Complaints against estate agents in UK up 32%

Complaints against estate agents in the UK upheld by the Property Ombudsman scheme increased by 32% last year with agents paying out £811,134 in compensation.

The Ombudsman’s annual report shows that overall it received 16,265 enquiries from consumers seeking advice and it resolved 3,304 formal complaints, a substantial 32% increase from the previous year and the largest pay out was £16,000 for a letting dispute.

In the lettings sector some 1,965 formal complaints were resolved, 33% more than the year before, and 83% of complaints were supported by the Ombudsman. Some 50% of complaints were made by landlords, while 47% were made by tenants.

The highest award issued last year was £16,954 for a lettings dispute and the average lettings award was £522 with the South East and London recording the highest volume of complaints at 24% each, followed by the South West at 9%.

The top three causes of complaints were management, including repairs and maintenance, communication and record keeping and end of tenancy issues such as deposits, disputes and damages.

In the sales sector 1,220 formal complaints were resolved, 27% more than the year before and 73% of complaints were supported by the Ombudsman. Some 60% of complaints were made by sellers, while 35% were made by buyers and the average sales award was £374.

The regions with the highest volume of complaints were the South East at 26% followed by South West at 13% and then Greater London at 11%.

The top three causes of complaints were communication and record keeping, followed by marketing and advertising and then issues relating to instructions, terms of business, commission and termination.

‘The number of agents joining TPO has grown by 82% in the last 5 years. Some 35,374 offices are now signed up and following our approved Codes of Practice. Importantly, these figures show that more and more consumers are able to access TPO to have their disputes resolved,’ said Katrine Sporle, Property Ombudsman.

‘Being the largest government approved property redress scheme does mean that we receive a commensurately large number of enquiries every year. In the vast majority of cases, those enquiries are dealt with satisfactorily through TPO intervention to facilitate early resolution between agents and consumers,’ she pointed out.

‘Last year, out of 16,265 enquiries 3,304 complex complaints required formal review and, a high percentage of those complaints were supported. Overall, this is good news for consumers and redress, but not so great for the reputation of agents who collectively paid out over £800,000 in awards,’ she explained.

‘My message for those agents is simple; pay more attention to TPO’s Codes of Practice and raise your standards,’ she added.
Russell Quirk, chief executive officer of Emoov, believes that all estate agents should be licensed and the new figures reveal that poor practice still exists.

‘Selling or buying a home can occasionally be an expensive and sometimes fraught experience. The Government must now really step in and introduce licensing for all estate agents, in order to regulate against the bad guys, of which there seems to be many,’ he said.