Essex letting agent attacks CAB findings

News Category: Industry News

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.

A letting agent from Essex has slammed a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) report that said tenants felt let down and ripped off by letting agents.

The CAB findings said tenants were unhappy at having to pay fees for trivial tasks such as renewing a tenancy agreement.

But Mike Goddard, chief executive of Belvoir in Southend, said the report was not a reflection of reality.

"It is not only damning to lettings professionals who work hard to ensure everything is done by the book, but also paints a false picture of the practices property lettings and management companies undertake," he told the Essex Echo.

Mr Goddard said the report had concentrated on tenants who had suffered bad experiences with letting agents and did not represent the views of those tenants who were happy with the service they were receiving.

CAB's latest report comes after the Southend CAB recently accused letting agents in the town of levying unfair fees and charges which it believed contravened the rules of the Accommodation Agencies Act.

The Act was introduced in 1953 in order to prevent letting agents from taking fees from prospective tenants in exchange for details of properties.

How to stay legally compliant with letting agent software