Enquiries to The Property Ombudsman hit a record high in 2018, and consumers have been handed almost £2.2m after making formal complaints about property agents.

The service, which is one of three ombudsmen that handles property-related disputes, received 29,023 enquiries during the year, 22% more than in the previous 12 months.

Out of these enquiries, 4,246 progressed to become formal complaints, 16% more than in 2017.

Two-thirds of these complaints were upheld by the ombudsman, with property agents ordered to make a financial award in nearly 2,400 of the cases.

In a small minority of instances, agents were referred to the ombudsman’s Compliance Committee for possible expulsion from the scheme.

Katrine Sporle, Property Ombudsman, said: "2018 was an extremely busy year for The Property Ombudsman with increasing demand for the service."

However, she added: "This does not necessarily mean that agents’ standards are slipping, but rather that consumers are increasingly aware of their rights."

Why is this happening?

The boom in complaints was driven by dissatisfied landlords and tenants, with issues relating to lettings accounting for 2,450 of the total complaints handled.

A further 1,304 complaints related to sales, while 349 were about residential leasehold management.

The rental sector also accounted for the largest financial awards, with compensation averaging £845, compared with £604 for issues relating to sales and £497 for ones about leasehold management.

Who does it affect?

Within the letting sector, landlords were most likely to be dissatisfied with the service they received from property professionals, with 54% of complaints made by landlords and 42% made by tenants.

For the third year running, Greater London accounted for the highest volume of complaints at 20%, followed by the south east at 17% and the north west at 11%.

People were most likely to complain about communication and record keeping, with management, tenancy agreements and inventories and deposits also common areas of grievance.

On the sales side, 60% of complaints were made by people selling a property, with 34% made by those buying one.

Record keeping was the most common cause of complaint in this area as well, followed by marketing and advertising, and instructions, terms of business, commission or termination.

The south east saw the highest number of complaints against estate agents, accounting for 16% of the total, followed by Greater London and the north west at 11% and 9% respectively.

What’s the background?

The Government recently ran a consultation on creating a single ombudsman services for the property market.

The sector is unusual in that it has three different ombudsman schemes, not all of which cover all aspects of buying or renting a home.

Other ideas floated include setting up a New Homes Ombudsman who will handle disputes between homebuyers and housebuilders.

In August last year, the Ombudsman Service, which also handled property disputes withdrew its services, after saying it no longer wanted to offer a “broken solution to a broken market”.

Top 3 takeaways

• Consumers were handed nearly £2.2m in compensation in 2018 after making formal complaints about property professionals

• The service received 29,023 enquiries during the year, 22% more than in the previous 12 months

• Out of these enquiries, 4,246 went on to become formal complaints, 16% more than in 2017.

Homeowners are taking longer to repay their mortgages than before the financial crisis, despite putting down bigger deposits when they first buy a home.

In 2007, the average homeowner had netted at least 70% equity in their property by the time they were aged between 51 and 55. But today borrowers are waiting five years longer to reach this milestone.

Younger borrowers are also putting down bigger deposits than they were a decade earlier, according to insurer Royal London.

The typical 18 to 25-year-old put down 10% to 15% as a deposit last year, compared with just 5% to 10% for the same age group in 2007.

Despite this, by the time homeowners are aged between 26 and 30, they are typically sitting on an equity stake of just 15% to 25%, compared with one of 25% to 50% for the same age group in 2007.

Becky O’Connor, personal finance specialist at Royal London, said: "Moving up the housing equity ladder helps you to access better interest rates and makes homeownership more affordable.

"But as the age of first-time buyers has risen, families are having to wait until later in life before they make a serious dent in their mortgage and can benefit from lower rates."

Why is this happening?

Royal London attributed some of the difference in equity levels to more stringent affordability rules introduced for lenders since the financial crisis.

And changes to the rate at which house prices are rising has also had an impact.

Homeowners accrue equity in their properties faster during periods of high house price growth, but in the current subdued market their main means of increasing the proportion of their property that they own outright is through mortgage repayments.

Who does it affect?

Borrowers are typically aged between 36 and 40 before they have at least a 25% equity stake in their home.

And it is not until homeowners reach the 51 to 55 age bracket that they own at least 50% of their property.

The proportion of borrowers above the state pension age of 65 who need a loan of between 30% and 50% of their home’s value has been steadily increasing since the financial crisis.

Last year, 27% of 66 to 70-year-olds were in this position, compared to 21% in 2009.

What’s the background?

While owning a bigger share of their property might make homeowners feel good, there is a practical and financial side to having a large equity stake too – mortgage rates are typically lower for people who are borrowing a smaller percentage of their home’s value.

A best-buy two-year fixed rate mortgage for someone with only a 10% deposit or equity stake is 1.84%, but this falls to 1.54% for someone with a 40% stake.

As a result, annual repayments on a £200,000 mortgage are more than £350 a year cheaper, giving homeowners more money to play with if they want to make overpayments on their loan.

Top 3 takeaways

• Homeowners are taking longer to repay their mortgages than before the financial crisis

• In 2007, the average person owned 70% or more of their home by the time they were aged 51 to 55, but today borrowers are having to wait five years longer to reach this milestone

• Younger borrowers are also putting down bigger deposits than they were a decade earlier