At least five estate agents have refused to take instructions on the sale of properties on an estate where tenants are under notice to quit.

The residents living on the Butterfields estate in Walthamstow, London, were formerly tenants of a charity called Glasspool, paying affordable rents.

However, Glasspool sold the properties to a private company and has told the tenants to quit.

They would struggle to find anywhere affordable to live locally, with Waltham Forest Council having 16,000 on its housing waiting list.

The agents who have turned away instructions to sell include, as already reported on EYE, Foxtons, plus haart, Strettons, Kings Group and Estates 17.

Their stance has won them plaudits from no less than the Mirror, which concludes its story: “Estate agents? Won’t hear a bad word about them.”