An estate agency owner in the North East of England has launched a dispute resolution business to help tenants who are having arguments with their landlord, council or property manager.

Veriwise is the brainchild of industry figure and entrepreneur Ajay Jagota who, as well as running his KIS lettings agency based in Tyne & Wear, for several years ran an alternative rental deposits firm Dlighted.

The estate agency figure, who is also an enthusiastic activist within the region’s political scene, says his experience in the property industry made him realise how powerless and badly informed tenants were within the private rental sector.

“Most tenants have no idea of their rights and even fewer know how to go about getting help when things do go wrong,” he says.

“Many don’t want to get into one-on-one disputes with their landlord or letting agent because it could make their tenancy less secure, so Verisure offers a third-party service that works on their behalf to sort out disputes.”

Estate agency

Jagota claims the vast majority of landlords and agents don’t want to end up going to court over disputed issues and are more likely to settle before this happens, which is where his service steps in.

Issues include evictions, rent rises, anti-social behaviour by other tenants, illegally levied fees and poorly managed properties.

Veriwise is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a claims management company.

It does not charge tenants for to register and verify their claim and offers an insurance-based policy to tenants to protect themselves against future disputes with their landlord, agency or – if they rent in the social sector – council.

But Veriwise retains 25% of any compensation/funds recouped by its service on a tenant’s behalf.