Propertymark has stepped up its call for a dedicated Housing Tribunal to improve mediation and enhanced dispute resolution.
The trade body also advocates extending redress membership to landlords who self-manage property only, as an additional layer of protection for consumers.
Propertymark was one of 193 respondents to a government Call for Evidence on Dispute Resolution in England and Wales.
The agents’ group also says any appetite in the UK Government to consider making ‘alternative’ dispute resolution mandatory as part of a pre-action protocol has real potential for a positive culture shift in relationships between agents and landlords, and their tenants.
But it would be vital to ensure all parties know what it is and it must be accessible.
Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns for Propertymark, says: “Existing dispute resolution processes can be patchy and ineffective, and do not provide a reliable route for the private rented sector.
“Propertymark member letting agents are well placed to help prevent disputes between landlords and tenants, but they need a system that is quicker and cheaper.
“This will incentivise more landlords to engage with these processes to avert the need for a case to go to court which may not always be appropriate, helping more tenants stay in their homes.”
You can read Propertymark’s consultation response in full at www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/consultation-moj-call-for-evidence-dispute-resolution-in-england-and-wales.html
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It would be a very good idea if landlords who manage the properties themselves had a mediation service not because I believe it is needed but it would improve the public's perception of landlords. I thought the PRS already providing such a service but I have not checked the details. I signed up a few years ago to the PRS but no tenant has ever used it it's just another logo to put on our advertising and paperwork. I believe this has a lot to do with the type of tenants I house where I have more to complain about them, usually over failing to pay rent, behaviour and the way they treat the property than they have to complain about me. As regards professional tenant's I think there may be more issues but my experience of such such tenants is they move if they are not happy.
I manage my own properties and have kept away from using letting agents as this is where problems from the feedback I have received regularly arises.
landlords have a terrible public perception and anything we can do to improve it should be welcomed providing it does not cause us excess administration and cost such as licensing which is a completely waste of time. I am probably one of the few landlords who believe that the abolition of section 21 will be a good thing as it will take away the perception that landlords evict for no reason. I never evict a tenant using section 21, I always use section 8 and I have evicted over 350 tenants using section 8 with 100% success. What I predict will happen if Section 21 is abolished is the same number of tenants will be evicted by the private sector but the reason will be given which is in my case always rent arrears. All my antisocial tenants so far also do not believe they should pay their rent .
Jim Haliburton
The HMO daddy
Yes Jim, letting agents can be a big problem. But how is mediation going to help when the tenant doesn't pay or wrecks the property.
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