"A WORRYING number" of people do not check if their estate or letting agent is regulated before signing contracts, says industry body Propertymark.

According to new research, more than half of Brits (54 per cent) who have bought, sold or rented a property in the last five years have faced issues.

Some 37 per cent of buyers and sellers, and 42 per cent of renters, did not consider whether their agent was part of a professional body such as Propertymark before progressing with their transaction.

Propertymark comprises ARLA Propertymark (the Association of Residential Letting Agents) and NAEA Propertymark (the National Association of Estate Agents)

For 42 per cent of renters it didn’t cross their mind to ask; and one in six (14 per cent) wrongly assumed all agents were regulated.

Of the 55 per cent who faced issues with their property, more than half (57 per cent) had not checked if their agent or landlord was indeed covered, leading to issues such as:

- waiting a long time for any issues with the property to be fixed (38 per cent)

- struggling to get old items replaced (20 per cent)

- not getting their full deposits back and not being given a reason why (12 per cent).

Less than half (47 per cent) of buyers or sellers checked if their estate agent was regulated before moving ahead with the sale or purchase. One third (37 per cent) did not think about it, while 14 per cent prioritised the property and went with the agent because they were attached to the home they wanted to buy.

Propertymark is advising consumers to look for the Propertymark Protected logo when choosing an agent.