Ombudsman reports 44% rise in lettings enquiries

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by Gill Montia

In his latest quarterly report the Property Ombudsman states that “frustration” with lettings agents is the main reason for people contacting his office.

According to Christopher Hamer, the three months to the end of June saw over 110 people with problems over property lettings make contact each week.

As a result, enquiries in this area have increased 44% in the past year while enquiries regarding sales have fallen by almost a third.

Mr Hamer comments: “This is precisely what I forecast as the property market switched emphasis from sales to lettings during the current slowdown”.

He goes on to explain that the surge in lettings enquiries is one of the main reasons for asking the Office of Fair Trading to ratify The Property Ombudsman Lettings Code of Practice under its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme.

The move forms the first step towards requiring all lettings agents to be signed up to a redress scheme, a requirement already in place for residential sales agents.

Currently 6,255 lettings offices have signed up to the code voluntarily meaning that 807 of disputes arising during the most recent quarter fell within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

However, 1,446 enquiries remain outside the scheme and Mr Hammer therefore urges consumers to seek out agents who have already opted for voluntary registration.