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Property Obudsman calls for property act ,50 % more lettings disputes , data also shows 25 % rise in online estateagents presence



The latest interim report released by The Property Ombudsman reveals more than half of the 9141 enquiries received related to lettings disputes, nearly double that of sales.  This not only reinforces the importance of legislation introduced a year ago, making it a legal requirements for all letting agents in England to register with an approved redress scheme, but has left Christopher Hamer, Property Ombudsman, calling for a Property Agents Act. 




Key highlights from TPO's 2015 Interim Report reveal that:

  • Registered agents (p6): 3641 additional sales and letting agents registered with TPO. A total of 34,944 agents registered with TPO across all jurisdictions – a 16% increase on the same period last year

  • Consumer enquiries (p7): 9,141 consumers contacted TPO regarding a property dispute (an 8% increase on the same period last year). 

  • More than half of all the enquiries received were regarding lettings disputes with 5,303 enquiries logged (58%), nearly double that of sales enquiries which represented 30%.Complaints (p8): 

  • Complaints grew by 34% overall with 1,587 cases reviewed, of which 934 were against letting agents (up 30%) and 596 were against sales agents (up 39%).

  • Consumer case studies (p9): The Ombudsman hand-picked a selection of both sales and lettings case studies to highlight issues varying from holding deposits, eviction, renewal fees and difficult neighbours, to commission fees and sales particulars.
The Property Ombudsman,  is the largest and longest-established of three official redress schemes for agents, having recorded a significant rise in membership from the sales sector this year - including a 25 per cent * increase in online agents.

*In 2014  there were 204 registered online estate agents members , by 2015 this has grown to 253 so far. 



 Government concernedy by estate agents 'double charging' Christopher Hamer, Property Ombudsman.





Government concerned by Estate Agents 'double charging'



To view 2015 Interim Report - please click here



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