Labour MP Stella Creasy announced her controversial “awards” to agents on Saturday.
Foxtons “won” the titles of both worst letting agent and worst estate agent in her constituency.
It is the second time she has held her annual “awards” ceremony, naming – in her own words – the housing “heroes and horrors” of Walthamstow, London.
In attendance was Sadiq Khan MP, the Labour candidate for London mayor, and who has stated that as mayor he would launch a not-for-profit letting agency “rejecting rip-off fees and offering secure, long-term rents”.
Runners-up for both worst letting agent and sales agent were haart and Kings.
Winner of both best letting agent and best estate agent was Central Estates – which last year “won” the title of worst, despite it being the market leader.
Runners-up as best letting agent were Stow Brothers and Wonderlease, and runners-up in the best estate agent category were Stow Brothers and Estates 17.
The MP’s own award for “most outrageous behaviour”, did not go to an agent but to a charity, Glasspools, “for the mass eviction of the residents of the Butterfields Estate”.
Other “awards” listed on Creasy’s website and specifically agent-targeted were:
- Kindest Gesture from a Letting Agent –Your Move for helping a resident who was struggling to find an affordable home by letting them rent a property prior to purchase
- Most Shocking Claim made by a Letting Agent – Spencers for requesting a tenant pay three months’ rent upfront plus rent of £1,350 to secure a home.
- Kindest Gesture from an Estate Agent – Stow Brothers for wanting to genuinely support Walthamstow’s community spirit
- Most Shocking Claim made by an Estate Agent – Bairstow Eves for repeatedly letting residents believe a sale was going through, when a seller has pulled out and then keeping the deposits.
The website claims over 400 votes were cast but gives no details as to whether they were verified in any way, or whether the criteria included voters having to produce evidence of actually having transacted with the agents.
It appears that Creasy decided against holding the “awards” ceremony in an estate agent’s office, using instead a meeting hall, below. Last year, she and her supporters gate-crashed the offices of Central Estates.
The “awards” have caused great upset among agents in the constituency, who question the right of a local MP to name and shame local businesses.
Creasy’s website also lists results of research of 61 letting agents in the area, described as a Generation Rent project.
It claims that 20 agents (32%) do not list fees and that the same proportion do not display redress schemes.
It says that the average fee charged for two tenants is £489, with fees ranging from £210 to £742.
Comments (11)
Jeez it’s tough to find any consensus when you talk about agency. It’s fractured, fiercely contested and mostly made up of bad haircuts but here’s the thing. We all go online. Aint so easy crashing cyber offices huh.
Dude I can dig ‘good intentions’ but Stella’s the type that if her buddy’s getting beaten up in a bar there’s no way she helps unless they got a jukebox playing her entrance music. And to all those 400 voters, thats on your dime. Maybe next time you and Stella bone up on real world agency because if you’re gonna be a “well actually” internet dipsh*t, at least know what you’re talking about.
Mr Outsider (AKA Stella Creasy’s press office) has nothing to say on this matter? 400 waste of space voters with nothing better to do than whinge about the rising cost of housing; it is called market forces, deal with it. Not that this will worry Ms Creasy, she will no doubt claim her rent/cost of living back on top of her £70K pa; I wonder how much of that she gives back to her voters like a good socialist? Four legs good, two legs bad, Mr Orwell had it right all the way back in 1945 and still people vote labor!!
Hiya NALR!
400 waste of space voters with nothing better to do than whinge about the rising cost of housing; it is called market forces, deal with it
Wow. Someone didn’t get laid over the weekend!
I’m guessing you did, was she still gloating?
Certainly labour haven’t taken election defeat as a lesson and chosen to continue with its out-of-reach policies! Is there any brain works behind its commend and control system or it’s just an empty vessel? They have no idea that this kind of display is creating nothing but further corruption through bribery and party donation and they are just creating more and more enemies. They shouldn’t forget that Estate and Letting agents are one of clever and intelligent people to deal with and their hostility to them is taking nowhere but to its own dead end.
is it just me that isn’t quite clear on what Bairstow Eves are guilty of? How do they keep buyers deposits? Maybe Ms Creasy can enlighten us on this one.
Worst agent, despite being market leader, in one year, becomes best agent.
Are these awards based on anything besides simply pulling names out of a hat? Sounds more like a raffle than anything else.
We all know how these things work.
Basically they got wind of the awards, they got screwed over last year. This was not going to happen again so they got friends, family, staff and pets to vote for them.
They won, Nothing wrong with that i would probably have done the same, problem is they are making the “awards” more popular doing it as last year 200 voted this year 400. The vile woman that is Creasy will spin this and say its a needed award, the public have got on board and the worse agent has taken on board the feedback and improved service, what a fantastic result!
Words cannot express how much i dislike this woman.
The issue isn’t with Ms Creasy – not completely. It’s the public giving non-events like this traction. Utterly subjective, mostly meaningless. Whipping up a PR storm out of air this thin is only going to make someone light-headed. When will people realise that only by ignoring nonsense like this will we rid ourselves of it.
I agree entirely but it is Creasy’s fault.
She is opportunistic, praying on peoples fears and pandering to them without any thought or knowledge.
I might get hammered for saying this but i am guessing most people that are voting in these “Worse estate agent awards” are probably not the most educated. Probably at the poorer end of the social system we live at and are looking to take their frustrations in life over there current homes out on an estate agent which is not to blame.
The public need to realize estate agents / letting agents are not a charity. They also need to learn that letting a property is not the same as staying in a hotel. They also need to realize that rents and house prices are not set by estate agent they are what the market commands.
In the most part estate agents and letting agents are very good, yes some are bad but the public are so poorly educated on the topic in some pockets of the UK they do not know what a good or bad agent is.
Creasy is looking to buy into a lazy sterotype of agents and run them down. As an MP she should get her house in order first, look to build more social housing, make sure the right people are getting social housing, look to endorse the right to buyer and buyer incentives, promote key worker schemes. Make sure landlords are paying income tax on rental properties, Look at adjustments in stamp duty to help buyers. Educate renters in what they are and are not entitiled to.
What she should not do is just allow people to vote for an agent they do not like with no measurable yard stick.
I have said it before she is a stupid, horrible woman cashing in on peoples misfortune and putting small business owners in her very own consituance in financial trouble.
Completely unnecessary action by someone who is trying to achieve popularity by cheaper way! Here is the difference between labour and Torres! Another reason estate and letting agents industry workforce across the country went against the labour in last general election. Can’t believe how once a most popular party is loosing the battle! Shame!