Complaints about agents and surveyors to Ombudsman Services rose 40% in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year.

By the end of June, 514 complaints were being investigated, compared with 369 the year before.

The organisation also says that complaints made in July were the highest on record for a single month, at 140.

However, it is not clear whether the rise is just a function of the market or can be correlated to any rise in membership of Ombudsman Services.

Ombudsman Services was unable to answer our question yesterday on this – we asked for comparable membership numbers at the end of June this year and end of June last year – saying it could not supply the information.

Surveys and valuations accounted for 42% of all complaints, while bad experiences with managing agents also ranked highly in the first half of this year.

Chief ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: “With rising housing and rental costs hitting people’s pockets, it’s little surprise that people want value and quality service for their money.

“Buying a house is one of the biggest purchases most people will make during their lifetime so it’s understandable that they want the process to be as trouble-free as possible, but unfortunately that doesn’t always happen.

“It’s imperative that the sector takes this on board and improves the way it handles complaints.”