Jul 11
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Published by Property Wire on Thursday, 21 July 2011
The Office of Fair Trading in the UK is warning the letting agents sector to check that their terms and conditions are fair and transparent as it publishes an evaluation of its consumer enforcement case against Foxtons for breaching the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCRs).
In February 2010, the OFT secured an enforcement order from the High Court when it ruled that Foxtons’ renewal commission terms were not transparent, which led to Foxtons amending some of their letting agreement terms. The evaluation finds that the OFT intervention has resulted in positive benefits for consumer landlords that use Foxtons with an estimated annual benefit of at least £4.4 million.
However, the OFT is embarking on further engagement and awareness raising as the evaluation report found that some consumer landlords and letting agents remain unaware of the High Court ruling and its implications for the sector, with similar potentially unfair terms still appearing in some contracts.
