Estate agents should be overseen by a new independent regulator, a government-backed inquiry has recommended.
The working group also called for mandatory qualifications for estate agents, a code of practice and transparency over charges.
Complaints about the sector have been rising and a survey by Ipsos Mori found last year that more than two thirds of the public don’t trust estate agents. The Property Ombudsman, a public redress scheme, received a record 29,000 enquiries last year, up 22 per cent on the previous year.
