It is understood that the Romford branch of the Northwood letting agents franchise has instructed an insolvency firm to help put it into liquidation.
Two landlords who rent out their properties through Northwood have claimed to the Recorder that they are still waiting for last month’s rent payment.
Both said that since the summer, their regular monthly payments had been made later and later, before drying up altogether.
One property owner, who has used the letting agents’ services for the last 20 years, described the experience as “hell”.
Northwood offers landlords a guaranteed rent, meaning they still earn rent even if the tenants miss a payment.
The set up means that the letting agents is effectively the tenant, and then sub-lets the property to the people who live there.
The Northwood website claims that it offers a “guaranteed annual rental income on time, every month”.
But another landlord who rented out his property through the Romford branch in Victoria Road claimed this promise had not been kept, leaving him “in the lurch”.
“I was quite lucky that I’ve got a relationship with our tenants so I’ve managed to sort something out with them,” he said.
“If there had been an issue with the property like a leak, they wouldn’t have anyone they could have contacted, because they shut their Romford office.”
The Recorder tried to call the Romford Northwood branch, but the line did not ring through.
A spokesperson for the franchise owner, Northwood GB Limited, has said that it is “supporting a recovery plan” which will address any arrears owed to clients, as well as transferring management of its properties to their owners.
They added: “While Northwood GB does not exercise day-to-day control over the conduct of its franchisees’ businesses, it deeply regrets the distress and inconvenience the company’s difficulties will have caused to those affected.
“At this early stage in the process, efforts are underway to contact landlord clients of the company, with the priority being to assist and support them in liaising directly with their tenants.”
