All property Agents and Professionals, who carry out Estate, Lettings and Property Management work in England and Wales, have a legal responsibility to join an authorised Property Redress Scheme.   

There are two approved Property Redress Schemes in the UK  

What is a Property Redress Scheme?

A Redress Scheme is a scheme which allows consumers to escalate a complaint they may have against one of its’ members. The main purpose of the scheme is to resolve or settle unresolved complaints from consumers who have suffered a loss as a result of the actions of the member.

The Property Redress Schemes have been authorised by the Government since 2014

On What Grounds can a Consumer Complain to the Property Redress Scheme?

To raise a complaint, you must be a consumer or, directly affected by the actions of a member of the PRS and your complaint must be about things which you claim a member has done, or not done, which have:

• effectively not fulfilled their legal or contractual responsibilities to you
• affected or breached your rights
• caused you a loss by not acting in line with any code of practice they have signed up to
• treated you unfairly

Examples of unfair treatment may include:

• poor or incompetent service
• rudeness or discourtesy
• a lack of clear explanation
• not completing a transaction efficiently or as reasonably expected
• avoidable delays in delivering the agreed or expected service(s)

When can a consumer complain to the Property Redress Scheme? 

Before you raise a complaint, you must give your Agent the opportunity to deal with the problem first, so either use the Agent’s internal complaints procedure, or alternatively,  write to them if they don’t have a complaints in place.

You must set out your case clearly giving details of specific dates and times and clearly explain the reasons for your concern, along with the solution you’re looking for.

You should allow them up to eight weeks to do this and they should write to you to tell you of the result of their investigation.

What happens if a complaint is accepted by a Property Redress Scheme? 

For the Redress Scheme to consider your complaint, your last communication about your concerns must be within the last 12 months.

There are usually three steps to the Redress Scheme complaints process:

1. an initial review at the early resolution stage, where a case assessor offers both parties the opportunity to be involved in reaching a mutually agreeable conclusion.
2. a formal decision where early resolution has been unsuccessful. This process involves an independent case officer assessing all the evidence presented and making a formal, written, decision.
3. a review request stage, to ensure that there has been no error in fact, law and administration, which has led to an incorrect decision.

If the Property Redress Schemes decision is accepted by the consumer, it is binding and the Agent must comply with it – the consequences may be:

• a meaningful apology
• an explanation
• practical action to minimise any loss
• repayment of actual loss and/or costs you have incurred
• a payment, where appropriate, for distress and inconvenience
• other appropriate action suggested by the complainant or decided by us

If an Agent doesn’t comply with the Property Redress Scheme decision, they will be given a warning and required to pay a penalty charge. Continuing to not comply with the decision can lead to the Agent’s membership of the Property Redress Scheme being terminated.

Find out more.

Meliora Property Management are Members of the Property Redress Scheme (PRS)

We’re here to answer any questions you may have, and ensure you always get the best service and make the most of your property. We treat everyone as an individual and take the time to understand what you really need from us. 

If you’d like to talk about what we can do for you and your property, then please get in touch.

MELIORA – Always Better!