Northern Ireland's estate agents are legally required to join one of three Government-authorised consumer redress schemes, or they face fines and possibly being closed down by Trading Standards.

The warning comes from Sean Hooker, the Head of Redress at the Property Redress Scheme, which was recently approved to offer consumer redress to the UK's estate agents, as well as letting and property management agents.

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He said: "One of the main benefits of the schemes is that they are designed to keep complaints out of the courts, so resolution is faster and cheaper.

"The Property Redress Scheme has two membership options for the convenience of the agent: a low priced Entry model, which includes a fee for dealing with complaints, and an Enhanced model which includes any complaints received against the agent."

Research conducted by the Property Redress Scheme suggests that nearly 50 percent of estate agents in Northern Ireland are not complying with the law by joining a consumer redress scheme.