Taking your letting agent to the housing tribunal

Letting agents have legal responsibilities. If they do something wrong, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber).

The tribunal can order your letting agent to follow the rules. In some cases, you could get compensation.

It’s free to apply to the tribunal. You usually do not need a solicitor.

Before applying

You’ll need to:

• check the letting agent code of practice on gov.scot

• make a written complaint stating the paragraph numbers of the rules that have been broken

The tribunal will only accept your application if you’ve followed the letting agent’s complaints process.

They can only look at issues that are mentioned in your complaint. Make sure your complaint includes all relevant paragraph numbers from the code of practice.

Check if your landlord is responsible

The landlord is the owner of the property. Letting agents are companies that landlords hire to manage their property for them.

Even if they use a letting agent, your landlord has a legal responsibility for things like repairs, deposits, tenancy agreements and eviction.

You can make a separate application about your landlord’s duties, even if they’ve not been involved in the tenancy. In some cases they may have to pay you compensation.

Check our advice on applying to the tribunal if:

• your deposit was not protected

• repairs have not been done

• you were not given the right tenancy agreement

• you were evicted on false grounds

• you were illegally evicted

Your landlord can also make a complaint and apply to the tribunal if they’re unhappy with the letting agent’s services.

If you do not know who your landlord is

Most landlords must be registered, even if they use a letting agent. Check the Scottish Landlord Register.

If you cannot find their details on the register, write to your letting agent and ask them to provide your landlord’s name and address. They must send you this within 21 days.

If they do not send you the details, this breaks rule 72 in the code of practice. You can include this in your complaint.

Checking previous tribunal decisions

The tribunal publishes all its decisions online. To help you work out what evidence to give or how much compensation to ask for, check letting agent decisions on the tribunal’s website.

If you apply, your decision will be published online. Ask the tribunal not to include your details if you do not want them to be published.

How to apply

Download Form J and Notes on Completing Form J on the tribunal website.

In section 6a, write the relevant paragraph numbers from the letting agent code of practice. These must be the same numbers you included in your written complaint. Do not include any issues that have already been resolved.

In section 6d, say what you want the letting agency to do to put things right. This could include:

• changing their processes or retraining their staff so it does not happen again

• paying you compensation for damage to your health, property, or inconvenience

• apologising to you

Your application should include:

• copies of your complaint to your letting agent and any responses

• proof that your letting agent received your complaint, such as a response to your email, or recorded delivery confirmation for a letter

• any other evidence you have to support your application

Evidence you can use

You must show the tribunal evidence of how your letting agent broke the code of practice.

Give the tribunal a timeline of what has happened so far. Tell them what you’ve done to try and resolve it.

You can use copies of texts or emails about the problem as evidence.

If you want compensation

You can ask for compensation if your letting agent’s actions caused you harm or cost you money.

Say how much you want and show how you’ve calculated it. For example, give evidence of:

• the value of any damage caused to your belongings

• any physical injury or mental distress you suffered

• how much money their actions cost you – for example, if you had to move out or pay for repairs yourself

There’s no guarantee that you’ll get compensation. The tribunal will decide based on the evidence you provide. You may need a solicitor’s help to calculate compensation claims.

Where to send your application

You can send your form and evidence by email or post.

Email: HPCAdmin@scotcourtstribunals.gov.uk

Post: Glasgow Tribunals Centre, 20 York Street, Glasgow, G2 8GT

If you have questions about the process, you can phone the tribunal.

Phone: 0141 302 5900 - Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, Friday 9am to 4:30pm

What happens after you apply

The tribunal will look at your application and decide whether to accept your case.

Check our advice on what happens after you apply to the tribunal.

Getting legal advice or representation

The tribunal is less formal than a court, and in most cases you do not need a solicitor.

Consider getting legal advice if you want to claim a large amount of money, or if your case is complicated. A solicitor could help you work out how much to ask for.

Find a solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland.

If you hire a solicitor they'll charge for their work, and it can be expensive. Consider how much compensation you could get. It could be less than the legal fees you’d pay a solicitor.

You may be able to get free legal advice or legal aid to help with costs.