The government has once again decided not to legislate against the 8,000 or so unregulated estate agents operating in the UK, despite the fact that they handle £12bn a year in rents, drawn from property assets worth in the region of £250m, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

ARLA are disappointed at the governments failure to introduce any form of control, as they have been urging the government to license all agents for some years now.

Adrian Turner of ARLA says: "This is a lost opportunity to protect the consumer in that part of the private rented sector where the professional bodies cannot reach.

"We only control our own members and they are less than half the total number of agents out there."

He adds: "We are very disappointed that there has been no attempt to introduce licensing or independent redress for all letting agents in this new latest Consumer Bill. Once again, government has abdicated all responsibility to the professional bodies. This leaves them unsupported as the sole guardians of standards throughout the private rented sector."