One in four estate agents has lied to homebuyers about properties or failed to comply with consumer protection laws, an investigation has revealed.

Just under a quarter (24 per cent) of agents were guilty of not “complying with the relevant regulations”. They included claiming that a home had gas central heating when it did not or altering photographs to remove eyesores such as pylons, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) found.

Officers from the watchdog visited estate agents between February and September this year and found many examples of property misdescriptions, such as stating that a home had views over open countryside when there was a cement works nearby.

Many also failed to meet regulations because they were not signed up to redress schemes introduced by the OFT in October last year.

The OFT, which will publish the full results in January, said that 44 per cent of complaints about agents related to infringements in consumer protection law, with a further 21 per cent concerning disputes over terms and conditions and 13 per cent about Home Information Packs.

Other disputes involved “fly boarding”, where agents put “for sale” or “sold” boards up against properties that are not on the market; failure to pass on offers to sellers and incorrect valuations. The study found that one in five buyers had experienced a sale falling through, with gazumping — where another buyer puts in a higher offer than the one accepted — being “the most common reason” for failure.

The OFT said that it had published its headline figures before the full report, amid concern that the industry did not have its own mandatory regulatory body. There are calls for a licensing group for estate agents that would allow customers to check on their credentials, as well as a mandatory code of conduct for agents.

Heather Clayton, senior director of infrastructure at the OFT, said: “Our final report will look at how new ways of buying and selling a home may develop in future, whether there is scope to improve consumer protection enforcement, consumer awareness of potential pitfalls and ancillary services sold by estate agents.”

Despite the findings, the OFT said that customer satisfaction with estate agents had improved to 88 per cent of all buyers and sellers, up from 72 per cent of buyers and 74 per cent of sellers five years ago. The majority of complaints related to the buyer or seller rather than the agent.

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