A housing agent wipes a billboard at an agency. The municipal government has issued a circular demanding all the property agecies to clearly show their charges to customers. Wang Jing / China Daily

Agencies selling secondhand properties must display their credentials and provide a list of charges and copies of legal contracts in their shops, as the government works to curb cheating in secondhand property transactions.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Tuesday issued an alert to consumers on the new requirements.

"The alert is aimed at making the real estate market transparent and the duties of the agencies clear," the commission said on its website.

The commission also asked housing authorities at the municipal and district levels to make regular spot checks, beginning April 1, to ensure the rules are followed.

The 10 items include the business license, headquarters address of the agency, service procedures, agents' certificates, charge details and a contact phone number for complaints.

The commission also reminded buyers of secondhand homes to be cautious about six widespread tricks of the agencies, such as fake contracts and repetitive charges.

The Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court in December said lawsuits related to secondhand property agencies have been rising since 2002.

The court handled only three such cases in 2002, but the number rose to 243 in 2008 and 265 in the first 11 months of 2009.

"One small agent sold one apartment to 30 buyers at the same time illegally and fled with the millions the buyers had paid," said Shao Bao, a sales director in 5i5j real estate agency.

"The regulation will not stop the rise of property prices, but can regulate the market," Shao added.

"The government announced some of the requirements earlier and our branch store has posted the related documents on the wall since we started our business," said Tian Kun, sales manager of the Jingchengguangsha real estate agency. "It is just a policy to reinforce the regulations.

"However, as far as I know, only 20 to 30 percent of the real estate agents in Beijing have professional certificates because the rules were not strict before," he said.

"Releasing the policy before the coming International Day for Protecting Consumers' Rights will have some positive effect for consumers," said Zhang Yue, a market researcher at Homelink agency. "They need more guidance on how to protect their own rights, especially on big purchases like houses and apartments."

Wu Jing, a lawyer who specializes in housing disputes, said her firm's latest case involves misdeeds by a real estate agency. Such incidents are making up a larger portion of her caseload. "It is good news that the government has begun to pay attention to the market, but without any detailed regulations on the corresponding punishment, I doubt the efficacy of the policy," said Wu. "It will be difficult to implement."