Letting agent complaints procedure template

The procedure

Copy the text below. Everything in [brackets] needs your details. Delete the scheme line that doesn’t apply to you.

[Agency name]: complaints procedure

We want to hear when something has gone wrong, so we can put it right. This procedure explains how to complain to us, what we will do and when, and what you can do if you are not satisfied with our response.

1. How to complain
You can complain in writing by email to [complaints email] or by post to [address]. You can also tell any member of our team in person or by phone, and we will record your complaint at the time. If someone is complaining on your behalf, please tell us, and we will deal with them.

It helps if you tell us what happened, when, which property it concerns, and what you would like us to do. You don't need to quote the law.

2. What we will do
- We record every complaint, however it is made, on the day we receive it.
- We acknowledge written complaints in writing within 3 working days. The acknowledgement tells you who is handling your complaint and when to expect our response.
- [Name or role, e.g. our Lettings Manager], who was not directly involved in the matter, investigates. They will look at each point you raise and at our records.
- We send you a formal written response within 15 working days of receiving your complaint. It answers each point you raised, says what we found, and sets out anything we will do to put matters right.
- If we can't respond within that time, we will tell you why and when you will receive our response.

3. If you are not satisfied: internal review
If you are not satisfied with our response, write to [name or role, e.g. our Director] at [email/address], saying why. Someone not directly involved in the matter will review your complaint and send you our final view in writing within 15 working days of receiving your request.

4. Taking your complaint further
We are members of [The Property Ombudsman / the Property Redress Scheme]. If you remain dissatisfied after our final view, you can refer your complaint to them, free of charge:
[Scheme name]
[Scheme website]
[Scheme address / phone]

[TPO:] You must refer your complaint to The Property Ombudsman within 12 months of the date of our final viewpoint letter.
[PRS:] You must raise your complaint with the Property Redress Scheme within 12 months of your last communication with us about it.

If more than 8 weeks have passed since you first complained and you have not received our final response, you can refer your complaint to the scheme without waiting for it.

5. Your information
We use the information in your complaint to investigate and respond to it, and keep complaint records for [period, e.g. six years] in line with our privacy notice at [link].

Last reviewed: [date]

Why each part is there

• Complaints made in person or by phone. TPO’s code (19b) requires every complaint, spoken or written, to be recorded when it’s made. A procedure that only accepts written complaints doesn’t meet that.
• Representatives. The code (19c) requires members to deal with a complainant’s properly appointed representative, such as a family member or an adviser.
• Someone not involved. The code (19d and 19e) expects a senior person or designated complaint handler who wasn’t directly involved, and a review by someone separate again.
• The final view and the 12 months. The code (19f) requires a written final view, including any offer, that tells the complainant how to refer to the Ombudsman and that they must do so within 12 months. The PRS time limit runs from the last communication with you instead, so the wording differs.
• The eight-week line. Both schemes let a complainant come to them once eight weeks have passed without a final response, so it’s fairer to say so up front.
• “You don’t need to quote the law.” Optional, but useful. It tells people the complaint will be judged on what happened, which is how you should be judging it.

Where the procedure has to be available

Under TPO’s code (19a), the written procedure must be readily available in each office and on your website, and available for the Ombudsman to inspect. The PRS terms ask members to give a copy of their internal procedure, or the PRS model, to consumers, and to tell them how to complain to the PRS when a formal complaint is received.

Separately, section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires letting agents to display the name of their redress scheme with their list of fees, in their offices and on their website.

Keeping to it

A scheme will compare what you did with what your procedure says you’ll do. Missing your own deadline is a point against you even if your answer was right. A few habits help:

• log the complaint and its due dates on the day it arrives, in one place everyone can see;
• send a short holding letter before a deadline slips, not after (there’s one in our response templates);
• answer every point the complainant raised, one by one, in the outcome letter;
• keep the file: TPO’s code requires records of your dealings with landlords and tenants to be kept for at least six years. Our records checklist sets out what goes in it.

Complaints sometimes come with a request for the complainant’s personal data. That’s a separate subject access request with its own one-month time limit, and it runs alongside your complaints procedure rather than inside it.

For the full picture of the schemes, the stages after referral and how TPO and the PRS compare, see our guide to letting agent redress schemes.