The fee was paid, the engagement letter signed — and then the agent went quiet: no tenant, no viewings, no paperwork, or a renewal invoice for work that never happened. This kit is the landlord's side of that conversation: what you can demand from the agent, the evidence that makes the demand real, where a complaint actually lands (and what it can and cannot get you), and the managed alternative when you would rather not run this play again.
Start with what the fee was supposed to buy. A Malaysian letting agent's placement commission runs on the Board's published scale — a minimum of one month's gross rent, rising to a maximum of 1.25 months for tenancies up to three years — and it covers the placement workflow up to signing: sourcing, viewings, negotiation, getting the tenancy agreement signed, collecting the initial monies where agreed. Rent collection, repairs and everything after signing are not in it. The full scale and the scope lists are on the agent fee page. "Didn't deliver" means the placement side failed — and that is exactly what your demand should itemise.
What "didn't deliver" actually looks like
Four failure patterns cover almost every complaint. Name yours before you write the demand, because each needs different evidence.
| Failure pattern | What happened | Your evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Fee taken, no service | Invoice paid on listing or engagement, then no listings, no viewings, no reports | Payment proof, engagement letter, the empty weeks of your own follow-ups |
| Service started, then silence | Early viewings, then the agent stops answering before a tenant signs | The correspondence thread and the viewing log |
| Tenant placed, tenant fails | A tenant signed and defaulted or left within weeks | The TA, the tenant's payment record, what the agent represented about screening |
| Renewal fee, no renewal work | A renewal invoice arrives for a same-tenant signing the agent did not negotiate | The invoice, the absence of any renewal correspondence |
The renewal pattern deserves its own note: a same-tenant renewal fee covers real renewal work — renegotiating terms, documenting, coordinating signing. If the tenant was already staying on the same terms and the agent only witnessed a signature, the renewal fee norms page works through what the fee should reflect and how to challenge scope.
The demand package: what to ask for, with what evidence
A demand the agent takes seriously is a dated letter with documents attached. Assemble these before writing it.
| # | Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The engagement letter or written scope | Defines what was promised; if there is none, that itself is a finding |
| 2 | The invoice with the SST line broken out | Commission and service tax must be separately stated; before paying or honouring any SST line, check whether the agency is SST-registered and the invoice names the taxable service — confirm the current rate with the agency |
| 3 | Payment proof | Bank transfer record matching the invoice |
| 4 | The correspondence log | Dated thread showing your follow-ups and the agent's responses |
| 5 | Service evidence from the agent | Listing links, viewing schedule, reports — the agent's proof of work; request it in the demand |
| 6 | The agent's registration | Verify the REN or REA number on the LPEPH public register before relying on the agent's authority — see the REN verification guide |
| 7 | A specific demand | A refund in figures, or completion of the service, with a deadline |
Two structural facts shape the whole demand. First, only a registered Real Estate Agent (REA) or a Registered Estate Negotiator (REN) working under one may charge an estate-agency fee — registration is checkable on the Board's public register at lpeph.gov.my, and an unregistered collector is a different and more serious problem. Second, the regulator is LPEPH — the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP in English, the same statutory body) — constituted under the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act 1981.
What goes in the forwardable demand letter?
Send this after the package is assembled. Fill the [brackets], attach the documents, keep it factual.
Subject: Service demand — [Agency name] — [Property address] — engagement dated [date]
Dear [Agent name / Agency principal],
I engaged [Agency name] on [date] for the letting of [Property address], and paid [amount] on [date] per your invoice [number], of which [amount] was stated as service tax. The agreed scope was [scope from the engagement letter, e.g. tenant sourcing, viewings, tenancy signing].
As at [date], the following has not been delivered: [itemise — no listing published / no viewings conducted / no tenant introduced / no renewal negotiated]. My follow-ups on [dates] received [no response / the responses quoted].
Please provide within [X] days: (1) your written record of services performed under the engagement, including listing references, viewing dates and reports; (2) confirmation of the REN/REA registration number under which this engagement ran, for verification against the LPEPH register; (3) [a refund of [amount] for the undelivered scope / completion of the agreed services by [date]].
Failing which I will pursue the matter further, including through the LPEPH complaints process and my legal remedies.
[Name], [Contact number]
One letter, one deadline, one thread. Escalation that starts scattered stays ignored.
Where a complaint actually lands — and what it gets you
Two separate avenues, often confused: the regulator's disciplinary process, and the civil courts for money. Knowing which does which is the difference between a resolved file and a vented one.
- LPEPH disciplinary complaint. A complaint to the Board about a registered agent or negotiator is a disciplinary avenue: it can investigate and sanction the practitioner. It does not award monetary compensation to the complainant — it is not a refund mechanism.
- Civil claim for the money. For recovery of a disputed fee, the pathway is the ordinary civil courts: the Magistrates' Court for claims up to RM100,000, the Sessions Court for larger claims up to RM1,000,000. The Homebuyer Tribunal is not the venue — it hears developer-buyer SPA disputes only and cannot adjudicate rental agent fee disputes.
In practice the two run together well: the demand letter names both, the disciplinary complaint establishes the record, and the civil claim recovers the money where the demand fails. The demand letter above already sets that up.
The alternative — what does the same month of rent buy?
If the placement fee is already sunk, the decision worth making is about the next tenancy — and the comparison is one month of rent either way.
A placement commission is one event: it ends at signing, and every risk after that — skipped rent, damage, overstay — lands on you. SPEEDHOME's Protect plan is priced at the same scale, one month of rent (taken as a rent-free period rather than a separate invoice), and runs through the tenancy as managed protection: scheduled payouts when rent is late, contents protection and eviction support, within the plan's terms and limits. Protect+ is priced at 1.5 months of rent with higher caps. The full terms live on the SPEEDHOME landlord plans page — this page does not restate them.
The routing rule from the plan chooser is blunt: if you came through an agent channel, land on Protect, not Standard — paying a placement commission and a tools-only subscription means paying twice and still carrying every loss yourself. And if the agent experience has pushed you off agents entirely, the renting-out-without-an-agent guide covers the paperwork you would take back directly.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get my money back through LPEPH?
No. A complaint to LPEPH (the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers — BOVAEP in English) is a disciplinary avenue: it can act against the practitioner's registration. It does not award compensation to complainants. Money back comes from the demand, or from a civil claim — Magistrates' Court up to RM100,000, Sessions Court up to RM1,000,000.
The invoice just says "fee + SST". Is that valid?
Check it before treating it as valid: service tax is charged by a taxable person for taxable services, and a proper invoice states the taxable service clearly and carries the provider's SST registration. Ask the agency for the registration number and the current rate applied — rates have moved between Budget cycles, and the agent-fee norms pages keep the confirm-before-paying rule.
The agent says the tenant "changed their mind". Do I still owe the fee?
It depends on what the engagement letter says the fee is triggered by — listing, introduction, or signed tenancy. If the trigger was a signed tenancy and none was signed, the demand letter itemises exactly that. If a tenant was introduced and you declined, the fee position is the engagement letter's again — this is why the scope letter is item one of the package.
How do I check the agent is even registered?
The LPEPH public register at lpeph.gov.my lists registered estate agents and registered estate negotiators; the REN verification guide walks through reading it. Verify before relying on the agent's authority or paying fees — and treat "not on the register" as a different problem from a service dispute.