‘Thousands of agents’ not complying with material info rules
More than 130,000 homes are currently advertised without the required material information, according to proptech firm Moverly.
Thousands of agents are still failing to comply with material information rules, new research reveals, leaving them open to prosecution and fines.
Over 133,000 homes within the UK’s property listings have been added by agents without providing complete material information, according to Moverly.
Criminal offence
Failure to properly provide material information can be treated as a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, but there are hundreds of thousands of properties on the market today for which material information has not been fully provided, Moverly says.
Moverly, which is a provider of material information and digital property packs, looked at tenure information from Part A and parking details from Part B.
And the research reveals that thousands of agents are still failing to comply with the guidelines set down by National Trading Standards.
Without information
Four per cent, or 20,700 properties, of the estimated 523,257 currently listed are being marketed without tenure information such as freehold or leasehold, included.
In three cities an even larger percentage of current listings fail to provide tenure information. In Edinburgh, 12% of listings lack the relevant data, followed by Glasgow (10%), and Newcastle (7%).
The number of non-compliant listings grows even larger when looking at parking information required under Part B.
Only 75% of live listings include information about car parking, leaving 25%, or 133,161 properties, that do not.
In Glasgow, the number of non-compliant listings grows to 36%, while in Newcastle it’s 31%.
It’s concerning to know that thousands of buyers – in some cases hundreds of thousands – are still not being given the level of detailed information they require.”
Gemma Young, CEO at Moverly, says: “While almost all listings are being provided with important information such as price and physical characteristics, it’s concerning to know that thousands of buyers – in some cases hundreds of thousands – are still not being given the level of detailed information they require to make an informed decision.
“What’s more, the figures laid out here don’t even delve into Part C of material information which concerns major issues that can impact the desirability of certain homes, including flood and erosion risk.”
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