Use Caution When Dealing With Agents Listed Here

Usecaution when dealing with an agent listed here. We are currently renting a house that was advertised through an agent and agency listed on Real Estate Services.

At first, the service seemed professional... the agent confidently cited the laws and gave the impression she knew what she was doing. The lease is in my husband’s name, and before moving in, it was negotiated that we might eventually purchase the property, which seemed like a win-win. However, I made it clear from the start that we are tenants first, and only potential buyers second.

I won’t go into every detail, but I have extensive correspondence, voice notes, and recorded calls to back this up. The agent herself asked me to join a WhatsApp group and even advised my husband to tell me to put the landlord in breach... which I did, from both my husband and myself. But once I began formally requesting information that is legally required, the attitude changed. The agent removed me from the WhatsApp group and began ignoring critical queries.

Key concerns:

The landlord’s address was purposefully listed as the rental property address even though she never stayed there. The Rental Housing Act makes it very clear that the landlord’s actual address must be provided for formal correspondence. By omitting it, and ignoring repeated requests for it... the agent appears to have deliberately avoided accountability and consequences.

Queries about the deposit were ignored, despite this being a legal requirement. This raises serious concerns about whether the deposit has been improperly used. We asked for a statement. How can they not send a statement on the deposit?

Serious maintenance issues (black mould, broken toilets, a non-functioning stove) took months to address and are still not addressed correctly.

When escalated to the principal agent, he initially expressed shock (I have the call recorded), but ultimately nothing was resolved.

And then there’s the matter of cancellation: the CPA allows tenants to cancel a lease with reasonable penalties... but those penalties must be based on actual, provable costs, or provable loss. It is unacceptable that while the landlord was in almost constant breach and the agency failed to meet its obligations, they still expect to collect their commission. We gave notice, more than the legal requirements, yet the house has not even been re-advertised, which makes any claim of “loss” very questionable and we will definitely argue this.

I strongly caution both potential tenants and your company itself: these practices are not only unprofessional, they may expose the agency to serious legal and regulatory consequences under the Property Practitioners Act, the Rental Housing Act, and the CPA. Tenants are legally entitled to transparency, accountability, and proper handling of deposits. Ignoring statutory obligations, misrepresenting details, and withholding information is not only unacceptable, it damages your reputation and undermines trust in the industry.

We are now reporting the agent to the PPRA, and hiring a tracer to get the landlords address - this is not something that we should have to do.