When your letting agent fails you?

Hi D,

Worth knowing before the internal review lands: it isn’t the end of the road. Assuming you’re in England, your agent has to belong to a government approved redress scheme, either The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. Once they issue a final response, or eight weeks pass without one, you can take it to the ombudsman for free. Awards go up to 25,000 pounds. No solicitor, no court.

Two things to do this week, while you’re still a client.

Send a subject access request under UK GDPR. It’s free, they’ve got a month, and it should produce the signed agreement they never sent you, plus any notes or call recordings covering that “no tie in period” assurance. That’s your evidence on both the exit fee and the 3% you never agreed to.

Then screenshot their published fee list. Letting agents must display all landlord fees under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If a six week exit fee isn’t on there, that’s a trading standards matter, and strong leverage in the complaint.

Also ask for your full compliance file now, gas records, EICR, EPC, deposit prescribed information. With one inspection in three years, I wouldn’t assume any of it is current.

OJ
Am I a Legal Landlord

Hi D, adding a few practical points to the ombudsman route above (England assumed).

1. Ask the agent to itemise the £2,400 in writing and name the clause they rely on. If you let as an individual, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires terms to be transparent, and a term that causes a significant imbalance may not bind you. Not having been sent the contract may also help you.
2. Ask which Client Money Protection scheme they belong to. Membership is compulsory for letting agents in England and matters if they hold your rent.
3. If the complaint stalls, a money claim up to £10,000 goes through the small claims track, after a letter before claim.
4. Start a dated log now: what was promised, by whom, and each missed inspection.

Disclosure: I’m with IziRento, an early-stage web app for private landlords to keep records per rental. It only keeps records. Please do not use it as the only place you keep important tenant documents.

General information, not legal advice.

My Agent liquidated with £500k, failed to deposit binds/withdrew bonds during tenancy -no one knew, failure to manage, pay rent on time, fraud etc. 0 provision in RRA tor letting agents all about persecution of Landlords

Reply to the comment left by Oliver Tandy at 04:50
the property ombudsman is useless and biased. they make up new rules to block complaints against their clients.

i took my letting agent to small claims, i did the subject access request and after the complaint procedure was exausted did a letter before claim, they had direct line solicitors that tried to tell me i had no case but i stuck to the facts i paid the court fee and i won they settled at mediation. I wouldn’t go to the ombudsman or redress i think the courts are your best option.

Reply to the comment left by Panda Man at 02/11/2026 – 11:40
The letting agents in bed with friend Solicitor who is also a creditor ?. They have paid off some creditors to block formation of a liquidation committee and are now advising some creditors are debtors. PRS, Ombudsman are toothless

Reply to the comment left by Lorraine Mansfield at 05/11/2026 – 12:34
thanks but my complaints are about poor incompetent service rather than a debt.

Reply to the comment left by Panda Man at 05/11/2026 – 12:43
much worse than toothless. TPO is a claims blocker.

Reply to the comment left by Lorraine Mansfield at 05/11/2026 – 12:34
mine was breach of contract i was promised a check out report they didn’t do it and damage was done the DPS refused to compensate me because i had a check in inventory but no check out inventory and in any case it wouldn’t cover the damage and that’s how the letting agent became responsible.

Reply to the comment left by Joe Bloggs at 05/11/2026 – 15:41
Thats what puts me off leaving mine, to be honest. Nothing dramatic, just a bit useless, and once you start digging it all comes down to the small print. I’ve got the contract for my Arnold house in a drawer and I’m fairly sure I never read the exit bit properly, going to read it this week before I say anything to them.