Property Disputes: Your Rights and How to Win

The recurring property fob-off across most sub-sectors: the firm cites its own policy, points to a clause in the standard terms, and treats the consumer's complaint as resolved by the existence of the policy or the clause. The rebuttal in two parts. First, ask for the policy in full. Many firms operate to internal policies that they will not voluntarily disclose. Those policies often diverge from the public-facing terms the consumer signed. If the firm cites a policy, ask to see it. Where the firm refuses, that refusal becomes part of the complaint.

Second, cite the regulatory baseline the policy must respect. Estate agents are bound by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (now updated under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024) to avoid misleading actions and misleading omissions. Lettings agents are bound by the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Conveyancing solicitors are bound by the SRA Code of Conduct and the Standards and Regulations. Housebuilders signed up to the New Homes Quality Code are bound by it. Wherever the firm's policy falls below the regulatory baseline, the policy does not save the firm; the regulatory baseline applies.

A specific pattern worth flagging in new-build disputes. The developer will routinely use customer-care representatives (rather than production managers) to handle complaints. The customer-care representative has no authority to commit to remediation timeframes. Insist on a joint site visit with the production manager and an agreed snag list with dated completion commitments. That document is the spine of the dispute.

A different specific pattern in new-build conveyancing. The buyer's solicitor handles the purchase, exchange and completion happen on the developer's timetable, and the Building Control Completion Certificate is missing from the file at completion. The CQS Protocol requires the solicitor either to confirm the certificate before completion or to take a retention or personal undertaking to deliver it. Where neither is done, the buyer completes on a property that is not yet compliant with Building Regulations as a matter of statutory record. In one matter I am preparing for formal complaint, the buyer's file shows no Completion Certificate confirmation, no retention, no undertaking, no Report on Title, and no mention of NHBC Buildmark across 150 deduplicated emails between buyer and firm. The local Building Control office has independently confirmed, six years after completion, that the Completion Certificate has never been issued. An independent surveyor's later report identifies 30 Building Regulation breaches across 11 Approved Documents, 9 of them critical to life safety. The closest single-category label from the standard conveyancing-failure list is missed lender requirement, but the fuller framing is a sustained CQS Protocol failure across multiple obligations at completion.

The right ADR scheme depends on the sub-sector. Estate agents: The Property Ombudsman (TPO) or the Property Redress Scheme (PRS). Mandatory membership. Awards up to £25,000. Lettings agents: the same two schemes plus local Trading Standards for Tenant Fees Act enforcement. Private landlords: until the Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman launches (scheduled for 2028 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 implementation roadmap), the routes are direct complaint to the landlord, the First-tier Tribunal for rent and tenancy matters, the local authority for housing standards (Housing Act 2004 hazards), and court for breach of contract and tort.

Conveyancing solicitors: Legal Ombudsman. One year from act/omission or date of knowledge. Award up to £50,000 plus unlimited fee reductions. New-build builders (Quality Code members): New Homes Ombudsman, £50,000 award limit, can direct specific remedial works. NHBC years 2 to 10: NHBC Resolution Service for the warranty defects covered. Surveyors: RICS Dispute Resolution Service.

For all sub-sectors, the procedural backbone is the same. Complaint to the firm; eight weeks (or scheme-specific equivalent); deadlock letter or expiry; refer to the relevant ombudsman; binding decision. What the ombudsman looks for: documentary evidence over narrative, a clean chronology, the code or rule citation, an itemised schedule of loss, and engagement with the firm's strongest defence.

All consumer property ADR schemes are free to the complainant. Median resolution times. The Property Ombudsman: typically 30 to 90 days, with 53 per cent of cases resolved at early-resolution stage. TPO's published 2024 figures showed an average resolution time of 34 days, down from 39 days in 2023. New Homes Ombudsman: typically three to six months for clear cases. Legal Ombudsman: nine to twelve months. NHBC Resolution Service: variable, longer for major structural defects. RICS DRS: roughly four to six months.

Court is the alternative for cases above ADR scheme limits or where the consumer prefers a different forum. The Defective Premises Act 1972 cause of action runs for 15 years prospectively under the Building Safety Act 2022 extension. Contract claims under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 run for six years from breach. Personal injury overlaps with property defect cases (for example asbestos in renovation works) at three years from date of knowledge under section 11.

Frank's property flow identifies which ADR scheme applies based on the firm, the sub-sector, and the underlying complaint type. The platform drafts the formal complaint with the right statute, code, or scheme rule cited, tracks the eight-week clock against the firm's response, and generates the ADR submission with the regulatory grounds front-loaded.

For new-build disputes, the platform helps you build the agreed joint snag list document and track each agreed remediation deadline. For conveyancing and surveyor matters, the date-of-knowledge analysis under the Limitation Act 1980 and the LeO scheme rules is built into the deadline tracker.