Member Article

Property expert calls for more protection for tenants

SHEFFIELD property and lettings expert Harriet Cooke is calling on the government to enforce measures that were designed to protect tenants from unexpected charges and rogue agents.

Harriet, the branch manager of city centre estate agency Martin & Co, says the government’s failure to enforce its own legislation has led to tenants being exploited and unprotected.

“In the past few years the government has introduced new legislation for letting agents, one of the most important being they must belong to a property ombudsman scheme and this must be displayed in their office and websites,” Harriet said.

“In addition May 2015 saw legislation kick in that meant all letting agents must display their landlord and tenant fees on their website, and they must be displayed in their branches.”

Research carried out by Sheffield Council just a few months later, however, showed that the authority had fined just 11 letting agents a total of £37,000 for not belonging to a redress scheme.

The council also said it had investigated 200 letting agents in the city, discovering the astounding extent to which the law was being flouted, with the large majority of letting agents not showing any fees at all on their websites.

Out of 81 on the list, just four were compliant, meaning that 77 were non-compliant, while just a handful showed some but not all fees.

“Despite all this, I have not seen any prosecutions and I know some companies in the franchise area we operate are still not complying with the law,” said Harriet.

“All this legislation was brought in because there was no effective governance of lettings agents.

“They could operate, provide poor service to landlords and tenants, and in some cases take money they were not entitled to and there was no redress except through the courts, a move vulnerable tenants did not have the funds for anyway.

“Displaying fees was aimed to make sure agents were up front, as many agents added fees that were not clear at the start.

“Legislation means that companies should display all charges that can become due in the tenancy, including VAT, but too often tenants are still being left vulnerable from the start of a transaction.”

At the same time, though, Harriet also urged tenants to become much more aware of their rights and develop a greater understanding of the market, especially as the rental sector continues to grow.

“The government is talking about building one million more homes during the course of this parliament,” she pointed out.

“By the laws of market forces, with more affordable properties there will be more choice for renters who can use their research to find more competitive agencies on fees to choose to rent through.

“If potential tenants are better prepared, the more expensive agents will soon adjust their prices.”

Harriet still believes, however, that more needs to be done to protect tenants from unscrupulous agents.

“There is legislation that allows Estate Agents to be banned but nothing similar for letting agents,” she said.

“There is no barrier to setting up a letting agency, no qualification or minimum suitability requirement - all you need to do is to join a property redress scheme, which does not require you to carry Professional Indemnity Insurance.

“But surely the best way to deal with tenant fees and poor agents who are ripping off both tenants and landlords is not only to bring in legislation, but to enforce it.

“We must make tenants more aware and encourage them to check the agent they are dealing with.

“And if we had legislation enforced whereby agents have to belong to a Property Redress Scheme, have Professional Indemnity Insurance and carry full Client Money Protection insurance this will make it more difficult for rogue and poor agencies to survive.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Highfield .