What legislation they must comply with, how to make a complaint or resolve a dispute with a property agent.
Legislation letting agents and property managers must comply with
Letting agents and property managers must comply with certain legislation, including, but not limited to:
- Tenant Fees Act 2019, and the relevant letting agency legislation for England only
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
- Consumer Rights Act 2015
- Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations for lettings
- Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017
- Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”)
If a letting agent or property manager doesn't comply with the law, they can face:
- a financial penalty (fine)
- enforcement action, including prosecution
Make a complaint about a letting agent or property manager
In England, letting agents and property managers must belong to a redress scheme for dealing with complaints in respect of their work. In Wales, membership is required as part of Rent Smart Wales registration. You can find more information on what applies in your area from your local trading standards service.
Find out which scheme your agent belongs to by visiting:
If you want to make a complaint about a letting agent or property manager, you should contact them first. They should have their own complaints procedure in place to deal with your issue.
Citizen's Advice have some useful tips on how to complain about your letting agent.
Make a complaint to the redress scheme
If your letting agent or property manager doesn't resolve your complaint, you can contact:
Your letting agent or property manager doesn't belong to a redress scheme
Your letting agent or property manager may not be a member of a redress scheme, because:
- they don't have to be a member, for example, they don't deal with residential property, or
- they're trading illegally, in breach of their legal obligation to belong to a redress scheme
If your letting agent or property manager isn't a member of a redress scheme, there may be other organisations and trade associations that can help you.
You can:
- contact your local trading standards service for more advice or to report an agent
- contact Rent Smart Wales for advice or to report an agent, if you're in Wales
- ask for advice from the Citizen's Advice consumer helpline
Resolve a dispute with a letting agent or property manager
If you need to resolve a dispute with a letting agent or property manager, you could use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
ADR is a way of resolving disputes without going to court, for example, mediation.
For more information on ADR, visit:
- alternative dispute resolution for consumers, if you're in England or Wales
- using Alternative Dispute Resolution to solve your consumer problem, if you're in Scotland
- alternatives to going to court, if you're in Northern Ireland
Report a letting agent or property manager
If you want to report a letting agent or property manager, you can:
- report an agent to your local trading standards service
- ask for advice from:
- the Citizen's Advice consumer helpline
- Consumerline, if you're in Northern Ireland
- Advice Direct Scotland, if you're in Scotland
- contact your local authority for advice
- get independent legal advice
Contact the housing or environmental health teams of your local authority to report issues around:
- property disrepair
- harassment
- illegal eviction
- property licensing issues
Inform NTSLAT of any issues
We welcome all information about trading practices relating to letting agents and property managers. Contact us to let us know of any issues you have.
However, we do not:
- give consumer advice about individual cases
- become involved with disputes or complaints against businesses
We won't use your details unless you agree that we can.