Redress Shock – Huge rise in complaints and 76 agents expelled

Significant increase in complaints about property agents in 2024, with a 20% rise in enquiries and 76 agencies expelled, up from 58 in 2023. This figure marks a 44% increase over 2022. Property Redress, one of two government-approved redress services, reported these figures.

Key points include:

• Analysis of complaints into “early resolution” and “proposed and default decisions”.
• Compensation awarded in 2024 totaled £1,486,710, a 56% increase from 2023.
• Total compensation for early resolution and decisions combined reached £1,681,588, a 28% increase from the previous year.
• The top three complaints for lettings were holding deposits, poor service and management, and tenancy payments and rent collection, unchanged from the previous year.
• Property Redress successfully resolved around 50% of cases at early resolution.

Sean Hooker, head of redress at Property Redress, emphasized the effectiveness of early resolution and mediation, leading to quicker resolutions and higher satisfaction among stakeholders. Property Redress has 18,802 agent members and covers over half the letting agents in the UK.