Between them tenants and landlords made just under 14,000 complaints against their letting agent to The Property Ombudsman.
Letting agents are currently unregulated in England, as only those in Scotland have to register to undertake work.
Complaints about them represent 31.1% of the 45,000 enquiries of the ombudsman was forced to deal with overall.
The top causes of letting disputes are firstly tenancy management; secondly complaints handling; and thirdly instructions, terms of business, fees, charges and termination.
The Property Ombudsman said the high levels of enquiries and disputes relating to repair and maintenance issues, which comes under tenancy management, underlines the need to raise the standard of private rented housing stock.
Rebecca Marsh of the Property Ombudsman said: “Specific to the lettings market, high levels of enquiries from tenants and landlords seeking advice from TPO indicates a real need for consumer education to help them understand the roles and responsibilities of all the parties involved.
“For agents, these enquiries show that regular communication to tenants about the progress of repairs and maintenance issues is a lesson that, if learned, will provide assurance that matters are in hand and, ultimately reduce the potential for complaints to arise.”
In terms of other complaints, over 5,500 buyer and seller issues relating to their estate agent, while over 3,000 leaseholder issues were about their managing agent
Over 1,500 tenant issues about their landlord where no agent was involved were dealt with at the enquiry stage, with tenants being provided with advice and guidance to help them resolve their issues.
Just under 17,000 further consumers provided with advice and guidance through TPO’s self-service portal.
Some 6,012 disputes were resolved through early resolution or formal ombudsman decision.
Marsh added: “Difficult market conditions will increase competition to gain instructions from sellers and landlords.
“In both instances agents must strive to ensure that market valuations are reasonable and are supported by comparable properties. For tenants and buyers, clarity around offers will be paramount and agents must communicate these in writing to all relevant parties.”