ESTATE agents are backing calls for the industry to be licensed to root out those who give them a bad name.

The call came after yesterday's announcement that estate agents are to face a year-long investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.

The inquiry has been prompted by a surge in complaints over practices used by estate agents in the wake of the property boom.

They include complaints of high fees, unfair selling techniques and allegations that firms offer better terms to buyers who use the company's mortgage advisors.

The practice of gazumping - where a vendor accepts a higher price even after an offer has been accepted - is also expected to form part of the inquiry.

As the law stands, there is no barrier on who can work as an estate agent.

The only controls are under the Estate Agents Act, which has seen 265 agents banned from practising since1982.

Agents in the North-East said they would be happy for the profession to be licensed and welcomed the inquiry.

Paul Reynolds, chairman of the North-East branch of the National Association of Estate Agents, said: "I would like to see all estate agents licensed. It would mean that if you didn't do your job properly, and you were dishonest, it could be taken away."

He said the majority of complaints were to do with letting, not selling, houses and that gazumping was down to one thing - greed on the part of the vendor.

He said: "If anything, I've seen our fees drop in the past 12 months because the demand for houses now is so fierce that you find there is fee cutting going on."

Lee Smurthwaite, director of estate agents Stuart Edwards, in Darlington, said: "If you had clearly-defined procedures with a Government ombudsman who had some teeth, it would root out the one or two bad apples."