Homes listed as ‘POA’ contravene consumer law, agents are warned

Agents who use ‘Price on Application’ or POA in portal and estate agency website listings are contravening consumer protection legislation, the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) has warned. Its opinion has been developed in partnership with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and will be worrying news for the significant number of prime and super-prime agents who regularly use POA in their ads. NTSELAT’s opinion is that the practice is likely to be misleading as it withholds – or in some cases masks – the asking price from consumers. A 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. The practice is almost exclusively restricted to high-value properties and, although once very common, is petering out as a practice, For example, out of the 225 properties for sale on Rightmove in Mayfair at the moment, only seven are listed as POA. Clear position “I am pleased to be able to set out a clear position that the use of ‘POA’ or ‘price on application’ in property listings is unlawful,” says James Munro, Senior…