of Robinson & Jackson Estate Agencies explains why all estate agents are getting ready to sign on the dotted line.

A friend of mine who is not an estate agent but runs a small specialist shop has a toy hand grenade on his counter with a sign saying "for complaints department please pull pin".

This cynical though amusing arrogance is easy for independent traders but not for larger or more professional operations who have some form of senior command to answer to and have learned to disrespect their customers at their peril.

The estate agency world is increasingly sensitive of it’s huge power and responsibility and lack of controls, and although the vast majority of us are honest, ethical and hard working (and really nice people) we now have to demonstrate this.

That’s why from May all estate agents who are members of the National Association have signed up to the Ombudsman for Estate Agents to let him sit in judgement in the surprisingly few complaints which are unresolved.

With our archaic and chaotic conveyancing system moving home, even without problems, can be a traumatic time and problems are sometimes unavoidable so complaints about estate agents are bound to happen, however infrequently or undeserved.

The recent BBC TV documentary Whistleblower damaged the public’s perception of estate agents and has highlighted the need for licensing but it is the advent of Home Information Packs in June next year which will force pretty well all estate agents good, bad and ugly to, join some form of 'redress scheme' of which the ombudsman is the only current credible choice, and operate in a more professional way.

Big demands are soon to be put on estate agency for which few agents are ready and many will not be able, or inclined, to cope with. It is widely forecast there will be fewer people moving house for a while after June next year so incomes too will suffer.

Like rogue builders, plumbers and even doctors there are some dodgy estate agents out there. Increased regulation will weed most out but these additional controls and bureaucracies will need to be paid for, inevitably by higher fees for the homeowner who is somewhat cushioned by ever increasing values - in contrast to the poor first-time buyer who is the only loser in the property cycle but may benefit from the shift of pre-contract expenses to the sellers.

* Ron Kennor is general manager of Robinson & Jackson Estate Agencies and a member of the National Association of Estate Agents.