Complaints about estate agents

Complaints about breaches of the Estate Agents Act

If you have a specific complaint that an estate agent has breached the Estate Agents Act please e-mail roger.young@oft.gsi.gov.uk, who is head of the team that investigates these allegations or write to him at:

Office of Fair Trading
2-6 Salisbury Square
London EC4Y 8JX.

Please note that the Estate Agents Act 1979 and its associated legislation does not cover:

• gazumping
• gazundering 
• property renting
• contractual matters
• quality of service issues
• valuations
• overseas property transactions.

However, the legislation does require an estate agent:

• to declare any personal interest that he or a connected person may have to a buyer or a seller ('connected person' means an employer, employee, wife, husband, brother, sister etc and includes partnerships and companies)
• to set out his terms and conditions clearly in writing (it does not have to be in the form of a contract) before his client is contractually obligated
• to treat prospective buyers fairly by not discriminating against them because they do not want to take any services from the agent eg arranging a mortgage, insurance cover
• to forward all offers promptly and in writing to the seller, unless the seller has indicated that there are some offers that he does not want to receive
• to provide his client with a list of all services offered to a buyer
• to be honest as far as offers and prospective purchasers are concerned ie not to misrepresent the details/existence of any offer or the existence/status of any purchaser
• to belong to an approved estate agents redress scheme. 

Complaints and enquiries about individual disputes

If you would like advice on your individual dispute, you should contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or visit the Consumer Direct website.

You can also refer complaints about estate agents to your local trading standards department.

From 1 October 2008, all estate agents engaging in residential estate agency work must belong to a redress scheme approved by the OFT. This means that actual and potential buyers and sellers of residential property with complaints about estate agency work will be able to use a free, easily accessible, and fair estate agents redress scheme, which will have the power to make a range of awards, including requiring a member to pay compensation.

There are currently two approved schemes, operated by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents and the Surveyors Ombudsman Service Ltd. See more information on the redress schemes.

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