Inventory clerks say it's no surprise lettings complaints are surging

The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks says it is not surprised the majority of complaints made to The Property Redress Scheme in 2016 related to the letting industry.

In August the annual report of the PRS - one of the three government-approved redress schemes - revealed a 40 per cent surge in complaints made last year compared to 2015.

Over 85 per cent of complaints it received were made either by tenants or landlords with property management, deposits and problems with rent the most common disputes.

The AIIC says that the complicated nature of the letting process alongside an increase in legislation could be responsible for the high proportion of rental sector complaints.

The PRS itself says the overall rise in complaints is partly down to its membership growth but partly down to a heightened public awareness of the formal complaints procedure - a sentiment echoed by the AIIC.

"The more transient nature of the letting sector increases the scope for disharmony between tenants, landlords and letting agents" says Danny Zane, joint chair of the AIIC and managing director of My Property Inventories.

Deposit problems were one of the most common complaints made last year and the AIIC says that if more agents and landlords provided professionally compiled independent inventories then the number of complaints relating to deposits could be reduced.

“An impartial and professional inventory comprehensively details the condition and contents of the property at the start and end of the tenancy” says the organisation’s other joint chair, Emma Glencross. 

The AIIC joined The Property Redress Scheme in 2016 and its near-1,000 members make up part of 7,000-plus property professionals represented by the PRS.