Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Soham, Cambridgeshire, are being warned that a local estate and letting agent Let365co Ltd (trading as 365 Residential) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme owing a landlord £1,895 of a £3800 award made by the Ombudsman.
Landlords and tenants in East London (E11) are being warned that a local letting agent, JBE London Limited (trading as JBE London) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme owing a tenant £2,810.
Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Winford, Bristol, are being warned that a local estate and letting agent trading as Chew Valley Estates has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme owing a landlord £5,200.
For new members, renewals and new branches from January 2020, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) will implement a ‘fair usage’ policy, meaning that members which consistently generate the most Ombudsman supported complaints will pay more towards the costs of the scheme. This comes as TPO also announces its first increase to membership fees in six years.
Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Winchmore Hill area of London (N21) are being warned that a local estate and letting agent Assetgrove Prime Sales & Lettings Ltd (trading as Assetgrove Prime) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme owing a landlord £1,820.50.
Landlords, tenants, house buyers and sellers in Strood, Kent, are being warned that a local estate agent Chambers Estates Kent Ltd, (trading as Chambers Estates) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme.
Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Ilford, Essex, are being warned that a local estate and letting agent Kingsman Property Limited (trading as Kingsman Property) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme owing a landlord £14,921.23.
Following feedback from this year’s conference, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has announced that its 2020 conference, taking place on 18 June at The National Conference Centre in Solihull, will have a strong focus on legislative change, technical advice and best practice guidance.
Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Isle of Dogs, London, are being warned that a local estate and letting agent, Property 24/7 Limited, trading as Property 24/7, has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for failing to pay an award of £500 made by the Ombudsman. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award is paid.
Landlords, tenants, house buyers and sellers in Shoreditch, London, are being warned that a local estate agent Chase & Co UK Ltd, (trading as Chase & Co UK) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award is paid.
The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has made further expulsions after six agents failed to comply with parts of the TPO Codes of Practice and pay subsequent awards made by the Ombudsman. Whilst some of the agents appear to have ceased trading, others have re-opened trading under the same name but with different directors. Once again, all of the complaints against the agents were in relation to lettings work.
Landlords and tenants are being warned that yet another local letting agent in East London has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for failing to pay an award made by the Ombudsman. Following the expulsion of William Huxley and Lang & Ward earlier in the year, Citi Places Management Ltd (trading as Citi Places Management) is the latest agent in the area which can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award is paid.
Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Grays, Essex, are being warned that a local estate and letting agent Elite Properties Essex Ltd (trading as Elite Properties) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award is paid.
Landlords and Tenants in Newport, Wales, are being warned that a local letting agent Pinkmove Lettings Newport Limited, (trading as Pinkmove Lettings Limited from Conway Road, Newport¹) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award is paid.
Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Redhill, North Somerset, are being warned that a local estate and letting agent PM Premier Limited (trading as PM Premier Ltd) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award of £500 is paid.
Buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in Southampton are being warned that a local estate and letting agent, CE Property Ltd (trading from Bitterne Precinct as Charles Carr), has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award of £350 is paid.
Landlords, tenants, house buyers and sellers in West Kensington, London, are being warned that a local estate agent Madox Estates Ltd, (trading as Madox) has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme. This means the agent can no longer legally trade until the outstanding award is paid.
Seven estate and letting agents have been expelled from membership of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) after failing to comply with parts of the TPO Codes of Practice and pay subsequent awards made by the Ombudsman, totalling £112,257.04.
On 1st June, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme’s updated Codes of Practice will become effective. The revisions are substantial, and incorporate the Tenant Fees Act, Client Money Protection and GDPR requirements.
TPO consulted with 44 different organisations and individuals during the review process. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team (NTSEAT) provided a technical review of the lettings and sales codes respectively. Along with the Scottish Sales Codes, they were then scrutinised and approved by CTSI. The new Codes are available on TPO Codes page which will soon be revised to include a facility to put forward requests for future changes to the codes.
The Property Ombudsman has issued a reminder to all agents to ensure they have the correct redress membership to cover the work they undertake. This comes after a letting agent was issued with a £3,000 penalty by their Local Authority for not having redress membership to cover their Residential Leasehold Management work, despite being a member of The Property Ombudsman for Sales and Lettings.
