London Trading Standards recently reported it has issued over £1 million in fines to letting agents in the city, for breaking the law on lettings regulations. Soon after that report highlighting wrongdoing by some London lettings agents, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA Propertymark) advised tenants that if they suspect a letting agency of breaking the law, they should walk straight out.

London Trading Standards’ latest report showed that as the number of private rental sector tenants remains high, some letting agents aren’t following all the rules that are there to protect tenants and agents. However, not all agents fall into that category and as the details of the report show, some fines were issued for relatively minor infringements.

LTS issues £1 million in fines

London Trading Standards inspected 1,922 lettings agents over a 15-month period and found that 46% of them weren’t fully compliant with the law. In some cases, agencies didn’t correctly display fees and charges, which is required by the Consumer Rights Act. In others, agents weren’t part of a redress scheme, which is now a legal requirement. There were also a number of agents who were in breach of both directives.

LTS investigations covered around one third of the 6,000 lettings agents operating in London and followed up on around 1,000 complaints.

“London borough trading standards teams have been increasingly active in tackling rogue letting agents in recent years, with over £1.2 million of fines issued in the past 15 months and 14 criminal prosecutions,… private renters need to be very careful not to be ripped off,’ said LTS operations director Stephen Knight.

Of course, there are thousands of lettings agents in London and across the UK, who follow all the rules and regulations currently in place in the sector. Indeed, with the brand-new Tenant Fees Act which came into force in England from June 2019 and from September 2019 in Wales, tenants are now afforded even more support and protection as agents must comply with new rules.

However, ARLA Propertymark, which is a body that supports letting agents, is working to ensure even more agents are fully compliant with the law.

ARLA’s stark advice

ARLA Propertymark’s chief executive shared his advice for tenants soon after the LTS report was published. He said that tenants should pay attention to what’s on display in an agent’s office and if important details are missing then they should leave.

“We’re really pleased to see Trading Standards prosecuting bad practice in the industry; it’s the only way to clean up the sector and we’ve been calling for it for a long time” said David Cox, ARLA Propertymark chief executive.

“People should remember that if they can’t see an agent’s fee template, CMP certificate and redress scheme membership prominently displayed in their office, that’s three laws that they have already broken. This raises the question what other laws will that agent break?” he says.

“At that stage, a tenant should walk straight out and choose an ARLA Propertymark member where agents follow a strict code of conduct which puts the tenant first. It’s also why we have been calling on the government to regulate letting agents and are pleased that plans are well underway for mandatory registration and training for all letting agents”.

Cox is clear that while he’s pleased to see the LTS action, there are many letting agents who do comply with the law and that tenants can rely upon to help them find the right PRS home for them.

While the LTS figures may seem a little frightening, it’s important to remember that there are a lot of great, helpful and fully compliant Lettings Agents in London and in the UK. With the PRS sector so important to the provision of housing across the UK, it’s only right that the Government works to ensure there are rules in place to be followed.

With reports such as this one from the LTS, it’s also likely that fewer letting agents will consider operating without ensuring they’re doing so in line with all the law and in a way that will encourage tenants to choose their services, over other agencies.