National Trading Standards update Material Information
The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) has produced new guidance for property agents to help you identify and disclose this information on residential property listings.
Material information is not a new requirement that our guidance is introducing, it is found in Regulation 6 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).
The CPRs made it a criminal offence for businesses (including estate and letting agents) to omit or hide “material information” that might change the transactional decision of an average consumer. Any information provided in a residential property listing must be accurate and truthful, not hidden, and not misleading. The “transactional decision” includes deciding to enquire further, to view, or to purchase/rent a property. The term “average consumer” refers to someone who is reasonably well informed, reasonably observant, and circumspect.
April Fool's Day - Deadline for Key Legislative Change
1st April is a day for Fools, a day of practical jokes and hoaxes. April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on them.
Of late it appears that the Government feel this day is significant and has bought Legislation into force on the 1st April, no pun intended we hope.
Client Money Protection (CMP)
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced powers allowing the Government to bring in legislation making membership of an approved or designated CMP scheme mandatory and in 2018, the Government announced regulations that would require all letting agents in England to belong to an approved CMP scheme by 1 April 2019. The deadline for the regulations was then extended to 1st April 2021.
What does this mean?
By 1st April 2021, all Letting Agents in England must be able to prove they have CMP in place. The approved providers of CMP have been in place for almost 2 years and therefore, there should be no surprise that this is a mandatory requirement. It is also important to remember, regardless of whether working from home or not, that the transparency rules relating CMP must also be adhered to.
Tenant Fee Ban Transitionary Period to End
It seems as though only yesterday letting agents in England were preparing for the abolition of tenant fees. Fast forward 12 months and from the 1st June 2020 the “transitionary period” will have come to an end. This means any fee that was taken in advance on a pre-existing tenancy (pre-1st June 2019) or within a renewal, will be deemed a "Prohibited Payment". This includes but is not limited to check-out fees which had been taken in advance at the beginning of a tenancy.