Some 617 home buyers complained to The Property Ombudsman (TPO) last year over missing or inaccurate material information, shedding light on the problem that the Government says is one of they key reasons why transactions fall through.

TPO has welcomed the recent reforms proposed by Labour within its two consultations now out for comment from industry and public alike and in particular says it wants to see clarification on exactly what vendors and their agents should be providing to potential buyers prior to making an offer.

Material information remains up in the air after this year’s furore during which previous guidance on material information, which was based on Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations published in 2008, was subsequently replaced by the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

Since this change, there is no established list of information that must be disclosed in a property listing.

“We welcome any moves to make such an important and complex transaction clearer for consumers,” says Property Ombudsman Lesley Horton (main image).

Clear guidance

“Speaking to businesses, the industry is also supportive of clear guidance which is explicit about what information agents and sellers must disclose.

“Our casework shows that hundreds of buyers and sellers are falling foul of inconsistent practice every year, resulting in added costs and aborted sales.”

TPO has broken down the material information cases, which reveal that written information was the most common reason for the complaint, followed by verbal comments and images with missing or inaccurate leasehold information a key topic.