Complaints about a landlord member
Introduction
The NRLA aims to strike a fair balance between the interests of landlords and tenants. Although the NRLA is not a statutory or regulatory body, we operate a Code of Practice which all members are expected to observe. This covers every aspect of letting residential properties, and is designed to raise and maintain standards in the private rented sector.
To view our Code of Practice click here.
Neither the Code of Practice nor our complaints process can supersede the normal operation of the law. A complainant retains the right throughout the process to choose to go to law; in this event, the complaint would be halted, as the courts take precedence over the Code. Similarly, the Code of Practice cannot be used to review or re-open an issue on which the courts are reviewing or has already been adjudicated. If your complaint refers to an issue relating to your deposit this in turn must be taken up with the individual deposit provider.
What to do if you have a complaint about an NRLA member breaching the Code of Practice
- Notify your landlord both verbally and in writing the nature of your complaint
- Provide evidence of the breach
- Give your landlord reasonable time in which to respond to your complaint
If you are not satisfied with the response that you have received from your landlord, or indeed have not had a response at all within a reasonable timeframe, you can complain to the NRLA.
How to complain to the NRLA:
- Download and fill in the standard NRLA Landlord Complaint Form below
- Ensure that you include copies of all supporting paperwork relating to your complaint (non-returnable)
- This information can be scanned and emailed to [email protected] or posted to: NRLA, Suite 323, Tootal Buildings, Broadhurst House, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6EU
What happens next?
Once I have complained
If we receive a complaint, we will:
- Send an initial written acknowledgement within 3 working days.
- Determine if the complaint meets the conditions noted above – in some circumstances we may need to signpost you to the correct legal route for you to follow or ask you to provide us with more information and evidence before we can move forward.
- Once we have all the information, we require we will investigate the matter fully, obtaining all the facts and timeline of events.
- Send a comprehensive and detailed reply within fourteen working days. This will include all our findings. At this point you will be able to decide whether you are happy with our suggestions in terms of a resolution.
- Make you aware if an extension is required to complete the investigation with a maximum extension of 30 working days to investigate the complaint from the date of initial written acknowledgement.
We do ask that you consent to the NRLA sending copies of this form and the evidence to the member about whom you are complaining and to anyone else involved in resolving the issue, but we will make you aware if this is required.
Any complaints will be dealt with in a fair and unbiased way. Once we have responded if we do not hear from you within 6 weeks, we will assume that the matter has been resolved and the complaint file will be closed.
Not happy?
If after receiving our reply you are still not happy, please contact us and we will endeavour to investigate further. The matter will be forwarded to a more senior member of the department for consideration.
We will send a written acknowledgement to any additional concerns within 3 working days.
You will receive a “full and final response” to any additional concerns within 14 working days of the additional concerns being raised but this may be extended to a maximum of 30 working days if required.
Please note: It is important that you are aware that the NRLA is not a statutory or governing body. If we find that a member has not met our standards or expectations, we will, where possible, work with them to rectify the issue to avoid repetition in the future. In serious cases, or if a member were to refuse to co-operate, the Association could suspend or remove their membership.
