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This is not exactly the most positive PR period for the reputation of lettings agents. You don't need to look far to see a range of negative press and headlines associated with the industry.

For those reputable agents who work day-in, day-out, with satisfied landlords and tenants, this is clearly a frustrating time, when a small minority of our peers' are effectively causing many in the media to tar an entire industry with the same brush.

I am not for one second suggesting the criticism of these poor agents is unwarranted. However, it does make the job of the lettings agency sector extremely difficult in trying to get public perception back on an even keel.

If you have little idea of what we as a collective are dealing with then, I suggest you Google the term letting agents'. On any given day you will find a whole host of stories and I'm afraid to say you will be hard-pressed to find a positive one to focus on.

Here are just a collection of the headlines I was presented with today:

- X letting agent won't refund my £200 deposit...'

- Are letting agents and landlords exploiting students'

- Tenants in the dark as letting charges spiral out of control.'

- Letting agents won't release rent (6 months paid in advance).'

- Survey reveals the huge admin fees charged by some lettings agents.'

Those were five stories out of the first ten Google provided, and two of the others were not actually news stories but adverts for letting agents.

These are not just isolated cases of negative press but a flowing stream of stories that do great damage to the entire sector. Clearly some of these stories need both sides of the story to be heard - for example, why is the letting agent not refunding the deposit

Is it because of damage left by the tenant and therefore is this not a legitimate reason why the money should not be returned

However, take these headlines in isolation and we are left with a cavalcade of criticism.

Clearly, this is a story' the media want to tell and, quite frankly, there are no shortage of disgruntled tenants (and some landlords) available to help tell it.

The principal question is what we can do to stem the tide of negativity and to ensure that the reputable agents in this business firstly get a fair hearing, and secondly are allowed to portray our sector as not just high-fee charging and deficient service providers.

The calls for regulation of the sector grow louder by the day and we are seeing Housing Bills being introduced in Scotland and Wales which will see letting agents, and indeed landlords, subjected to much more stringent requirements.

In England, meanwhile, letting agents will have to sign up to an ombudsman scheme next year.

All this has been a long time coming, especially given the increase in the number of people renting privately.

Demand for rental properties has outweighed supply and a number of rogue operators have taken this as their chance to rip off both tenants and landlords.

Of course, more needs to be done, but we can at least begin to restore the reputation of this sector.

* Rob Clifford is chief executive of Century 21 UK and group commercial director of Shepherd Direct Group

Comments

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    Mr Clifford - What a refreshing article. I am SICK AND TIRED of the negative press and you make a valid point that only the negatives are highlighted. My agency runs a tight ship and is extremely fair with Tenants and Landlords. Amateur media hype and bad reporting is part of the problem. Political views aside, SKY, BBC and other news channels do nothing to help here.

    • 18 February 2014 15:36 PM
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