WITH estate agents topping the ongoing poll of public ‘hate figures’ on BBC’s Brassed Off Britain consumer programme, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published a good conduct guide for agents.

Billed as a ‘bible’ for agents, the RICS Manual of Estate Agency Law and Practice advises estate agents in the residential, rural and commercial fields how to conduct day-to-day business and offers guidance on best practice.

It details a code, The Residential Estate Agency Practice Statement, which chartered surveyor estate agents must adhere to.

RICS south east director, Trevor Hines said: “As the standard bearer of estate agency best practice, it is not only our duty to detail the strict code of conduct which our regulated members must adhere to, but also to produce a source of information for all practising estate agents in the hope that they will aspire to follow best practice. We believe this guide is a significant step in the right direction.

“This is a challenging time for estate agents, where the standing of the ethical and properly regulated sector is constantly being undermined by the endless stories of the unregulated cowboy element.”

By opting for a member of the RICS “you can have confidence that they will both understand and employ best practice and give consumers access to independent redress if anything goes wrong”.