Posts with tag: The Property Ombudsman

Letting Agent Expelled from The Property Ombudsman after Failing to Pay Award

Published On: August 24, 2017 at 8:20 am

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A sales and letting agent in southwest London has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for a year after failing to pay an award to a complainant.

Premier Moves Management Limited (PMM) did not pay the £4,900 award, as instructed by TPO, so the case was referred to TPO’s Disciplinary & Standards Committee (DSC), which ruled that the firm should be expelled from TPO.

Letting Agent Expelled from The Property Ombudsman after Failing to Pay Award

Letting Agent Expelled from The Property Ombudsman after Failing to Pay Award

Landlords and tenants are being warned that the firm may still be trading illegally, as its website is still live with both for sale and to let properties, even though the office is shut and the agent does not appear to be registered with Rightmove or Zoopla.

The complainants said that they received a poor service from PMM, with “promises made and not kept” and poor communication; PMM was not contactable during office hours.

The specific complaints were that PMM failed to:

  • Pay over rental money received
  • Advise about Council Tax and whether it should have been accounted for in the rent
  • Confirm whether a deposit was taken, the amount and where it was registered
  • Effectively manage the property, citing a lack of tenancy agreements, updates about renewed tenancy agreements and failure to conduct regular inspections
  • Advise the complainants about changes to lettings of which PMM were aware

TPO investigated each issue and upheld the complaints. PMM had already agreed it owed £3,600 in rent received. TPO then directed PMM to transfer all rent monies owed by this point (£4,350) to the complainants. In addition to this, a £500 award of compensation was made. The total award was £4,900.

TPO, Katrine Sporle, comments: “My investigation found the agent had failed to ensure rent was passed on to the complainants (landlords) promptly, and considered this caused the complainants aggravation, distress and inconvenience. The agent agreed, in writing, that the amount owed to the complainants would be fully paid to them in 28 days, but the agent failed to make any payment, so the case was referred to the DSC.”

All members of TPO are obliged to comply with awards made by TPO and are also obliged to co-operate with investigations. PMM also voluntarily agreed to abide by the Code of Practice.

PMM did offer to pay by installments following TPO’s decision, but the complainants refused this. However, no further offer or any payment on account was made after that.

The DSC therefore considered this a serious and flagrant breach of PMM’s obligations under the Membership Deed. In view of that, the DSC concluded that PMM should be expelled and excluded from membership of TPO and from registration for redress for one year.

This means that PMM will, for that period, no longer be registered with TPO for lettings redress, as required by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, and could not operate as a sales agent, as redress registration is also required by Section 23A of the Estate Agents Act 1979.

The Chairman of TPO’s Board, Gerry Fitzjohn, says: “We set high standards for agents – the scheme’s approved Code of Practice goes above and beyond the letter of the law, requiring agents to offer additional safeguards to protect consumers. This firm will no longer be able to trade as a result of this expulsion, and we urge any consumers that suspect the firm is trading to contact Trading Standards, who have been notified of PMM’s expulsion.”

Every sales and letting agent in England is required to register with a Government-approved redress scheme, which enables consumers to have their complaint reviewed independently in the event of a dispute.

An agreement between the three Government-approved redress schemes means that PMM will not be able to register for any form of redress until the award is paid. Redress registration is required for the agent to trade legally.

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TPO offers new guidance for agents entering properties

Published On: November 3, 2016 at 10:21 am

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The Property Ombudsman has moved to provide new guidance concerning gaining tenants’ consent before accessing a property.

This alteration comes as a direct result of queries from agents regarding changes made to paragraph 8f of TPO Lettings Code of Practice, which came into force on the 1st October.

Misinterpretation

A number of agents interpreted the paragraph as suggesting that the explicit consent of a tenant must be gained before gaining entry. However, The Property Ombudsman has said this is incorrect.

The paragraph has subsequently been amended, so it now reads:

‘Access to a property may be required by you, or an authorised third party on behalf of the landlord (e.g. a surveyor, builder, tradesman etc) for the purpose of viewing the condition, state of repair and/or to fulfil related statutory obligations and/or to carry out repairs. Ifyou hold the key but are not able to accompany that person, the tenant must be given the appropriate minimum notice of 24 hours or that prescribed by law, of the appointment (unless agreed otherwise with the tenant beforehand), except in cases of genuine emergency. Notwithstanding providing the tenant with reasonable notice to access a property, express consent from the tenant to do so should be obtained.’[1]

In practice then, an agent must give written confirmation of their request to access the property to the tenant.

TPO offers new guidance for agents entering properties

TPO offers new guidance for agents entering properties

Acceptable

Within this request, the tenant must be asked for their confirmation of their consent. This request must also be issued in good time, in order to allow the tenant reasonable time to respond. An absolute minimum timeframe is 24 hours.

The alteration was made to the TPO Lettings Code after a number of cases where agents had only given 24 hours notice, sometimes not through the correct channels. For example, many sent the request through text message before entering, often surprising the tenant.

The TPO said: ‘Whilst legal, this was clearly not good practice and not the manner in which we would expect agents, who had voluntarily chosen to follow the TPO Code, to behave.’[2]

[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2016/11/new-tpo-guidance-for-letting-agents-on-entering-properties

 

The Property Ombudsman reveals annual information

Published On: October 4, 2016 at 9:55 am

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The Property Ombudsman scheme has today released its most recent annual figures, which show a rise in the number of consumers contacting the scheme for assistance.

In her first yearly report following her appointment early in 2015, Katrine Sporle revealed some interesting data concerning the scheme.

Advice

In 2015, The Property Ombudsman received 16,265 enquiries from consumers looking for advice. In addition, it resolved 3,304 formal complaints, a substantial increase of 32% from the previous year. What’s more, the Ombudsman instructed agents to pay awards worth £811,134.

With regards to lettings, some key figures were revealed to be:

  • 1,965 formal complaints were resolved, 33% more than in 2014
  • 83% of complaints were supported
  • 50% of complaints were made by landlords
  • 47% of complaints were made by tenants
  • The greatest award for a lettings dispute was £16,954
  • The average lettings award was £522
  • The highest volume of complaints were in the South East (24%), Greater London (24%) and the South West (9%).

The top three causes of lettings complaints were found to be:

  • Management (including repairs, maintenance)
  • Communication & record keeping
  • End of tenancy issues (deposits, damages etc)
The Property Ombudsman reveals annual information

The Property Ombudsman reveals annual information

Raises

Katrine Sporle noted: ‘The number of agents joining The Property Ombudsman has grown by 82% in the last 5 years. 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 The Property Ombudsman to have their disputes resolved.’[1]

‘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.’[1]

Concluding, Sporle said: ‘Last year, out of 16,265 enquiries, 3,304 complex complaints required formal review and, a high percentage of those complaints were supported (83%). 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.’
‘My message for those agents is simple; pay more attention to TPO’s Codes of Practice and raise your standards.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/the-property-ombudsman-reveals-32-increase-in-complaints-resolved.html

The Property Ombudsman Updates Codes of Practice

Published On: September 28, 2016 at 8:29 am

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On 1st October 2016, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme will issue updated versions of its Codes of Practice, in order to address emerging industry issues.

Primarily, TPO aims to eradicate the practice of portal juggling – when an agent misleads customers by removing and relisting homes on property portals, enabling them to hide price cuts and give the impression that a property is new to the market when it is not.

The Property Ombudsman Updates Codes of Practice

The Property Ombudsman Updates Codes of Practice

Other updates include:

  • Disclosure on pre-contract deposits – to clearly define the actions required to ensure all parties involved in a pre-contract deposit arrangement have agreed to the terms and conditions attached to the payment.
  • VAT on fees – to ensure that all fees and charges are quoted inclusive of VAT.
  • Disclosure of referencing – to add the provision that landlords receive all relevant facts, regardless of whether the tenant has met or failed to meet the referencing criteria.

The Chairman of TPO Board, Gerry Fitzjohn, explains: “The decision was taken to carry out a full review of the codes to reflect market developments and provide clear definitions of unfair practices. Our codes already state that all advertisements must be legal, decent, honest and truthful, but now go one step further to clarify that portal juggling, in its various forms, is misleading to consumers. Evidence of member agents found to be carrying out such poor practice could be reported to the Disciplinary and Standard’s Committee (DSC), NTSEAT and/or local Trading Standards.

“As the industry changes, it’s necessary to release new versions of our codes to ensure agents fully understand their responsibilities and adhere to best practice.”

The Ombudsman, Katrine Sporle, will apply the new Codes of Practice when reviewing consumer complaints regarding events that have occurred after 1st October 2016, to determine whether or not a TPO-registered member has breached the high level of standards required.

Issues included in the new codes will be covered in greater depth at TPO’s annual Raising Standards Conference on 12th October 2016 at the National Conference Centre, Solihull.

The working group for the updated codes included trade associations, representatives from large and small estate and letting agents, and a representative from TPO’s independent council.

All TPO Codes of Practice have been revised, including: Residential Estate Agents, Residential Letting Agents, Residential Estate Agents (Scotland), Residential Letting Agents (Scotland), Buying Agents, Property Buying Companies, Commercial and Membership Obligations.

The CEO of the HomeOwners Alliance, Paula Higgins, comments on the changes: “Buying a house is the biggest purchase of your life, and you need to know the information you have is accurate when deciding whether to view and, more importantly, how to decide and negotiate the price. Without accurate information, homebuyers are at a big disadvantage and estate agents and their clients, the home seller, are the winners. This isn’t a level playing field. We’re glad to see the regulator stepping in.”

Warning after agents expelled from TPO

Published On: May 4, 2016 at 12:00 pm

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A warning has been issued by Britain’s largest property redress scheme regarding the actions of two letting agents.

Both agencies, ‘The Flat Agency & Michael Browns Ltd,’ and ‘Property Vibe,’ based in Southampton, were expelled from The Property Ombudsman for a minimum period of three years.

Complaints

The decision to remove The Flat Agency & Michael Browns Ltd’ came following complaints from local landlords and tenants. Cases brought against the agent were all similar and revolved around a delay or failure to pay monies owed. Several raised serious concerns with the Ombudsman, which moved to brandish the agents’ practices are both, ‘deceitful and dishonest.’

Having failed to pay the money owed or any compensation, the agents’ misdemeanours were referred to the scheme’s Disciplinary and Standard’s Committee (DSC). The DSC then moved to expel the agent from membership and registration of the Ombudsman.

Without registration, the two companies cannot legally trade as agents, with other redress schemes also wary of letting previously expelled agents to join. Landlords who lease their property with a letting agent that is not registered with The Property Ombudsman cannot have their dispute reviewed by the scheme.

Warning after agents expelled from TPO

Warning after agents expelled from TPO

Lack of regard

Gerry Fitzjohn, Chairman of the TPO Board, noted, ‘cases like these are extremely rare but this agent has demonstrated a complete lack of regard for its clients and failed to forward money to them which it should have been keeping in a separate clients’ money account. The firm committed several flagrant breaches of the TPO Codes of Practice for Residential Letting Agents and has been expelled as a result.’[1]

‘Both agents have failed to comply with the TPO Code of Practice by not providing any evidence to support their side of the story or demonstrate an appropriate complaints handling procedure. Their reckless management has caused avoidable aggravation, distress and inconvenience,’ Fitzjohn added.[1]

Mr Clive Robinson, Trading Standards Team Leader at Southampton City Council, noted, ‘Trading Standards can confirm that we have received information both from the Ombudsman and a number of landlords and tenants. Membership of an approved ombudsman scheme is a legal requirement for all letting agents as is the proper protection of tenant’s deposits and we will be working with the Ombudsman and others to address any identified breach of the law.’[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/property-ombudsman-expells-two-letting-agents.html

 

New Property Ombudsman Announced

Published On: September 21, 2015 at 2:53 pm

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The new Property Ombudsman has been revealed as Katrine Sporle.

Sporle, 61, will take over from Christopher Hamer when his nine-year term ends on 30th November.

Sporle has an impressive career to date and is being welcomed into the role.

She was the chief executive of the Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales between 2003-11, responsible for 1,000 members of staff and a £60m budget. She also reported directly to Parliament.

Previously, Sporle was the chief executive of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for eight years, controlling a budget of £58m.

Sporle is currently the executive director and chapter clerk at Salisbury Cathedral, the most senior lay leader at the 750-year-old church.

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) offices are located in the same city in Wiltshire.

Sporle, of Hampshire, was awarded a CBE in December 2010 for outstanding public service.

Chairman of TPO Council since 2009, Lord Richard Best OBE, says: “Selecting our ombudsman is a key responsibility of the independent TPO Council and we are truly delighted to have secured someone with the breadth and depth of experience – at local and national levels – which Katrine brings to this role.

“Christopher Hamer is a very hard act to follow but I am confident we have found a great successor.

“I know all TPO’s members and well-wishers will join me in extending the warmest of welcomes to Katrine when she starts in November.”1 

Board Chairman of TPO Scheme, Bill McClintock, adds: “I welcome Katrine Sporle as the new ombudsman and endorse Lord Best’s comments.

“I believe her broad employment background will be a huge benefit in performing her new role.”1

Hamer’s next move is unknown, but it is believed he could become involved in Government departments due to his valuable skills.

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/new-property-ombudsman-with-outstanding-track-record-is-announced/