The Property Ombudsman
-
Features
How long should it take to fix a window?
"Was a damaged window frame the result of poor maintenance or was the window cleaning contractor being framed?" asks Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Competition hots up between remaining property ombudsman providers
TPO makes a bid for members exiting OS:P as competition hots up between two remaining ombudsman.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Should there only be one property ombudsman to handle complaints?
That's one of the questions Ombudsman Katrine Sporle will face when she goes live on Wednesday on Rightmove's Webinar platform.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Former housing minister Mark Prisk to headline ombudsman gathering
One of David Cameron’s former housing ministers Mark Prisk is to make his first keynote speech about the industry since he left stepped down. Mark was in post for a characteristically short time for a recent housing minister, although longer than last year’s Alok Sharma, holding office for 11 months from September 2012 to 2013. He is to make his speech at The Property Ombudsman’s annual conference this summer which is to be held at Birmingham’s National Conference Centre in Solihull on June 13th. The event will focus on how to raise standards within the industry. Mark, who is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and was arguably one of the more thoughtful and better-qualified Tory housing ministers of recent times, will be joined by BBC business journalist and TV presenter Declan Curry, consumer champion and newspaper columnist James Walker, Ryan Hampson from Brief Your Market and Rob Symes, Rightmove’s lettings innovations boss. “Mark’s previous role as Housing Minister and current membership of the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, Declan’s work for the BBC and James’ experience in helping millions of consumers get their problems sorted, makes them great assets to the conference,” says…
Read More » -
Features
Conflict of interest
"Agreements, valuations and a conflict of interest – be careful where you stand when you are caught in the middle", says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
Read More » -
Features
Fraudulent deposits
"If a tenant pays by credit card, it should put the agent ‘on notice’ that the tenant could, potentially have affordability issues.”
Read More » -
Features
Non-disclosure of facts could be mis-selling
Q: When is a top-floor flat not a top-floor flat? A: When a developer wants to build a floor on top of it... says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
Read More » -
Latest property news
Rogue agent: Ombudsman bans firm for 10 years over unpaid £181,000 award
In a shocking case of a rogue agent, a firm in Luton has been banned from The Property Ombudsman for ten years after failing to pay an award of £181,254 after it was found to have ‘deliberately’ not passed on substantial amounts of money to a landlord. Altavon Property Managemnet Ltd (APM), which was dissolved late last year but had been trading for three-and-a-half years prior to the award, was asked by a local landlord to manage 31 properties on their behalf based on a two-tier agreement. The landlord rented the properties to APM in return for a fixed return over a set period, leaving APM to manage and rent the properties to whoever they saw fit. By December 2016 APM was behind in rent payments to the tune of £57,000 and continued to miss payments, eventually leading the landlord to complain to TPO. Rogue agent After finding in the landlord’s favour, a large award was then agreed, based on the monies owed plus £200 for each missed payment and compensation for aggravation, distress and inconvenience. But APM failed to pay the award and, after being referred to its Disciplinary & Standards Committee, has now been expelled from TPO for ten…
Read More » -
Features
Happy tenancy endings
"Take great care with the formalities in ending a tenancy, misunderstandings can be very expensive", says Katrine Sporle, The Property Ombudsman.
Read More » -
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."
Read More »