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Response to 2011 Annual Report from the Property Ombudsman
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
In response to 2011 Annual Report from the Property
Ombudsman,Ian Potter, Operations Manager at the Association of
Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), said:
"As an organisation that strives to achieve the best possible
standards within the private rented sector, we are disappointed to
see a rise in lettings complaints over the past year. It was
however interesting to note that only 10% of those merited
adjudication by the Ombudsman, and it should also be noted that
there were almost 900 new lettings members despite some
consolidation in the industry.
"That said, it comes as very little surprise given there is no
national regulation in place to stop rogue agents setting up shop
and taking advantage of what is a fragile market - 26% of
complaints were against agents who did not belong to an Ombudsman
Scheme.
"We have long called for increased regulation in the sector and
as such, we are not unsupportive of the concept of a council
to help promote consumer understanding of the importance of using
professional agents like ARLA licensed members. Ultimately, it is
likely to require primary legislation to achieve full control of
the sector and it will be interesting to see how the proposals in
Wales and London progress.
"We would also encourage prospective tenants to ensure
the agent they enter into agreement with is a member of The
Property Ombudsman Scheme, which provides an additional layer of
protection."