A TOP York estate agent today blew the whistle on the "bad hats" of his own industry.

Kevin Hollinrake, senior partner of York-based Hunters, has called for better regulation and qualifications to screen out the estate agency con men.

His call to unite to target unscrupulous people who give his industry a bad name comes in the wake of Tuesday night's BBC Whistleblower series.

Its reporters, Anna Adams and Emma Clarke, went undercover to expose London estate agents who were lying to customers, forging signatures and taking backhanders.

Mr Hollinrake said: "There is no doubt that many estate agents are seen as conmen, and that's why Hunters totally believes that the industry desperately needs better regulation and it's about time the Government sat up and took note.

"If Whistleblower and programmes like it offer more ammunition to the campaign for regulation then I am all in favour."

He said while US estate agents required qualifications, that was not the case in the UK. "So, perhaps one question prospective sellers should ask is not how much can you get for my home, but what makes you qualified to sell it for me?"

Hunters, he said, had been lobbying the Home Sale Network and The National Association Of Estate Agents to work with the Government to better regulate the industry and effectively remove the cowboys that gave his sector a bad name.

The Whistleblower investigation could finally have that impact. He said: "Hunters Property Group has embarked on creating more than 30 internal training courses that train our staff on how to tackle selling situations, as well as covering all important ethical issues.

"As almost 85 per cent of our work is repeat business we feel this is a step in the right direction."

He wholly welcomed the Home Information Pack, (HIP) known generally as housing logbooks, that are set to shake up the home buyers' market from June next year. His was one of the first UK estate agencies to trial the new packs, which whittled falls in sales by more than 80 per cent.

"The trial has been a real revelation to us. We've found by providing key information at the start of the process everyone benefits. Sales go through faster, less sales fall through, and the vendor and purchaser have more confidence in the process and what they're buying."

But this was only one small step in sorting out what had become a muddied profession and he called for a sector watchdog to ensure "that all those acting within the industry are doing so not only within the law but to a strict code of ethics".

Updated: 09:59 Friday, March 24, 2006