THE Office of Fair Trade’s (OFT) report on estate agency is disappointing and offers nothing particularly new, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

David Tuffin, chairman of the RICS South East, said: “The OFT asked us and we told them - a minimum level of competency and compulsory licensing must be introduced for residential estate agents in order to ensure consumer protection and bring to an end unscrupulous practices. This is after all, the most expensive purchase an individual is likely to ever make.

“By leaving the door wide open to anyone to set up as an estate agent this report does the industry and the public no favours. When compulsory Home Information Packs are introduced in 2007 estate agents will have an even greater role to play. This was an excellent opportunity to clean up the industry and get rid of the cowboys. Unfortunately, the OFT has singularly failed to grasp the nettle.”

RICS will be watching closely to see how the Government responds to this report over the next 90 days.