A new set of rules governing property sales listing and advertisements in the UK will be rolled out from the end of May this year. Brought about by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team, the changes will make it compulsory for all property sales listings to include a set of details to increase transparency amongst buyers.
The council tax band/rate for a property, as well as the house price and tenure information are a few examples of the material information property listings will have to include. Portals such as Zoopla and Rightmove will be adding these fields to comply with the new rules, over the next few weeks.
This is only part one of three phases of information disclosure, which will eventually include additional material information, such as restrictive covenants and flood risk information – which usually isn’t made available to buyers until further down the line.
Part a includes in “information that, regardless of outcome, is always considered material for all properties regardless of location. This information generally involves unavoidable costs that will be incurred by the occupier regardless of the use of the property,” such as leasehold and freehold status.
The second phase, part b will apply to all properties, including things like utilities, as well as non-standard features. The last phase, part c will include information that may or may not need to be established. Clearer guidelines are set to be released, as the rollout is implemented.
It is thought that these measures ccan help to improve property sales, by providing useful information that could better inform a prospective buyer’s decision when they embark on their property search. This could save time for both buyers and agents in the long run, leading to fewer complaints and faster transactions.
