An Unsigned Agency Agreement
Published on Wednesday, 23 May 2012. Posted in Case Studies
Upon being presented with the Agent's invoice after successfully proceeding to exchange of
contracts on the Property, the Sellers raised a number of complaints in which they stated that the original Agency Agreement was incorrect and that, as they had not signed the document, there was no agreement in place which meant that the Agent was not entitled to charge them a fee. The Agent maintained that, as they had introduced a buyer who had gone on to purchase the Property, they were entitled to a commission fee.
Progress Notes
The Sellers, complained that, as the housing market had been so quiet, they had suspended
the marketing of the Property but had reached an understanding with the Agent that they should still keep the Property in mind if any potential buyers showed an interest in similar properties. The Sellers believed this had terminated their agreement with the Agent. However, six months later the Agent called the Sellers to arrange a viewing which
resulted in an offer and the Property being sold. The Sellers claimed that due to the lack of active marketing, they should be given a reduction in the commission fee. They also complained that the Agent had not passed information on to the Buyer as they had requested and failed to record and pass information on to their staff, leading to the Sellers
being unnecessarily inconvenienced during the transaction.
Communication and Record Keeping
The Landlords complained that the Agent had not given adequate notice of the Tenant's
intention to vacate the property, that they had not chased up rent arrears and that they had
failed to adequately respond to their subsequent Complaint. The Agent responded by stating
that the Landlords were already aware of the Tenant having given notice and referred to the
contemporaneous progress notes on their file to support their view.
References & Missing Documents
The Landlord had instructed the Agent to find a tenant which they did. After approximately three months the Tenant stopped paying the rent. The Landlord served a Section 8 Notice on the Tenant who vacated the Property with rent arrears of more than £1,500. The landlord accepted that the Tenant was responsible for paying the rent but after conducting some research she was concerned that the Tenant had passed the Agent's reference criteria.
A Missed Opportunity
The Landlords had instructed the Agent to let and manage the Property for a period of more than 19 months. However, following the Tenants vacating the Property, the Landlords subsequently spent £1,500 repairing damage caused by prolonged misuse and a lack of care and cleaning by the Tenants. They claimed on the deposit and sought the balance of their losses from the Agent.
The Agreed Level of Rent
The Landlords complained that the Agent had not obtained their consent before they let the Property to the Tenant at a rent that was somewhat below the amount advertised. The Agent stated that they had obtained the Landlords' consent, prior to the letting, during a telephone conversation.
Communication and Inspections
The Landlord complained about the Agent's failure to carry out inspections, arrange for
appropriate remedial works to be undertaken and to communicate effectively with her throughout the Tenancy. The Landlord also blamed the Agent's management for the poor condition that the Property was left in at the end of the Tenancy and the costs incurred by her to return the Property to a satisfactory condition.
Letting Agent Support Still Rising for the Property Ombudsman
Published on Monday, 23 April 2012. Posted in Press Releases
Lettings agents across the UK are continuing to show their support for The Property Ombudsman scheme (TPO), with more than 300 offices joining this year to take the total past 9,000.
'The Government continues to ignore pleas for residential letting agents to be regulated in the same way as sales agents, which we believe would raise standards across the industry,' says Gerry Fitzjohn, chief operating officer of TPO.
Holding Deposit/Fee of Intent
Miss E (the Prospective Tenant) claimed that the failure of the Agent to advertise the property correctly and to represent both her and the landlord properly caused her to withdraw from the tenancy. Miss E requested a full refund of the £1,000 she paid to the Agent to 'hold' the property. The Agent responded stating that the property had been advertised correctly, that the monies represented a 'fee of intent' (not a holding deposit) and that, as she had withdrawn from the transaction, her payment would not be returned.
Rent Arrears and Communication
After the tenant vacated the property owing four months rent, Mr D (the Landlord) raised a complaint with the Agent, stating that they had failed to inform him about the increasing debt and, therefore, denied him the opportunity to take action. The Agent's response was that, whilst they acknowledged communication failures, they had assumed that Mr D would have identified the problem for himself from the lack of rent going into his account.
References & Section 21 Notices
Following the tenant falling behind with the rent, Mrs C (the Landlord) applied to the Court for possession of the property.
Communication and Repairs
After discovering a water leak, Mr B (the Tenant) reported the matter to the Agent who promptly arranged for a contractor to investigate the problem.
Annual Report 2011 – Press Release
Published on Tuesday, 13 March 2012. Posted in Press Releases
Letting agents, consumers and acceptable standards
Following another year which saw a further increase in letting complaints, The Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, is renewing his call for standards to be raised across the lettings industry in his latest Annual Report.
Following the completion of the sale, the Agent wrote to Mr and Mrs J requesting payment of their commission fee. Mr and Mrs J responded by making a number of allegations which included the property being overvalued and the Agent failing to adequately communicate with them.
A year after selling his property, Mr H alleged that the Agent had provided the address of his new property to an unauthorised third party, which then resulted in that third party threatening him outside of his house later that day.
Commission Fees & the Introduction to the Purchase
Following the property being sold, Mrs G (the Seller) complained that the Agent she had previously instructed to market the property had wrongly claimed a commission fee when it was eventually sold by another agent. The Agent argued that they had introduced the buyer to the purchase and were therefore due a commission fee.
Conflict of Interest & Planning Proposals
Following the sale of the property, the son of the Seller, Mr F, accused the Agent of failing to disclose a conflict of interest. Specifically Mr F asserted that a conflict of interest had arisen as a result of another department within the Agent's offices acting on behalf of a neighbour by submitting a planning request to the local council which had resulted in lower offers being received for the property.
Property Security and Marketing
Shortly after the sale of their property, Mr and Mrs E (the Sellers) raised three complaints against the Agent concerning access to their property, a number of viewings and the provision of the Memorandum of Sale.
Property Misdescription and the View
Following their successful purchase, Mr and Mrs D (the Buyers) complained that the Agent had failed to inform them of a proposed development which would impair the view from the property. Mr and Mrs D considered that the Agent was in breach of the Property Misdescriptions Act and Paragraph 4h of the Code of Practice.
Mr and Mrs C (the Sellers) alleged that, although they had instructed the Agent to market the property for sale, the Agent had, without their knowledge or consent, marketed their property for rent, let the property to tenants under a 12 month Tenancy Agreement and had accepted both a deposit and rent from the tenants.
First«11121314151617»Last
Lettings Code of Practice
Sale by Tender