Katrine Sporle
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Latest property news
Industry gathers for The Negotiator Conference & Expo in London
Over 500 sales and lettings agents, proptech innovators, portal senior staff and industry regulators packed the Hilton on Park Lane, London, hotel on Tuesday for the annual The Negotiator Conference & Expo. Highlights of the day’s presentations, panel debates and speeches included time on the podium from The Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith – who talked candidly about the missteps the government has made over Brexit and the housing market. Leading the debates was BBC Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb plus there were appearances from many high profile figures including ARLA’s David Cox, Sir Peter Bottomley, The Guild’s Iain McKenzie, Richard Donnell from Hometrack, Kate Faulkner, Ombudsman Katrine Sporle, Adam Walker, Jeremy Tapp and, at the end of the day, a keynote speech from Countrywide CEO Alison Platt. During that, Alison made the case for a robust property market in the future despite the current headwinds, and also revealed how Countrywide’s digital hybrid roll-out is progressing. There were also lively sessions at the day’s proptech sessions, at which Zoopla Chief Strategy Officer Paul Whitehead said the next 12 months will be a crunch-time for many proptech start-ups. He said it that it was time for many of them to start delivering…
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Features
Failing to mention a bar in the basement
"A bar in the basement? Some may be delighted, but the agent should have told the buyer, says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman."
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Features
Trouble in the communal garden
"Was a complaint to a management company valid, or was it, a storm in a birdbath?" asks Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Features
Building regulations for loft conversions
"When is loft conversion a bona fide bedroom? Only when it's properly made up" says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Regulation & Law
Premier Moves Management Ltd expelled from TPO
A sales and lettings agent in South West London has been expelled from The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme.
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Latest property news
“Switching utility providers without the tenant’s agreement can trigger a major storm”, says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
Switching utility providers without the tenant’s agreement can trigger a major storm, says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Latest property news
TPO report reveals one agent’s £21,972 referencing mistake
The value of awards that The Property Ombudsman (TPO) told agents to pay disgruntled customers tripped over £1 million for the first time last year, its annual report reveals, along with details of one case that cost a letting agent over £20,000. Property Ombudsman Katrine Sporle (pictured, right) is to launch the report at an event later today at the House of Lords that will show total awards reaching £1.2 million in 2016 while the number of difficult cases increased by 7.5% to 3,553. Common complaints Lettings attracted the largest number of resolved cases at 1,997 with those complaining being fairly evening split between landlords and tenants. The average letting award was £531 but the highest was £21,972 (see case details below). The most common complaint was about property management. In sales, two thirds of complaints came from sellers and the remainder from buyers and the average award was £397, while the most common complaint was about communication and record keeping. “TPO works with the industry and consumers to get things right, put things right and set things right,” says Katrine. “This year, TPO’s Codes of Practice, approved by Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), have been revised to clarify many…
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Features
Industrial noise in a quiet location
"Viewing a property is one thing, noting noise levels is another,” says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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Latest property news
The Property Ombudsman expels agents in Essex and London
Two letting agents have been expelled from UK’s largest dispute resolution service The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme following shocking complaints from client tenants and landlords. The agents are London Corporate Apartments Ltd based in Aldgate in London and Letting Solutions Ltd based in Essex. Ombudsman Katrine Sporle (pictured) has revealed details of the two cases, both of which highlight the difficulties of policing agents which either refuse to cooperate with dispute resolution schemes such as TPO or which fail to keep adequate administration or financial records. London agent Cricklewood-based London Corporate Apartments (LCA) has one director – Manchester-based Khaled Abed-Alrazek – whose company was reported to TPO over a disputed deposit. The complainant disputed the deductions made from their deposit and complained it had taken a long time for the rest of the deposit to be returned to them. Complaints of a similar nature are to found online about the company, including several damming Google reviews. TPO reviewed the complaint and found that the agent fell short of the standards required of members and instructed LCA to pay an award of £340. This LCA failed to do so and the company has now been expelled from TPO for two years. “Refusing to fully cooperate with…
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Features
The role of the agent
"Home sweet home… but not with noisy neighbours,” says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
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