Misleading information is No. 1 complaint, says PRS boss

Despite the announcements, the publicity, the guidance and the acres of website information, the most common complaint surrounding house sales is about misleading information in the way properties are listed and advertised, says the man at the top of the Property Redress Scheme.

Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the PRS says: “This is a big thing that the whole of the industry has taken seriously.

“It’s how you advertise the property and manage the expectations of your customers.”

The PRS is now largest redress scheme in the country and in 2022, Sean and his team handled 2,000 complaints covering sales, lettings and long-term leaseholders.

“We deal with many different types on complaint,” says Sean in conversation with Estate Agent Today’s Lee Dahill.

“For a prospective tenant going into a letting agent, we're still getting issues with holding deposits - even though that there's now clear guidance from the Tenants Fees act we're still getting agents that don't understand that.

“We're also seeing a rise in the number of repair issues and the response to the repair issues. Now part of that was a bit of a hangover from Covid but it has still continued on and I think with people working from home and being more aware of their cost of living there are these issues of repairs and how the agent responds.”

As for the PRS itself, Sean says it is growing – in fact it has got bigger every year for the last eight years – and he is proud at the speed with which his team manages the ver-increasing workload.

“We have a fantastic team of people who are dealing with tenants, landlords, buyers, sellers and leaseholders. So it can be very complex and they are extremely dedicated to finding a resolution as efficiently as we can.

“From the time the complainant rings up or sends an email, within 39 days we can get a case dealt with.”

To listen to the full interview, please click