Complaints about property agents rose 55% this year

A complaint to a redress scheme is a formal dispute raised by a consumer against an agent, decided by an independent ombudsman rather than a court. The figures published on 4 August 2026 show the volume of those complaints climbing sharply.

What did the new figures actually say?

The Property Ombudsman reported a 55% increase in complaints in the first half of 2026 compared with the first half of 2025. It announced the figure alongside a new online portal for member agencies, built to handle the extra caseload.

With demand for our service increasing significantly, this portal is an important step in making support simpler, faster and more accessible for members. Lesley Horton, Chief Property Ombudsman, 4 August 2026.

Why are complaints rising now?

Three things happened at once, and none of them is a story about agents getting worse at their jobs.

• Sales got longer. The average time from offer accepted to exchange of contracts reached 104 days in April 2026, the first April on record above 100 days, according to Connells Group research published on 11 May 2026.
• Sales got more fragile. 37% of sales agreed in 2025 never reached completion, and 23% of those collapses came more than three months after the sale was agreed, up from 18% in 2019.
• Sellers got more informed. Greater awareness of consumer rights, housing reform, and readily available help in writing a submission have all made people more willing to raise a formal complaint rather than absorb the frustration.

A sale that runs for seven months has far more points at which a phone call gets missed, an update goes unsent, or an expectation goes unmanaged. Volume of complaints tracks length of transaction more closely than it tracks quality of service.

What does the market behind these numbers look like?

More homes on the market and slightly slower price growth means each sale takes more work to hold together. That pressure lands on the agent and on the seller at the same time.

What can a seller actually complain about?

Redress covers how an agent behaved, not whether you liked the outcome. A disappointing sale price is not a complaint. A failure to pass on an offer, an unexplained fee, or weeks of silence is.

• Offers that were never passed on to you.
• Fees or contract terms that were not made clear before you signed.
• Marketing that was promised and never delivered.
• Long periods with no contact and no answer to direct questions.
• Poor handling of your personal information.

Every estate agent in the UK must be a member of a government-approved redress scheme in order to trade. Raising a complaint through that scheme costs the consumer nothing.

How do I protect myself before there is anything to complain about?

The seller with a clear record has a short complaint. The seller relying on memory has a long one.

1. Get the fee, the tie-in period, and the notice period in writing before you sign anything.
2. Ask for viewing feedback and offers to come to you by email, so there is a dated record of both.
3. Keep every valuation you were given, including the ones you turned down.
4. Put questions in writing when a sale goes quiet, and note the date you asked.
5. Raise a concern with the agency in writing first. A redress scheme will normally ask you to give the agent a chance to put it right before it takes the case.

Does this mean agents are getting worse?

The figures do not support that reading. Complaint volumes rose in a year when transactions ran longer, stock hit a ten-year high, and consumers became more aware of the redress route open to them.

Most complaints are about communication rather than competence. The agents who come through a slow market well are the ones who tell a seller what is happening before the seller has to ask.

This is where the choice of agent at the start does most of the work. ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents, so a seller can compare valuation, fee and strategy on one screen before speaking to anyone. An agent who wins on merit has a reason to keep the seller informed.