Making a complaint to your letting agent

There are rules that letting agents have to follow. You can make an official complaint if they’ve done something wrong.

If complaining does not solve the problem, you can apply to the housing tribunal.

Your letting agent’s responsibilities

Letting agents work for landlords, but they also have legal duties towards you as a tenant.

All letting agents must follow a code of practice. Check the letting agent code of practice on gov.scot.

The code of practice has sections for different issues. Each paragraph number is a legal rule they must follow.

Make a complaint if you think your letting agent has broken any of the rules, for example:

not doing repairs or taking too long to do them
visiting your home without the proper notice
charging illegal fees
evicting you without following the proper steps
not giving you information about your tenancy and rights
not having the right processes and procedures

Who can complain to a letting agent

You can complain if:

you're currently the tenant
your tenancy has ended and you’ve moved out
you were a prospective tenant but did not move in

Landlords can also make a complaint about a letting agent that's working for them.

Step 1: contact your letting agent informally

Before officially complaining, report the issue and give them a chance to resolve it.

Contact them to explain:

what the problem is
what effect it’s having on you
what you want them to do

It’s best to contact them in writing so you have proof of reporting the problem if you need to complain.

Step 2: write an official complaint

Letting agents must have a written complaints procedure. It should include how long they'll take to respond to you.

Write a letter or email stating:

which rules have been broken, including the paragraph number in the code of practice
the reasons you think your letting agent has broken them
how you want it to be fixed and by when
that they should acknowledge that they’ve received your letter
that you’ll apply to the tribunal if the problem is not fixed

To help you complain, download the template Code of Conduct complaint letter on the tribunal website. The template includes space for you to write which rules have been broken.

It's important to include all of the paragraph numbers that relate to your issue. If you need to take your complaint to the tribunal, they'll only look at issues you included in your complaint.

Example: complaining about repairs

There are specific rules about getting repairs done. You could include these paragraph numbers in your complaint:

85, 86 and 87 if the letting agent does not have the necessary procedures and systems to deal with repairs
88, 91 and 93 if you were not kept informed about repairs
90 if repairs took too long

If you've had repair issues, other rules might have been broken too. For example, you could include these paragraphs:

82 and 92 if they accessed the property without giving you enough notice
108 if they did not respond to your enquiries or complaints about repairs
112 if they did not provide a written complaints procedure

Keep a copy of your complaint. Add a read receipt to your email or send your letter by tracked delivery and keep the receipt.

Step 3: if it's still not resolved

You can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber).

The tribunal can order your letting agent to follow the code of practice. It’s free to apply, and you usually do not need a solicitor.

In your application, you’ll need to show proof that you followed the letting agent’s complaints process. The tribunal will only look at issues you included in your complaint.

Check our advice on taking your letting agent to the housing tribunal.

If you're worried about being evicted

Your letting agent cannot evict you for complaining about them.

They must follow a strict legal process to evict you, and you have the right to challenge the eviction.

If you’re forced out illegally or evicted for a false reason, you could get compensation.

Check our advice on eviction from a private tenancy.

Last updated: 12 September 2024