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The regulator said it had reviewed a selection of mortgage contracts to assess whether lenders were properly interpreting its January 2007 statement of good practice on mortgage exit administration fees.

In a statement, the FSA said: "We found about a third of the sampled firms have terms in their mortgage contracts that allow them to vary their charges which, in our view, does not comply with the law and principles set out in the statement and so may be unfair."

As a result the FSA said it was writing to those firms in the sample whose mortgage contracts contain terms that, in its view, are unfair.

The FSA said: "We expect them to amend or delete the terms in new contracts and not rely on them in contracts with existing customers. If necessary, we will take further regulatory action.

"We will continue to monitor closely whether firms' terms comply with the law and principles set out in the statement.

"Should it come to our attention that a firm's terms do not comply, we will consider the extent of the breach and what appropriate regulatory action to take.

"This may include, if sufficiently serious, enforcement or court action."