A recent report published by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has revealed that many of the complaints received by the OFT relate to charges and service fees. Landlords and tenants have made more than 4,000 complaints in respect of letting agents and a large percentage were unhappy that extra charges and fees had been added on after a contract had been signed. There were also numerous complaints about poor service and mismanaged deposits.
A call for regulation in the letting industry
In light of its findings, the OFT is calling on the government to introduce greater regulation in the lettings industry—this would hopefully ensure more consistency for customers who decide to use the services of a letting agent when letting out a property or looking for a home to rent.
Consumer groups comment
Top UK consumer groups, including Which?, have welcomed the call to action for the OFT.
“The government must act quickly to require all agents to sign up to a complaints scheme so that tenants know where to turn to for redress when things go wrong. This should be done by amending the Enterprise Bill currently before Parliament,” Which? executive director Richard Lloyd was reported as saying on the BBC news website.
In a further recommendation, Arla advised landlords to always use letting agents who are members of trade bodies.
“We have long-called for a central system of regulation, and would agree with a number of the OFT’s recommendations to help improve the market. In particular, agents should always be transparent about the fees they charge, and the services associated with those fees,” said managing director of Arla, Ian Potter.
