A Perth letting agency could be stripped of its licence to operate following a legal row with two former teachers.
Keith and Kerry Legg trusted Belvoir Perth to manage the tenancy on their family home at Guildtown while they work overseas.
The company was ordered to pay the pair nearly £2,000 in compensation after admitting it had failed to carry out safety checks and routine inspections.
However, Belvoir Perth also failed to pay the Leggs on time. And it’s now been referred to the Scottish Government.
A Holyrood spokesman said Ministers are currently deciding whether to remove Belvoir Perth from the letting register.
The agency could even be reported to Police Scotland.
Belvoir Perth did not respond to The Courier’s requests for comment.
However, Keith said a representative from the agency contacted him the day after The Courier’s initial approach and transferred the money to his bank account soon after.
He said the gesture was too little too late.
“Their mismanagement has cost us a significant amount of money, not to mention a huge amount of stress,” said Keith.
Belvoir Perth failed to comply
The problems came to light last summer after the Leggs’ tenant gave them notice they were quitting.
Keith, who previously taught at Perth Grammar and Crieff High, and former Tulloch Primary School teacher Kerry are currently teaching in Malaysia.
The couple asked Belvoir Perth to arrange for the property to be re-let as soon as possible.
However, Keith says communication with the agency dwindled and eventually broke down.
His parents, who stay in Fife, managed to get a key for the house in September and discovered it had been left in a mess.
It later emerged Belvoir Perth had missed a routine inspection and a gas safety inspection when issues might have been picked up.
Keith said he eventually arranged a meeting via Facetime with a manager who agreed to pay compensation.
When it didn’t arrive, the Leggs took their case to the Housing and Property Chamber First Tier Tribunal.
It met in August and awarded the couple £1,899 compensation and told Belvoir Perth to carry out training.
However, that didn’t happen either. And, at the end of November, the tribunal issued a ‘failure to comply’ notice, referring the case to Scottish Ministers.
The fact they didn’t engage with the process… shows at best sheer repeated incompetence and at worst a complete disregard for the legal process
Throughout this the house has lain empty.
The rent, which should have been covering the Leggs’ mortgage, hasn’t been paid.
And a burst pipe, while the house was unoccupied last January, resulted in another lengthy battle with their insurers.
“The house is still being dried out,” says Keith.
“I can’t say it wouldn’t have happened if we’d had a tenant. But it would have been a lot less likely.”
Belvoir Perth may be reported to police
Keith, a former Fife councillor, said Belvoir Perth finally contacted him last week after it was approached by The Courier and the compensation had finally been transferred to their account.
But he said he and Kerry felt badly let down.
“The fact they didn’t engage with the process, despite knowing what the outcome could be, shows at best sheer repeated incompetence and at worst a complete disregard for the legal process, their landlords and tenants,” he added.
A Scottish Government spokesperson confirmed Scottish Ministers have received the official notice from the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.
They said failure to comply with a letting agent enforcement order is a criminal offence and the Tribunal may report the matter to Police Scotland.
In these cases, ministers will re-assess whether or not a letting agent is still a fit and proper person.
If it finds against Belvoir, Scottish Ministers can remove a letting agent from the register.
It is a criminal offence to operate as an unregistered letting agent in Scotland.
The Courier made a number of attempts to speak to Belvoir Perth. However, nobody responded to any of these requests.
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