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New ‘material information’ portal rules – industry reaction

Read the views of the key players in the industry and government about the latest initiative to give buyers and tenants more information up-front before they transact.

Nigel Lewis

The National Trading Standards Estate Lettings has today revealed the first phase of its initiative to compel estate agents to reveal key material information about a sales or lettings property via its property portal listings.

NTSELAT boss James Munro (main pic) says the rules will initially include the basics and be ‘required’ but later cover a much wide range of information and become mandatory, with plans to make it a legal requirement.

Industry reaction

Link to Trade Organisations featureDavid Cox (pictured) , Rightmove’s Legal and Compliance Director, says: “It’s been really encouraging to see that more than 80% of all property listings on Rightmove now include the tenure of a property; up from 70% last year before we started to encourage more agents to add this information to help with National Trading Standard’s initiative.

“We hope that having an industry-agreed official list of material information will better help agents know exactly all the info they need to add when they’re advertising properties.”

Link to Redress Scheme newsSean Hooker (pictured), Head of Redress at The Property Redress Scheme, says: “This is great news for the consumer and will lead to a much more transparent and consistent way of introducing properties to the market.

“It will also give clarity and assurance to agents that they are doing the right thing, will set the ground rules on what is expected and avoid the consequences of not providing a good level of information.

“Fewer complaints, faster transactions, happier customers, what is not to like?”

Link to The Property OmbudsmanRebecca Marsh (pictured), Ombudsman at The Property Ombudsman, said:

“This is a positive start along a path that will eventually see full disclosure of material information embedded not only in the ways agents conduct their business but importantly in how properties are presented on the portals.

“By providing more vital information at the point a consumer first becomes aware of a property, the less likely transactions are to fail, leading higher consumer trust and confidence in the sector.”

Theresa Wallace (pictured), Chair of The Lettings Industry Council, says: “The material information project is a crucial piece of work to ensure that consumers looking at buying or renting property can make an informed decision earlier in the process.

“This will be a big change for the industry who have come together to support this initiative and The Lettings Industry Council felt it was important to be a part of a project that can have a real benefit for consumers.”

nathan emerson tenant referencingNathan Emerson (pictured) Chief Executive Officer of trade group Propertymark, adds: “Being able to provide transparent material information upfront is essential to helping all parties in the home buying and selling process make informed decisions.”

“This means that consumers have a better knowledge, making the process easier, reducing fall through rates and allowing the agents and conveyancers to be more proactive and efficient.”

carroll ricsMairead Carroll (pictured), Senior Specialist, Land & Property Standards at RICS, says: “Providing more upfront and transparent data between market participants across the whole buying, selling and conveyancing process, coupled with a home survey, means buyers are able to make more informed offers, reducing the time taken for a sale to complete and avoiding unnecessary costs for all involved.

“There may be concerns over storing this much data but by using RICS standards, property data can be captured for a range of due diligence purposes, whether that’s to check the flood risk of a property, energy performance risks and opportunities, or whether to find out if there is a right of access to consider.

“The information is protected and can support governance, privacy and ethical considerations.”

erroll maxwell propertypalErrol Maxwell, (pictured) Managing Director of Irish portal Propertypal, says: “We realise the important role we play in supporting customers on their journey to find a new home.

“That’s why we’re right behind NTSELAT’s efforts to ensure consumers are provided with the material information they need to ensure their property search runs smoothly.”

simon jones cmaSimon Jones, (pictured) Director of Consumer Protection at the CMA says: “It’s important that people are fully aware of the annual costs of owning a home before they buy.

“The CMA’s leasehold investigation identified that clearer up-front information is needed when properties are sold and today’s announcement is a positive step in that direction.”

OnTheMarket says: “We are already working on ways to enhance the properties on our site with more material information and we share the view that more transparency throughout a property transaction could lead to a smoother process for estate agents, buyers and sellers.”

Link to Conveyancing featureBryan Mansell, (pictured) CEO of Gazeal, says: “We at Gazeal have been providing transparent property information services for estate agents to use for the last 24 months.

“We are delighted that various industry bodies are now coming together to bring long-overdue change to the provision of key information, vital to help home movers make informed educated decisions about property. Our hope is that all estate agents and conveyancers embrace this positive move and together bring a much-needed element of trust into the moving process.”

 

February 21, 2022

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