I would like to request all details from Case 166917, relating to Unfair Terms in a Letting Contract for 63 Masefield Gardens, Crowthorne RG45 7QS. Please can you provide;

1. The PPP's (or WBC's) closing position on Case 166917 as supplied to The Property Ombudsman
2. Detail of decisions made by the PPP/WBC about whether the contract was 'illegal' in nature
3. Detail of the advice given to Romans in regards to changing its contracts and/or terms of business
An Officer from the Public Protection Partnership (PPP) had contact with Romans in relation to the terms within their letting contracts. The officer emailed with comprehensive advice as to how to ensure compliance with the legislation, and that advice has been taken on board by Romans who have amended their documentation as required by Trading Standards, the advice in summary below;

Early Determination Fee (EDF)
Trading Standards Officer had commented on the font size and placement of the EDF on the Landlord Fees Poster and that it was not stated on the Letting Authority. Having discussed this with internal stakeholders, it was deemed unlikely that staff actually charged the fee, thus it has been removed from both the Terms of Business (TOBs) and Landlord Fee Poster.

Right to vary fees
The previous wording did not give the client the option to terminate the agreement or a time parameter in which to do so in the event of the fees being varied. This has been amended on the TOBs and Letting Authority.

Withdrawal Fee
The Trading Standards Officer referred to TPO guidelines about termination fees and also commented that there was no set amount and an indefinite aspect to it. Wording has been amended on both the Letting Authority and TOBs to detail circumstance and amount. As this fee is referred to twice in the TOBs before clause 23.2 is reached (page 17), in each case (on pages 1 and 13) the landlord is invited to read clause.