UK Landlord Forum / Life

I am looking for information about the workings of the Property Ombudsman.

Recently I had to evict some tenants.
I have many complaints about the 'service' I received from my agent. They found unsuitable tenants and unsuitable guarantor. They have not replied to letters, not returned deposit, not made proper checks on the tenants etc. etc.

So now I have made a complaint to the agent and informed the Ombudsman.

What can I hope for from this service?

If I am not satisfied can I take the case to court?

All replies will be gratefully received.

Michael

What are you taking them to court for?  It's usually to recover damages.

My understanding was that you had to make a complaint to the Agent and not have it handled effectively / or at all before you could make contact with the Ombudsman. Aren't they just going to say - see how the Agent responds to your complaint first?

We will watch your case with interest, I'm sure... as I've never had much faith in how complaints are escalated within a 'profession' like this.

My complaint is that the agents found unsuitable tenants/guarantor as income was too low.

Maybe the Ombudsman will ask the agent to reply as you suggest but my solicitor says this is a necessary first step.

Their agent failed to make proper references and one reference was made after the agreement had been signed.
The tenants failed to pay rent and damaged the property before eviction.

As many agents belong to the Property Ombudsman scheme I will post all progress here and hope it will be of interest.

Post 1
The agent has not responded to my complaint.
The Ombudsman has contacted the agent and will contact me when he has inspected the file.

Still have to ask, what do you want from the outcome of taking them to court?  For a judge to tell them they are naughty and not to do it again?

Applying to the Property Ombudsman is my first step as the agent has made no offer to compensate me for lost rental, property damage, and compensation etc. I consider they have mismanaged my property letting and withheld information from me.

This service is free to Landlords and the courts expect the landlord to have applied to TPO before any private court action is taken.

I want the matter to be in court for two reasons -

I would like compensation etc. and am happy for a judge to make her decision
Also, I would like access to the file to see just what has being going on behind my back. At present Privacy Data rules prevent me from seeing all the information though TPO, and of course the agent, will have access to this.
Plus the matter would then become public and other landlords would be made aware of what has happened.

Michael

Micheal.


Bloody good on you!


I like your style, it's not about what you think you can win or loose, these Agents are bloody arseholes, doing a shit job and making us pay for it.


It would seem they can do this in the UK without any recourse.

Good Luck Mate.

This is all about what motivates people.

If an Agent is employed on a fixed rate to do Tenant Find only, then it is pretty obvious they'll put forward any Tenant and, indeed, find a way of recommending any Tenant... after all, the only thing they're interested in is getting the fee. Whether the Tenant is good or bad or simply not appropriate for the property won't really enter their mind.

If an Agent is employed on a Full Management basis, then you might hope that they would want you to have the right Tenant, a good Tenant. After all, they're to have an ongoing relationship with you, the Landlord, their customer. However, I would surmise that it's in the best interests of the Agent to have a bad Tenant again. Sure, they'll not like one who doesn't pay... but one who trashes the place, causes loads of issues regarding repairs etc., well, that's different... yet, it might cause them some hassle, but it's not their money that's going down the drain and every time there's a repair and the Landlord asks the Agent to "handle it" you can bet there are uplifts and kickbacks a-plenty. So, again, I'd say there's reason enough for an Agent to not be bothered if they get you a bad Tenant.

In fact, the only person truly interested in getting a good Tenant is the owner of the asset... the Landlord. That alone is a good case for not using Agents for anything other than the things you can't do yourself.

Although this case may proceed as Michael wants, I don't think it's going to be headline news if the Agent is found to have fallen short.