Estate and Letting agents already have a legal duty under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008) not to withhold material information from consumers. Material information is that which a consumer might reasonably rely upon to influence any decision to rent, let, buy or sell a property.
The National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) wants all material information to be mandatory on property listings and has worked with industry stakeholders to establish what constitutes material information.
NTSELAT has now released comprehensive new guidance covering all three phases of its work, which aims to improve and standardise disclosures in property listings.
PART A: Announced February 2022 and largely implemented already
Covers information which is considered essential for all properties, such as:
- Council tax band/ rate
- Property price or rent
- Tenure information (sales)
- Details of deposit(s) payable (lettings)
PART B: Announced in November 2023, to be implemented now that Part A is complete.
Covers information that must be displayed for all properties, such as:
- Physical characteristics of the property, including property type and construction
- Number and type of rooms, including measurements
- Utilities information, including how services are supplied
- Parking arrangements
PART C: Announced November 2023, to be implemented now that Part A is complete.
Covers information which must only be included if the property is affected by the issue, such as:
- Building safety, including unsafe cladding, asbestos, risk of collapse
- Restrictions, including conservation area, listed building status, tree preservation orders
- Rights and easements, including public rights of way, shared drives
- Flood or coastal erosion risk
- Planning permissions, for the property itself as well as the immediate locality
- Accessibility adaptations, including step-free access, wet rooms
- Coalfield or mining area
