TPO reveals the results of its nationwide survey, which were presented to the Government’s CMP working party

Property Ombudsman praises TPO member agents for scooping 71 awards at the Estate Agent of the Year Awards

New Codes of Practice address several industry issues, including the portal juggling and displaying VAT with fees...

New spot checks underway to tackle rogue agents that fail to display their fees

Agents urged to review how they disclose their fees – would your business pass a spot check?

The TPO Codes of Practice are mandatory for all members who are entitled to display the TPO logo and who offer estate/letting agency services.

Should a complaint be made against your company, agents are reminded of their obligation to co-operate with any investigations by the Ombudsman being conducted in accordance with his Terms of Reference. 

You may be aware that the Government has recently implemented The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 (the ADR Regulations). 

We recently released our much anticipated annual report which revealed a continuing upward trend in new referrals, 42% against the previous year.  This is indicative of both the general trend in the consumer world to challenge when something does not give satisfaction, as well as the growing number of agents (28% more than at the start of 2014) now signed up as members of TPO.

You may have recently received communication from us informing you that the ASA has published a ruling that states advertisements for residential property services should now quote VAT. 

TPO lettings agents can now display the Trading Standards Logo - find out why and how you can update your websites and consumer literature...

Great news! Zoopla has launched a new tool for TPO members…

View the updated Codes, find out more about the key changes and what action members need to take.

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from leaseholders against an estate and management company over who were responsible for £1,020 in legal fees. 
The leaseholders were seeking a refund of the £1,020 in legal fees to resolve the dispute, as they considered that the estate and management company had failed to correctly interpret the details of the residents’ voting rights, and as such were responsible for the disputed fees. 

The seller instructed Agent 1 to market the property on a sole selling rights basis. This was a fixed price agreement, which also granted Agent 1 the option to purchase the property at a fixed price of £125,000 for a period of 16 weeks (the option period). Agent 1 would then resell the property to a third-party buyer, retaining the price difference in lieu of a traditional commission fee arrangement. 

When Agent 1 began marketing the property it became apparent that the tenant would not permit access to allow viewings to take place. No viewings took place with Agent 1, yet they maintained that the eventual buyers requested a viewing and so argued it demonstrated that their marketing introduced the buyers to the property. 

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from tenants against a letting agent concerning their service in relation to the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy. 

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from a leaseholder against a management company in connection with the performance in relation to a number of issues relating to the management of the development. 

A case that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) was asked to review came from prospective buyers concerned with the performance of an estate agent they were attempting to purchase a property through. Issues included probate, tenure and communication.

We have brought together Government and Professional Association advice on COVID-19 in one place on the TPO website.

The page is updated regularly and we are also sharing official advice on our social media channels.

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has released its 2018 annual report reflecting ever-increasing consumer demand for the service.

The report reveals TPO received a record number of enquiries in 2018 (29,023), up 22% on 2017.  Of these, 4,246 went on to be formal complaints, which also rose significantly year on year by 16%.