Material information to be included in property listings
The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team, being the Trading Standards body dealing with Estate Agents, have specified that from May 2022 there will be new requirements for certain material information to be included on property listings. Material information, such as, a property’s council tax band or rate, the property price and tenure information must be included on all property listings. This is the first stage of a three-phase project by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (“NTSEALT”).
Part A includes information that is material for all properties, regardless of location. Two further phases to be introduced at a future date, known as Part B and Part C, will deal with other material information for specific factors such as restrictive covenants and flood risks. A full list of the Part A material information is available on the National Trading Standards website. The website also sets out the type of information to be included in Parts B and C.
This has been developed as a way of defining what constitutes material information, and therefore clarifies what information must be disclosed when advertising a property. The National Trading Standards require material information to be compulsory for property listings, once all three phases have been developed. At this point, agents must fulfil their obligation of including all mandatory information on a property listing, before it is marketed to consumers.
If any of the material information is not included on a property listing, this will be identified on the listing so that potential consumers are aware of what information has not been provided. They will then be linked to advice regarding why this information is important and how they can obtain such information.
We would advise all agents to start including all material information, set out in Part A, on their property listings to ensure that they are fulfilling their legal obligations.
Published 31 March 2022
