Home / Glossary / Property redress scheme
What is Property redress scheme?
Last verified 23 October 2026
A property redress scheme is an independent complaints service that letting agents and property managers must join, so landlords and tenants can complain about the service they received. In England, membership has been a legal requirement since 1 October 2014, and the approved schemes are The Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme.
Why it matters to landlords
The duty applies to work done in the course of business. Landlords who let and manage their own homes are generally not caught, and nor is a friend or relative who helps without being paid. Councils enforce the rule and can impose a civil penalty on an agent that should have joined but has not, with no limit on repeat penalties if it still does not join. In Wales, membership is a condition of a Rent Smart Wales licence.
For a landlord using an agent, the redress scheme is where to take a complaint about poor service once the agent's own complaints process has been used. Separately, the Renters' Rights Act creates a private rented sector landlord ombudsman, which private landlords themselves will have to join.
Example
A landlord's agent fails to pass on a tenant's reports of a leak for months, and the landlord's complaint to the agency goes unanswered. The landlord checks which redress scheme the agent belongs to and takes the complaint there.