News of soaring complaints comes in the same week that all letting agents in England must now, by law, be registered with an approved redress scheme.
The Property Ombudsman revealed that it resolved 1,187 complaints about lettings and sales between January and June this year.
There were also 721 complaints made against letting agents, a rise of 37% compared with the same period last year.
Of those complaints being made against letting agents from tenants and landlords, 74% were upheld.
Letting agents must now register with a redress scheme
Christopher Hamer, the property ombudsman, said: “Until now there has been no legal requirement for letting agents to register with a redress scheme but that has meant thousands of landlords and tenants have been unable to access our free, independent and fair dispute resolution service.”
He said that around one in five complaints received in the first half of this year were about letting agents who were not signed up with the property ombudsman.
Mr Hamer added: “The new legislation will change that and we've seen 1,000 firms already register this year which makes is the largest redress scheme with 11,744 lettings offices under my jurisdiction.”
He pointed out that all lettings agents must now follow the code of practice which lays down what consumers should expect from a letting agent.
Any letting agent in England that has not signed up with a redress scheme is facing a fine of up to £5,000.
To check whether a letting agent is registered, landlords should visit the three registered schemes:
• The Property Ombudsman • Ombudsmen Services • The Property Redress Scheme
Scotland launches tenancy reform consultation
Meanwhile, the Scottish government is launching a consultation programme on tenancy reform which will be the largest overhaul in tenancy legislation in 25 years.
The aim of the consultation will give tenants a greater sense of duty and put in place safeguards for lenders, landlords and investors.
A spokesman said: “A new simplified system will give landlords and tenants clarity and understanding of what the tenancy agreement means for them.”
The National Landlords Association is among those questioning the proposals and say they risk undermining the private rental sector and making the Scottish housing crises worse.
The Association is urging landlords, tenants and letting agents to submit their views to the consultation.
Richard Lambert, chief executive of the Association, said: “There are some interesting ideas for reform but there are worrying changes to undermine the private rented sector when its role has never been more important.”
