There’s been a large rise in complaints and a huge increase in compensation according to figures out today from the Property Redress Service (PRS).
The total figure awarded for ‘decisions’ by the PRS was £953,062.24. This is an increase of 95% from 2022 (£489,916).
In addition, PRS ‘early resolutions’ awarded a total of £359,426 in 2023, which is a small increase on 2022. An early resolution is a settlement made between the parties meaning the PRS does not have to make a formal decision.
The average award was £1,832.81 and the total figure awarded for early resolution and decisions combined was £1,312,488.
Complaint enquiries rose throughout the year by an average of 20% compared to 2022 while the average rate of complaints for each member reduced to a little over eight per cent, down from over 10% in 2022.
The top complaints for lettings involved holding deposits, poor service and management, and tenancy payments and rent collection.
Complaints were completed, on average, in around 40 days from the time the PRS received them.
Some 58 agencies were expelled, compared to 61 in 2022.
“The notable increase in financial awards underlines the growing volume of complaints, compounded by a lack of engagement from a minority of members” reveals Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme.
“Despite this, it's encouraging to observe a reduction in complaints per member, indicative of improved efficiency in our investigative processes. Our steadfast commitment to early resolution has proven effective, reflecting a shared willingness among parties to reach amicable solutions.”
He continues: “As we strive to support, educate, and improve industry standards while continuing to clamp down on some of the poor practices that ensue, our adoption of innovative approaches like mediation and early resolution has yielded positive outcomes, fostering greater satisfaction among stakeholders.”
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Absolutely no excuse for this, if you think you can do a better job than individual landlords then you need to make sure you know what you are doing!! I am sick of letting agents telling landlords they can do a better job, when clearly many of them can't.
The ladies that work at the small local agent I use do a grand job for me they are great at weeding out the rogue tenant types, I haven't had a bad tenant from them yet
Completely agree. I take no lectures from agents.
In my experience too many simply don’t understand the legislation, leaving the landlord vulnerable. Every problem with a tenancy is passed onto the LL with little or no effort to resolve.
What’s the point of having an agent. None as far as I am concerned.
I'm with you AJR. Although I would love to have Andrew's experience.
where were the complaints coming from, landlords or tenants? the latter I bet
As a proprietor of a letting agent for the last 35 years and a landlord myself, I would hazard a guess that the bigger agent chains who operate without the appropriate 'shop floor' knowledge or skill sets attract the majority of complaints. Personally, I won't consider any tenant for one of my landlords that I wouldn't rent my own property to. I also won't consider a tenant who is not 100% transparent about their circumstances and where they are coming from; if they are local I will visit them to check their living standards mirror my client's expectations. In short, way above standard box ticking referencing which can be easily manipulated.
Managing over 250 property, I have no rent arrears and meet problems face to face, and head on.
I have seen an increase in tenants 'trying it on' and the compensation culture we have created is certainly unhelpful, and more often than not professionally rebuked.
If tenant support groups spent as much time educating tenants as they do bashing landlords, this would benefit the sector immensely. I won't hold my breath.
"Personally, I won't consider any tenant for one of my landlords that I wouldn't rent my own property to."
That is my criteria too, John. I once worked for an agent who took the view that the properties were his to manage and that landlordss did not need to be kept informed. I prefer to keep my landlords informed and invariably they say to leave it in my hands. It iss called trust and it works both ways.
There are good agents and bad ones.
If u have to use one- u have to keep an eye on em to make sure they are doing their utmost.
My large chain agent was DREADFUL. Poor referencing mistakes on the deposit paperwork and tenant fees charged. They refuse to correct their mistakes. Builders' costs were prohibitivly expensive to use them, other than swallowing getting ripped off on smaller jobs. Basically they were an expensive telephone answering service to the tenant. Always quick to make dedcutions out of the rent. Neeeded a lot of chasing to get things done including the gas certficiate. They leave that to the last day after chasing them daily. They don't answer to a judge or solicitor when it's late, or when you are trying to evict and all these lefties are looking for reasons to stop you. I would just do without. Save the money and the stress of an agent.
The clues are in the first few words: Large; Chain; Agent. Try a small, independent agent next time.
Annoyed. Due to what's coming up I won't ever need another agent again :)
Not even an ESTATE agent? :)
Why's that nick? Are you going to prison like your namesake?
James, Why don't you go and play with the traffic. I suspect that's all you're good for. Reduce the country's welfare bill too.
Yes will need them. Though might try myself first with an online agent.
They can be better. When I sold my house in Cornwall, I was torn betweeen a High Street agent and an online agent. My head said online, my heart said high street. I made a mistake with choosing the High Street agent for sentimental reasons.
They had to be reminded constantly that they were MY agents and they worked for ME. It took some convincing before they agreed to market at a price I knew it was worth, a price the online agents had suggested would be the minimum to accept. After three months with one buyer who blamed his mortgage company for the delay I had enough and said to remarket it - NO SSTC. Someone who viewed it previously was still interested and made an offer of £5k over the asking price if I stopped progress with the original buyer. One month later we completed.
I'd like to say th High Street agent was worth his fee, but as Harry Potter know, "I must not tell lies". LOL
I will have to have a think. I used an online agent. Did my own advert in 2021/early 2022. Barely got any interest. I had my lousy tenant still in there. Only put it up to beat the retaliatory eviction laws. I had to keep point that out to my lawyer before they could understand that the endless reports of repairs didn't count.
AL I've gone for the contract race in the past when being messed about by agents and buyers they don't like it but it works
@ Andrew
Less of a contract race snce the original purchasers delayed so long that I lost patience. After the umpteenth assurance that their mortgage offer would be made within 24 hours I gave up. I don't regret it, but having giving them every opportunity, I did not feel guilty that they had spent money on a survey etc. They tried every delay even claiming that it needed to be tested for Radon and a Mundic test. The Radon test had been done a few years before and they were told if they wanted a mundic test - they could pay for it! The high street agent tried everything to persuade me to give them more time. Even my solicitor lost patience with them.
I suppose the Redress Scheme will be the reason for the big rise in Complaints, it will be to grow their own business by inventing the Scheme as we now have a compensation culture, if something is available for nothing they’ll be all on it where as there wasn’t any issue before.
Regarding sales falling through it will depend on the market, it’s easy to sell in a Bull Market like the one created in years past by low interest rates and regulations weren’t too onerous.
It’s a different kettle in a Bear Market when prices stagnate and start falling like what’s happening now on the back of the RRB, higher interest rates and licensing Schemes but obviously there’s a load of other factors and new policies to distort the market and to replace private landlords with Institutional investors and Corporations.
About sales failing through avoid chains I was once in a chain of seven and it broke three times that a whole other story.
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