homescreen’ search report on the property. The Buyer wanted to check if the property would be at risk of flooding.

The Search Provider did as instructed and carried out a Homescreen search. They came back with the results of the search which did not highlight any potential risk of flooding to the property. They also reported that no action was required and gave the Buyers the impression that the property was not at risk of flooding. Happy with the search results, the Buyer went ahead with the purchase of the property.

SPELLING OUT SURVEYING SERVICES - Pre-Inspection Communication

Published on Monday, 23 August 2021. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

The Buyers instructed the Surveyor to provide a report and signed and returned the Surveyor’s Terms and Conditions via email. The Buyers’ covering e-mail included a number of requests, one of which included accessing the loft to assess an existing planning application document attached to the Property which had been submitted before the owner had undertaken remodeling work. The Buyers wished to know whether the work detailed in the planning application could still be completed.

REQUIREMENT FOR COMPASSIONATE COMPLAINT HANDLING - Health and Safety during a Pandemic

Published on Monday, 23 August 2021. Posted in Case Studies

The complaint

The Leaseholders of an apartment had concerns relating to an incident that had occurred and the issues that subsequently arose.

On the day of the incident, the Leaseholders visited the foyer of the building to complain about a billboard that they say had been placed there on instruction of the Management Company’s director. The billboard advertised apartments to let inside their building and directed interested parties to enquire within, with arrows pointing towards the entrance of the building.

SETTLEMENT OVER SERVICE CHARGES – Communication Failure

Published on Monday, 23 August 2021. Posted in Case Studies

The complaint

The Tenant in a leasehold property had an outstanding balance of £10,562 in service charges.

The Tenant and the property management company came to an agreement surrounding the service charge with a settlement offer for the Tenant to pay 50% of the outstanding balance and the other 50% to be waived. The Tenant paid the reduced fee, requested confirmation of the zero balance, and thought this was the end of the matter. However, despite two further requests for confirmation of a zero balance, the Managing Agent failed to respond.

The Tenant then complained adding that the Managing Agent had also failed to properly inform them of additional service charges that had subsequently been charged.

PANDEMIC-PREDICAMENT – Referencing

Published on Monday, 23 August 2021. Posted in Case Studies

The complaint

The Landlord of the Property instructed the Agent to find suitable tenants.

The Landlord made it clear to the Agent that they needed to know if potential tenants were self-employed or foreign nationals as this had implications for the rental protection insurance they had in place.

OUTLINE OUTDOOR OWNERSHIP -Leasehold Rooftop Terrace

Published on Monday, 23 August 2021. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

Following the market appraisal, the Agent contacted the Seller to confirm the details in the sales particulars were correct. The Seller did not raise any concerns regarding the document. The sales particulars stated that the property included a roof terrace. The property went live and marketing commenced.

LEFT OUT OF LEGISLATION - HMOs and a Household of Three

Published on Monday, 23 August 2021. Posted in Case Studies

The Complaint

The Tenants, a polyamorous throuple were looking for a place to rent. The Tenants approached the Agent to help them find a property that was suitable for their needs and also accepted pets.

In June 2020, the Agent was instructed by the Landlord to market the property to let for a monthly rent of £700. The Landlord informed the Agent he would not accept tenants with pets. The Tenants requested a viewing and the Agent arranged a viewing the following day. On the same day, the Tenants enquired if pets could be permitted. The Agent asked the Landlord who responded that he would allow pets if the rent was increased to £750 a month and the Tenants accepted the proposal.