The estate agency, Foxtons, had until 29 January 2010 to decide whether or not to appeal against a court order which ruled that its standard terms of business were unfair. The Office of Fair Trading had complained that certain charges within Foxtons' letting agreements were not made clear enough to landlords.

Foxtons has decided not to appeal the decision which has prompted the OFT to publish a copy of the court order which was made in December 2009. The estate agency has had to amend its terms of business accordingly.

"The OFT has indicated it will use the decision to put pressure on other letting agents who are relying on terms adjudged to be unfair by the Foxtons ruling," says James Woodhouse, a property litigation specialist with law firm, Charles Lucas & Marshall.

In its May 2009 ruling, the High Court had said that the charging of repeat renewal commission by Foxtons represented a 'trap' for consumers, because details were buried in the small print of contracts.

Under the agreements, landlords would be required to pay Foxtons commission - typically of around 11 per cent - when their tenants renewed their contracts, even without the involvement of the estate agent.

Landlords would also be expected to pay commission to Foxtons if they eventually sold their property to their tenants.

"Foxtons is prevented from relying on renewal commission terms which are not flagged up to clients at the outset," says James Woodhouse. "It can also not rely on terms which entitled them to charge commission in the event that the landlord sold the property to a third party where the tenant remained in occupation."

You can contact James on 01635 521212 or james.woodhouse@clmlaw.co.uk