Complain about a letting agent
You must start by making a complaint to the letting agent who caused the problem.
After that, you can take your complaint to:
a letting agent redress scheme
the letting agent's professional association
Ask the letting agent for their complaints procedure.
A complaints procedure tells you the steps to take to complain about the letting agent’s behaviour or their service.
Check the agent's website or ask their office how to complain. They must tell you.
Send them a letter if the agent says they do not have a complaints procedure.
What to put in your complaint
Explain your problem clearly in writing.
Put these things in:
what you are complaining about
times and dates when the problem took place
The letting agent should look into your complaint.
They might:
ask you questions about what happened
ask for copies of documents, for example, emails with the letting agent
look at your home, for example because there are repairs problems
The letting agent should write to tell you what they decide about your complaint.
Complain to a letting agency redress scheme
All letting agents must belong to a letting agency redress scheme.
These schemes can help with your complaint about a letting agency.
Other schemes to complain to
Some agents belong to professional associations or accreditation schemes.
Letting agents must meet standards to belong to these schemes. You can complain to the scheme if they do not.
The main letting agent associations and accreditation schemes are:
How to complain to the association or scheme
Write to the letting agent’s scheme or association to tell them about your complaint.
Send copies of letters and emails with the agent if you have them.
What they can do
The letting agent’s scheme or association could do things like:
offer you money because your letting agent has caused you problems
tell the letting agent to apologise and change the way they do things
Your complaint ends if you agree with what the scheme or association decides.
A letting agent's professional association or scheme cannot help if you've started court action against the agent.
Complain to trading standards
Local councils have trading standards departments.
They can look into complaints about letting agents.
You can report a letting agent to trading standards if the agent is not in a letting agent redress scheme or if you think their service is not fair.
Trading standards could look into problems like:
unfair service
a letting agent charging you banned fees
Contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline to complain to trading standards.
Complain to your landlord
You could tell your landlord about their letting agent's poor service.
Your landlord's name and address should be on your tenancy agreement or on other documents from them or the agent.
Ask the letting agent for your landlord's details if you do not have them. The letting agent must tell you if you write to them.
If your landlord is a company, the letting agent must tell you the names and addresses of all the directors and the secretary.
Court action
If your dispute is about money, you could make a claim in the small claims court.
Find out more about small claims from Citizens Advice.
Last updated: 19 July 2024
