Can they do that? Brighton & Hove
All questions

How to report a letting agent or landlord

Who to tell

The problem Report it to
Banned fees, or being told you must pay for a professional clean or use a particular company Trading Standards, which enforces the Tenant Fees Act.1 Report through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.2 See banned fees
Rental bidding, refusing tenants on benefits or with children, demanding rent in advance, or an advert that doesn’t show the rent Trading Standards, through the same Citizens Advice helpline.3 See rental bidding and discrimination
Unsafe homes, disrepair, damp and mould Private Sector Housing at the council.4 Ask for help online, call 01273 293 156 (9am to 3pm) or email psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk.5 See repairs
A shared house or rented home that should be licensed but isn’t Private Sector Housing.6 See licensing
Harassment, or being made to leave without a court order The police if there’s violence or threats, or someone is removing you or your things without a court order or court bailiffs.7 Then the council’s Housing Advice Team4 on 01273 294 400 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 1.30pm).8 See eviction
Poor service, or a complaint the agent won’t deal with The agent’s redress scheme, after you’ve used the agent’s own complaints process. See redress schemes below
A deposit that wasn’t protected Check with the three deposit schemes first.9 See what to do if your deposit wasn’t protected
Deductions from a protected deposit Your deposit scheme’s free dispute service.10 The Property Ombudsman can’t decide deposit disputes.11 See deposit deductions

You can’t report to Trading Standards directly: Citizens Advice passes your report on.12 Citizens Advice’s online form is open only from 5pm on Friday to 9am on Monday.13 Trading Standards can take a business to court or stop it trading, but it won’t sort out your own problem, such as getting your money back.14 It may not contact you, but it can use your evidence later, for example if other people complain about the same business.15

Stick to facts you can show, such as emails, adverts, invoices and photos, with dates.

Redress schemes

Every letting agent and property manager in England must belong to an approved redress scheme. There are two: The Property Ombudsman and Property Redress (formerly the Property Redress Scheme).16 An agent can be fined up to £5,000 if it doesn’t belong to one.17 Agents must say which scheme they belong to, including on their website.18 You can also check with the property agent checker from National Trading Standards.19

Both schemes are free for you to use.20

  1. Complain to the agent in writing first, using their complaints procedure. Say what went wrong and what you want them to do about it.21
  2. Give them up to 8 weeks. You can go to the scheme once the agent has given its final response, or after 8 weeks if it hasn’t.22 With The Property Ombudsman, if the agent ignores you, you can go sooner: chase them after 15 working days, and if they still haven’t replied 5 working days later, you can refer it.23
  3. Don’t leave it too long. The Property Ombudsman’s limit is 12 months from the agent’s final response.24 Property Redress’s limit is 12 months from your last contact with the agent about the problem.25

The Property Ombudsman can make the agent put things right, apologise, or pay you compensation. It’s currently taking 3 to 6 months to reach a decision.26

Complaints about a landlord

If your landlord manages the home themselves, there’s no ombudsman for private landlords yet. The Housing Ombudsman can’t look at complaints about private landlords unless the landlord has joined its scheme voluntarily.27 The Renters’ Rights Act will bring in a Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman that nearly all private landlords must join. It’s expected to start in 2028, and the government hasn’t yet chosen who will run it.28 Rules on how a scheme will be approved came into force on 17 September 2026.29

Landlords will also have to put themselves and their properties on a national register, called Register your rental property. It opens on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands, and every landlord must be on it by 14 November 2027.30 Under draft rules, Brighton & Hove is in the South East, where the duty to register starts on 15 March 2027 and the deadline is 14 June 2027.31 Tenants will be able to search it to check a landlord has registered, but not yet.32

Until then, report problems with the home to the council (see the table above), and get advice from the free local services.

Councillors and MPs

If a problem affects lots of tenants, such as an agent giving every tenant the same wrong advice, a short, factual email to your local councillor or MP can help. Attach the evidence.

Writing reviews

Honest reviews help other renters. Stay on the safe side:

  • Describe what happened, and quote the documents.
  • Make it clear when something is your opinion.
  • Avoid words like “scam” or “fraud” unless a court or regulator has said so.
  • Don’t name individual staff.

References

  1. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 6(1). It is the duty of every local weights and measures authority in England to enforce in its area— (a) section 1 (prohibitions applying to landlords), (b) section 2 (prohibitions applying to letting agents). Local weights and measures authorities are councils’ Trading Standards services. ↩

  2. Contact the consumer service. Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice consumer helpline: 0808 223 1133 Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. ↩

  3. Renters’ Rights Act. Brighton & Hove City Council. The following elements of the Renters Rights Act are enforced by Trading Standards: discrimination based on benefits or children rental bidding requirement to pay rent in advance failure to display rent To report any of these issues, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. ↩

  4. Renters’ Rights Act. Brighton & Hove City Council. If you need to report a breach after 1 May 2026, contact the following teams: for unlawful eviction or harassment, contact our Housing Advice Team for property disrepair issues, contact our Private Sector Housing Team ↩ ↩2

  5. Private Sector Housing. Brighton & Hove City Council. 01273 293 156 psh@brighton-hove.gov.uk Ask us for help to get housing repairs Our phone lines are open from 9am to 3pm. ↩

  6. Property licensing register. Brighton & Hove City Council. Contact the Private Sector Housing team if you: … would like to report an unlicensed property ↩

  7. Private renting for tenants: evictions in England: Harassment and illegal evictions. GOV.UK. Contact the police if physical violence or threats are involved or if someone is trying to remove you or your belongings from the property without either a: court order court appointed bailiff ↩

  8. Get support if you are homeless or at risk of being homeless. Brighton & Hove City Council. Housing options advice and information 01273 294 400 Our phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 1:30pm. ↩

  9. Tenancy deposit protection: If your landlord does not protect your deposit. GOV.UK. Contact a tenancy deposit scheme (TDP) if you’re not sure whether your deposit has been protected. ↩

  10. Tenancy deposit protection: Disputes and problems. GOV.UK. Your tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme offers a free dispute resolution service if you disagree with your landlord about how much deposit should be returned. ↩

  11. How it works. The Property Ombudsman. Can you resolve my tenancy deposit issue? No, we cannot resolve deposit disputes. Please refer your issue to your deposit scheme. ↩

  12. Find consumer advice. Brighton & Hove City Council. pass information about complaints on to Trading Standards - you can’t do this yourself ↩

  13. Reporting to Trading Standards. Citizens Advice. You can also use our online form from 5pm on Fridays to 9am on Mondays. ↩

  14. Reporting to Trading Standards. Citizens Advice. Trading Standards can take businesses to court or stop them operating, but they won’t help you fix your problem - for example, they can’t help you get a refund. ↩

  15. Reporting to Trading Standards. Citizens Advice, under “What happens after you’ve reported to Trading Standards”. They’ll only contact you if they need more information. Even if Trading Standards don’t contact you, they might use your evidence to take action against the business in the future. For example, if other people make complaints about the same business. ↩

  16. Redress scheme membership for letting agents. National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team. a person who engages in lettings agency or property management work must be a member of an approved redress scheme. There are two approved redress schemes for lettings agents and property managers: The Property Ombudsman Property Redress Scheme The scheme now calls itself Property Redress: Consumers. Property Redress. Check the business you are making a complaint about is a member of Property Redress by using our online agent finder ↩

  17. Redress scheme membership for letting agents. National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team. don’t belong to one of the two approved redress schemes, you may get a monetary penalty (fine) of up to £5,000 ↩

  18. Publishing fees and scheme information. National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team. if you have to be a member of a CMP scheme or redress scheme, you must display or publish a statement that: indicates you’re a member of a client money protection or redress scheme give the name of the scheme you’re a member of published on your website ↩

  19. Property agent checker. National Trading Standards. Search our list of Estate and Letting agents, to check their registration with an approved independent redress scheme, to resolve disputes between agents and consumers. ↩

  20. How it works. The Property Ombudsman. Is there a charge for your service? No. Our service is free for consumers. Consumers. Property Redress. There is no cost for raising a complaint against your agent or property professional ↩

  21. How it works. The Property Ombudsman. You must follow the complaints process of the business before we can look into your concerns. Consumers. Property Redress. Inform the agent in writing that clearly explains your complaint and proposed resolution ↩

  22. How it works. The Property Ombudsman. You have complained to the business, and they have provided their final viewpoint letter Eight weeks after you have complained to the property business and either have not received a response or have not received a final response under their internal complaints procedure Consumers. Property Redress. Before raising a complaint with us, please allow the agent up to eight weeks to investigate and respond to your concerns ↩

  23. How it works. The Property Ombudsman. After making a complaint, if you follow up after 15 working days and they still do not respond after another five working days, you can refer the complaint to us (when this happens, you do not need to wait eight weeks). ↩

  24. How it works. The Property Ombudsman. You have referred your complaint to us within 12 months of receiving the Agent’s final response ↩

  25. Consumers. Property Redress. If you’re unhappy with your agent’s response contact us within 12 months of your last communication with them relating to the issue(s) ↩

  26. How it works. The Property Ombudsman. we can make the business do any of the following: take steps to improve the way they work take steps to put matters right pay you compensation limit their fees issue a formal apology Our current wait time for a decision is between 3-6 months. ↩

  27. Help if your landlord is not registered. Housing Ombudsman. We cannot consider complaints about private landlords. We can only help if your landlord has voluntarily joined our Scheme. There is currently no Ombudsman to investigate complaints from residents of private landlords. ↩

  28. Voluntary membership. Housing Ombudsman. The government is introducing a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman Service, which will be mandatory for nearly all private landlords to join. This is expected to go live in 2028. The government has not yet decided which organisation will run the new Private Rented Sector (PRS) Landlord Ombudsman. ↩

  29. The Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/1033). Made 16th September 2026 Coming into force 17th September 2026 ↩

  30. Stronger protections and greater confidence for renters. GOV.UK, 9 September 2026. It will launch on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and onto other areas over 12 months. All landlords actively letting property will need to have registered by 14 November 2027. ↩

  31. The Private Rented Sector Database Regulations 2026 (draft, laid before Parliament), reg. 1(3) and Sch. 1. This is a draft item of legislation and has not yet been made as a UK Statutory Instrument. South East15th March 2027 South EastThe areas of Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Brighton & Hove City Council Get ready: ‘Register your rental property’ service. Housing Hub, GOV.UK. South East 15 March 2027 14 June 2027 ↩

  32. Stronger protections and greater confidence for renters. GOV.UK, 9 September 2026. In the future, prospective landlords will also need to register, and tenants will be able to see whether their landlord or prospective landlord has signed up ↩