Revised guidance published on terms used in property advertising
15th August 2023 • Published by the National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team
Revised guidance has been published by the National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team with regard to supplementary terms used when marketing properties.
The guidance now includes terms relating to lettings and has been developed in consultation with industry stakeholders. Please see the revised guidance here.
The guidance has been updated to provide clarity and consistency for agents and consumers and improve standards across the industry.
‘Price on application’ in property listings deemed unlawful
National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) has today published its opinion*, developed with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), that the use of ‘POA’ or ‘price on application’ in property listings (principally sales listings) contravenes consumer protection legislation.
NTSELAT’s opinion is that the use of ‘POA’ or ‘price on application’ in relation to a listing on a property portal or an agent website is likely to be misleading as it withholds – or in some cases masks – the asking price from consumers. The property’s price is information which the average consumer needs in order to make an informed transactional decision, such as to make enquiries about the property, conduct further research or arrange a viewing.
Improving the Disclosure of Material Information for Property Listings
Project summary and list of material information for Part A
Overview
For many years the regulation of property advertisements was controlled by the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (PMA). The PMA was repealed in 2013 on the basis that the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 20081 (CPRs) provided similar protection for consumers in their dealings with property agents. Further information on how the CPRs apply to property sales and lettings can be found in the National Trading Standards ‘Guidance on Property Sales and Lettings’ .
To support businesses in the advertising and marketing of property, the National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team established a steering group made up of various industry stakeholders – redress schemes, property portals, government, and professional bodies representing agents. The group aims to improve the provision of material information in property listings, and part of this process involves creating a framework of information disclosure to help agents, software providers and property portals to comply with the legal requirements of the CPRs.
Material Information for Property Listings Announced
Yesterday, Trading Standards and the Government jointly announced compulsory new data which must appear on property listings.
A property's council tax band or rate (for lettings and sales) and the property price and tenure information (for sales) must be included on all property listings by the end of May.
The changes signify the first phase of a project by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) which defines exactly what constitutes ‘Material Information’ for property listings.
Part A of this three-phase project includes information that is considered “material” for ALL properties. A further two phases are being developed, which will incorporate further material information such as restrictive covenants, flood risk and other specific factors that may impact certain properties.
The property portals (Zoopla, Rightmove, Boomin, On the Market, etc. will start to implement “Data Fields” for this additional information over the next few weeks and if they are left empty by an agent, this will be flagged on the listing so consumers can see what information is missing.
This will link to advice on why that information is important and how it may be obtained.