Almost every home-owner in Britain has engaged the services of an estate agent at some time or other, and – perhaps surprisingly - surveys show that the vast majority of us have been happy with the service we have received. On the other hand, other surveys – looking at such things as the perception of trustworthiness among the profession – usually put estate agents at the bottom of the pile, along with politicians and journalists.

So what’s the truth? Few of us come into contact with politicians and journalists at all, but we do need estate agents, and do so when we are undertaking a very important and financially critical transaction – buying or selling our home. The question is simple; can we put our faith in estate agents?

The simple answer is ‘yes’, especially if you make one or two simple checks. Firstly, there is no substitute for reputation. A well–established agency which has served a community for a long time and has ‘a good name’ is likely to be one that you can trust. Asking your friends and neighbours about their experience, both as buyers and sellers, will always be helpful.

So far as controls over the profession are concerned, agents who are affiliated to the long established and well respected Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, will have been trained in accordance with the RICS’s rules. They will then operate throughout their working lives in accordance with the Institution’s rules, and failure to do so will mean losing their status with the Institution – and almost certainly losing their jobs.

The RICS publishes what is known in the profession as ‘The Blue Book’, the bible of professional standards. It is completely unambiguous and it tells an agent exactly what is acceptable and unacceptable under the law, and what, beyond that, is good practice. There are no grey areas, and there is no way that an estate agent associated to the RICS can be in ignorance of the rules.

As Michael Fiddes of property specialists Strutt & Parker points out, the first thing to do is check that the firm of agents you propose to use is a member of the RICS. ‘No reputable estate agent will be offended by you asking if their firm is a member, or if she/he has the industry standard qualifications. In fact, the status of any estate agent can be checked quickly and easily at the RICS web site, www.rics.org. On that site you can also find the list of free publications published by the Institution, covering everything from buying a home to dealing with subsidence.’

There is a second professional association, The National Association of Estate Agents. The NAEA has 10,000 members and is ‘committed to raising professional standards, across all aspects of the property market for the benefit of member agents, and ultimately the home moving public’. The NAEA does not train, and though it has a code of practice it is not a regulatory body in the way that the RICS is. Its web address is www.naea.co.uk.

The legislation which governs estate agents is very straightforward, as Fiddes explains, ‘All agents are covered by the Estate Agents Act of 1979, and the subsequent Property Misdescriptions Act, which came into force sixteen years ago. Taken together these are very comprehensive, and cover all aspects of estate agency practice, for both private and commercial purchases and sales.

‘The Estate Agents Act dictates the form that contracts should take, defines terms such as Sole Selling Rights, Sole Agency, Joint Agency and Multiple Agency, and lays down rules for activities such as offering mortgages and other financial services, and even the procedure for putting offers to clients.

‘The Act was very carefully drafted and has stood the test of time. The Property Misdescriptions Act tied up some loose ends and brought the ’79 Act up to date. That is far more onerous and even governs the accuracy of room measurements and how things such as central heating or the views from the property can be described.’

Fiddes points out that an agent breaks the law at his or her peril; ‘These laws are used, and there have been prosecutions – which have left estate agents with criminal records … though by that time they have inevitably become ex-estate agents.

It takes a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors a minimum of two years’ post graduation study to become qualified. An estate agent who has qualified or works for a firm associated to the RICS will have studied the law and will understand the implications of breaking it. Firms such as Strutt & Parker, that have been in existence for over a hundred and twenty years and have built their business by providing good, honest advice, have created a reputation that precedes them.

So, yes, you can put your faith in the - right – estate agent.