Sean Hooker, Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, answers questions on the Property Redress Scheme.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background
I started my career in insurance as a claims negotiator during the early nineties.
From this I moved eventually into the realm of complaints, dealing with high level disputes and appeals across a range of insurances and dealing with the Financial Services Ombudsman.
I started with the tenancy deposit protection scheme, my|deposits, in 2007. When I joined, the scheme had been running barely two months and there was nothing really in place to deal with disputes other than a supplier (IDRS owned by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators – CIArb) and a few notes based on the legislation and government contract.
From this and basically a blank piece of paper, I mapped out and designed the dispute process. I undertook adjudicator training with IDRS and gained my CIArb qualification and when the first dispute came to the scheme, it landed on my desk.
I continued to build the scheme; recruiting first class staff to do the case handling, developing a relationship with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) and training our own in house adjudication team. Through CEDR I trained and qualified as mediator, one of the hardest but most rewarding things I have done (though they held the course in Malta which made the experience thoroughly enjoyable!).
My proudest moment with my|deposits was when my team won the prestigious CEDR award for Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution and I received the award at the Waldolf Hotel in front of an international audience, beating amongst others the ADR provision for 2010 London Olympics suppliers!
My ambition was always to expand the potential of our expertise both in dispute resolution and especially the property sector so when the opportunity arose to bid for the new redress scheme, I jumped at it! Another blank piece of paper and a new frontier!
2. Tell us a bit about the background to the Property Redress Scheme (PRS) and why it was decided to set it up
The PRS was set up on the back of Government legislation making redress for letting agents and property managers compulsory.
For a number of years both supporters and critics of the industry had been lobbying for some form of further control of letting agents. However the last Government were reluctant to go down the full regulation route. Instead, it was felt that bringing lettings into line with estate agency and making joining a redress scheme mandatory would be step forward in raising standards.
As with most modern legislative delivery, the Government wanted an industry paid approach and no cost for the tax payer so decided to tender out the contract to external providers.
Given my background and experience in TDP, I felt that we could offer a viable and alternative scheme to the two existing “ombudsman schemes” that were operating on a voluntary basis. We applied and were granted a licence by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
3. How will the Property Redress Scheme help landlords and tenants?
The scheme acts a third tier complaint mechanism that both landlords and tenants can access free of charge.
It is interesting that, thanks to this law, landlords are recognised as consumers on par with tenants with regards to their interaction with their agent.
The aim of our scheme, however, is to act less as the judge and jury and more as a facilitator to rebuild relationships between the parties.
Our unique approach is the post complaint “consideration” period where we allow a short period for the parties to see if they can move from their entrenched positions. To help this, our team will examine the case and make a suggested solution based on the facts, how realistic the prospect of success and a realistic assessment of a way forward.
This assistance, whilst not binding can show the parties a way forward and in many cases a face-saving way out of a difficult position.
4. How has the Property Redress Scheme developed since the scheme was set up?
Since the scheme was set up we have signed up over 3400 offices and are continuing to grow.
There is still a group of agents who have either not realised that they should join a scheme or thought the requirement to join would not be enforced but we have seen good growth following publicity and enforcement action by local authorities.
We have also seen a lot of new start-ups join as well as an increasing number of members who were formally members of the other schemes.
In terms of developments, we have built and continue to improve our website to make it informative, accessible and clear to use. The amount of educational information that we are making available to members and consumers is steadily growing and as we do not have our own code of conduct, we feel that promoting best practice will be the way standards are improved across the sector.
We have also set up the advisory council to help monitor the scheme and have a positive input into how the scheme develops. We are privileged to have prominent industry experts such as you, Tessa, on the council and your guide to tenancy agreements which we have added to our member’s resource centre is a great example of the value added we provide our members.
5. What are the most common themes underlying the complaints the scheme has dealt with so far?
The types of complaints we have had are quite varied at the moment, but what is clear is that the root cause of most of them is lack of clear documentation and process as well as poor communication.
The number of poorly written and verbal agreements between agents and landlords is quite staggering.
Many of our smaller and family-run firms still rely on relationships and trust to run their businesses and when things go wrong then there is nothing to refer back to when it comes to the obligations of the parties.
6. What are your plans to develop the Property Redress Scheme further?
We have already started to expand the scheme to other areas in the property industry.
We successfully obtained authorisation to operate a parallel estate agency redress scheme from National Trading Standards and now encompass both of the legally backed schemes.
We recognise that dispute resolution is a growing opportunity – especially with new European directives on the horizon. To this effect, we are already expanding our services to a wider range of property professionals including company landlords, inventory clerks, maintenance companies and service providers to the letting industry.
This holistic approach to the lettings industry is predicated on the principles of raising standards, increasing safety and managing reputation in the sector.
7. What would be your three top tips for agents?
- Communication is still the key to resolving conflict and clear processes and documentation is paramount. A clear audit trail is essential for everyone concerned.
- Remember a large number of complaints stem from not managing your customer’s expectations so under promise and over deliver.
- When you mess up say sorry and put it right! Do not entrench and call in the lawyers – face up, admit your mistake and offer a solution to fix it.
Many thanks to Sean for agreeing to be interviewed. If you have any comments or questions please use the comment area below.