Over Half of Shropshire Tenants have issues with their Landlords

More than half of UK tenants have problems with their landlords, with repairs taking longer than they should and some not being done at all, according to a new report.

The Shropshire-based regional spokeswoman for ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents), Dawn Clarke, said unlicensed letting agents were “tarnishing the industry’s reputation”.

The association has just published the findings of a report into the satisfaction,  or otherwise, of tenants, and Mrs Clarke said the results were worrying.

She said: “The main issue that came from the research was that people are having to wait too long for problems to be sorted by their landlord or letting agent. The average wait for repairs to be be carried out was 36 days, and one in seven tenants said their reported problems never got fixed at all.

“This kind of service is not acceptable, which is why we are urging tenants to make sure their letting agent is licensed. The survey found that two-thirds of people did not even consider whether their agent was licensed, which is worrying.

“It’s important that people look for the ARLA logo because in order to be licensed, letting agents must have the highest standards of professionalism and customer service.”

Mrs Clarke, who heads up Nock Deighton’s residential lettings team, said rogue letting agents were a still a problem in the property industry.

“To be frank, they are tarnishing the industry’s reputation and we need to crack down on them,” she said. “The best way to do that is by raising awareness among house hunters so they only use licensed agents to ensure they get the best possible service.”

For those who didn’t consider whether their agent was licensed, more than half (54%) said it didn’t cross their mind to check, while nearly a quarter (23%) did not know that letting agents should be licensed. One in ten (12%) wrongly assumed that all letting agents were licensed so did not know the difference in standards they can expect.

David Cox, managing director of ARLA, said: “Our home is our castle, and there is no reason for it to not be fit for a king. Just because you rent a property it should not impact your levels of enjoyment, especially as there is such a high price to pay for renting.

“For anyone looking to rent, there are basic boxes to tick to ensure you receive the best possible end result – and this starts with choosing your letting agent and landlord. Choosing an unlicensed letting agent could leave tenants with a long list of problems.”