Kingston City Properties is committed to providing excellent service to all our customers, including contract-holders (tenants) and landlords. We understand that, on occasion, you may feel that our level of service has not met your expectations. This Complaints Policy outlines how we handle complaints about our service and what you can expect from us throughout the process.

Scope of the Complaints Policy

This policy applies only to complaints about the service provided by Kingston City Properties. We cannot consider complaints that fall outside the scope of Kingston City Properties’ responsibilities or authority.

If your complaint relates to the conduct of:

  • A contract-holder (tenant) (e.g. failure to meet contractual/legal obligations), we will have no doubt already discussed their conduct with you and given our opinion on the matter. Using our experience and knowledge of the law, we will do what we can in our role as the ‘middleman’ to help find a resolution that satisfies both sides, but if we are unsuccessful in this, you will need to consider litigation.
  • A landlord (e.g. disputes about repairs, contractual obligations, or compensation claims), please read the following section.


Complaints Against Landlords

It is important to understand the distinction between the roles of a landlord and a managing agent like Kingston City Properties.

What is a managing agent?

Kingston City Properties acts as a managing agent, not as the landlord. Here’s how this relationship works:

  • Our role: We are tasked with ensuring both contract-holders and landlords adhere to the terms of the signed Written Statement of Occupation Contract and the law in general.
  • Landlord decisions: The landlord, as the property owner, makes all final decisions on matters such as repairs, upgrades, and financial arrangements.

For example:

  • Repairs and maintenance: We will promptly report maintenance requests to your landlord and seek their approval to proceed. The landlord is responsible for authorising the work, as they are paying for it. Delays can occur if the landlord needs time to review or approve the request.
  • Improvements: Upgrades or non-essential improvements are at the landlord’s discretion. While we advocate for reasonable requests, they are not obligated to agree unless it involves a health, safety or hygiene issue.
  • Deposit deductions: Your deposit is protected by a government approved deposit protection scheme, and Kingston City Properties does not have the authority to make deductions. The landlord decides whether to make a claim, but you can dispute any deductions through the independent adjudicator provided by the scheme.

By clarifying these roles, we aim to ensure a smoother and more transparent process for all parties involved, to enable you to direct your grievances to the right place. If you are unsure about who is responsible for a specific issue, please contact us and we will guide you appropriately.

Why we can’t handle claims against landlords

While Kingston City Properties can act as a facilitator, we do not have legal authority to enforce a landlord’s compliance with contractual or legal obligations, nor can we award compensation on their behalf. The landlord remains the legally responsible party for all matters related to their property.

Making a claim against your landlord

If you wish to claim compensation from your landlord, please contact maintenance@kingstonscardiff.co.uk . We will pass this onto your landlord for their consideration and offer our experience and knowledge of the law in our communication with both sides.

Options if you can’t reach an agreement with your landlord

If you have pursued a complaint or claim against your landlord but have been unable to reach a satisfactory resolution, you may wish to consider litigation, which involves pursuing legal action through the courts to seek resolution or compensation.

We advise this because landlords are not required to hold a membership with a redress scheme like The Property Ombudsman (TPO), so this avenue isn’t available to you. While redress schemes can investigate and make awards against managing agents like Kingston City Properties, they do not have jurisdiction over landlords.



How to make a complaint about Kingston City Properties’ service

If you’re satisfied that your complaint is against Kingston City Properties and we have not delivered an acceptable level of service, please contact lettings@kingstonscardiff.co.uk to request a complaint form to be provided. This form can then be submitted via email directly to the manger or via post to;
91 Wyeverne Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4BG.
All complaints must be submitted within our complaints form format.

Acknowledgement of your complaint

Upon receipt of your complaint, we will acknowledge it within 5 working days (not including weekends or bank holidays).

Investigation and response

We will investigate your concerns thoroughly and aim to provide a written response within 20 working days (not including weekends or bank holidays). If your complaint requires more time due to complexity, we will keep you informed of progress.

Independent redress

If, after our final response, you remain dissatisfied, you may escalate the matter to The Property Ombudsman (TPO), of whom we are members.

Please note that TPO state this must be done within 12 months of the date of our final response. It is also important to note that TPO will not consider a complaint until you have raised a complaint in accordance with this policy and we have issued our final response.

Finally, as stated earlier in this policy, please bear in mind that redress schemes like TPO do not have jurisdiction over landlords, so cannot investigate complaints about landlords.

The Property Ombudsman: tpos.co.uk | admin@tpos.co.uk | 01722 333306