The worst problem tenants have is that their letting agents or landlord take too long to fix repairs – but choosing a “licensed” agent in the first place might avoid problems altogether.

The claim has come from the Association of Residential Letting Agents.

An online survey of 2,095 tenants carried out last month on behalf of ARLA lists disrepair as having been a problem for 31% of tenants within the last five years.

Once a tenant had flagged up a repair issue, the wait to get it fixed was over a month, at 36 days on average.

The London Rental Standard, to which ARLA is an accredited provider, sets down one day for urgent repairs, and no longer than three working days from notification.

While 45% have had no problems at all, 22% of tenants – 43% in London –  had concerns about the agent or landlord even before signing along the dotted line.

The most common problems at that stage were lack of clarity about fees, agents not knowing enough about the property, being pushy, and not turning up to appointments.

Other issues with agents and landlords were:

Not replacing an old item, such as a worn carpet (18%)

Not listening to complaints (14%)

Breaking promises (11%)

Accusing the tenant of damage that pre-existed the tenancy (11%)

Not turning up when they were meant to (9%)

Letting themselves freely into the property (9%)

Charging for professional cleaning when the property had been left clean (9%)

Retaining the deposit unfairly (8%)

Letting workmen in without notification (8%).

The same survey also revealed that 64% were unaware of licensing schemes such as the ARLA licensed agent scheme

Half of tenants did not check to see whether their landlord or agent was licensed, while nearly a quarter did not know that agents or landlords could be licensed, and 12% assumed that all agents and landlords were licensed.

David Cox, managing director of ARLA, said: “For anyone looking to rent, there are basic boxes to tick – and this starts with choosing the agent and landlord.

“Choosing an unlicensed letting agent could leave tenants with a long list of problems.

“While problems can of course arise during a tenancy agreement, using an ARLA licensed agent gives tenants peace of mind that any issues can be dealt with in a professional and safe manner.

“It will only be through qualification and ongoing professional development, backed up by appropriate regulation, that we will eliminate the rogue landlords and agents who blight our industry.

“ARLA would like to see a fully regulated industry to build a better, stronger private rented sector.”

* Would tenants be better off NOT reporting repair issues verbally? See next story.