In its Annual Review of 2022, published this morning, The Property Ombudsman reports that enquiries remained high, with 44,492 consumers provided with advice and guidance to help them resolve their issues. In 2021 the figure was 45,007.

A greater emphasis on educating consumers and providing them with advice specific to their individual situation, coupled with changes to the Scheme’s Terms of Reference, saw TPO help more consumers to resolve issues without the need to complain to their agent or to TPO.

Not only did this resolve problems much earlier and cut waiting times but also resulted in the number of disputes accepted for investigation reducing by 30% – providing TPO members and consumers with the assurance that only those disputes that needed TPO’s adjudication and resolution expertise were accepted for investigation.

Of the 6,012 disputes that The Property Ombudsman resolved last year, 2,246 were done so through early resolution while 3,766 required a formal decision (a 23% increase on 2021).

There was a financial settlement or award granted in 3,206 of cases, with just 33 unpaid awards resulting in the expulsion of 22 agents from the scheme.

This translates to just under a 99% compliance rate, with these agents constituting just 0.06% of TPO’s 38,846 membership.

TPO resolved 2,650 disputes relating to lettings, 1,883 relating to sales, 1,220 for residential leasehold management (RLM) and 259 for other property professionals.

The biggest awards were £21,779 (lettings), £15,500 (sales) and £23,634 (RLM), and the average awards were £504, £488 and £416 respectively.

TOP CAUSES OF SALES DISPUTES:
1. Instructions, terms of business, fees, charges and termination
2. Marketing and advertising
3. Communication between offer acceptance and exchange

A 4% increase in disputes from sellers saw disputes around agency fees and agreements increase making this the top issue of complaint.

TOP CAUSES OF LETTINGS DISPUTES:
1. Tenancy management
2. Complaints Handling
3. Instructions, terms of business, fees, charges and termination

Commenting on 2022, Rebecca Marsh, Property Ombudsman said:

“I am pleased that we were able to help more people through our front-end enquiry service to the extent that the number of disputes accepted by the Scheme reduced by 30%.

“Not only did this mean that consumers were given the advice they needed to resolve their issues early but, importantly, for TPO members it meant significant savings for them in not having to deal with the complaints that would have otherwise occurred. It is a service unique to Ombudsmen and one that I very proud of”.

Looking to the future, Marsh added: “Difficult market conditions will increase competition to gain instructions from sellers and landlords. In both instances agents must strive to ensure that market valuations are reasonable and are supported by comparable properties. For tenants and buyers, clarity around offers will be paramount and agents must communicate these in writing to all relevant parties.

“Specific to the lettings market, high levels of enquiries from tenants and landlords seeking advice from TPO indicates a real need for consumer education to help them understand the roles and responsibilities of all the parties involved. For agents, these enquiries show that regular communication to tenants about the progress of repairs and maintenance issues is a lesson that, if learned, will provide assurance that matters are in hand and, ultimately reduce the potential for complaints to arise.”

The annual review has been released later this year due to national events over the late summer and early autumn.