Lettings firm in rent arrears row

2:03pm Monday 31st December 2007

AN ENFIELD lettings agent is being investigated by Trading Standards after complaints from landlords claiming the company owes them several thousand pounds worth of rent.

The Property Bureau, which has an office in Southbury Road, Enfield, has also had its membership terminated by an industry body.

That came after the UK Association of Letting Agents (UKALA) received no response from The Property Bureau about a complaint they were investigating, and it was decided to terminate the company's membership in October.

The company, however, said it had not responded to the UKALA because it was unhappy with the association's treatment of the matter, and had decided not to remain a member of the organisation.

A statement from the company's directors read: "The company is in contact with Trading Standards and will make sure we resolve any issues they may have."

Several landlords have claimed that The Property Bureau have failed to pay their rent for properties the company manages, with bills amounting to several thousand pounds.

However, the company strongly denies claims that it has been witholding rent or deposit money from clients.

The company's directors said: "A small percentage of clients of The Property Bureau have been affected by internal issues that have resulted in accounts falling behind and a delay in ledgers being brought up to date."

The directors said the company was attempting to go back on its records to arrange payments to clients, adding that in some cases the company believed that tenants were in arrears despite landlords being told otherwise.

They said: "We are confident that any client who is behind in receiving any rental payments that are due will receive payment."

The directors said that they had been trading successfully in the local area for nearly 20 years and had always attempted to offer the local public the best possible service.

They added: "We accept that due to internal issue some clients have not had as good a service as we would wish, but we are working hard to rectify the problems."

A spokesman for Enfield Council said: "This is an ongoing investigation and if anyone is experiencing problems with this company, they should contact Enfield Council's Trading Standards Team on 020 8379 8505."