Estate and letting agents have been provided with new guidance on property advertising terms as well as how to deal with vendors.
The guidance comes from the National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team and has been developed in consultation with industry stakeholders.
The guidance is designed to provide clarity and consistency for agents and consumers and improve standards across the industry.
It is a legal requirement that the marketing status of a property is accurately described and updated in a timely manner, as this is material information for prospective purchasers and tenants.
It is the responsibility of the agent to ensure that this information is clear, unambiguous, and up to date when the advertising of a property is still live.
Whilst the use of any of the terms listed in the new guidance is voluntary, agents must still ensure that material information about the status of the property is clearly communicated to potential buyers or renters across all platforms they are listed on.
Emma Cooke, Policy & Information Manager, National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team, said:
“Agents commonly use terms like ‘new on the market’, ‘new instruction’, ‘under offer’, ‘sale/let agreed’, ‘sold/let subject to contract’ in advertisements, marketing boards and on property portal listings. Delays in updating a property’s listing status or use of incorrect descriptions can lead to frustration for all involved in the buying or renting process – as well as risking agents breaching industry codes and their legal obligations.
This updated guidance is intended to provide consistency and clarity and – by providing a working definition – we hope this helps reduce unnecessary confusion for property agents, consumers, and other organisations in the property industry.”
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark commented:
“When it comes to the terminology used surrounding the renting and sale of properties, it can become confusing for some consumers, so we are pleased that agents now have access to an easy breakdown of terminology to help inform their clients, provide consistent clarity, and avoid possible frustration.
This guidance should also act as a refresher for agents, to ensure they are using the correct language when selling and letting their clients’ homes, so we would encourage agents to read the definitions and remain compliant with current requirements.”
With regards to dealing with offers during sales, the new guidance states:
“Any offer received on a property at any stage in the sales process must be communicated to the vendor in writing without delay. The only exception to this is where a vendor instructs the agent in writing that offers of a certain type do not need to be passed on, or where agents are under a statutory duty to delay passing on such offers (e.g., where a suspicious activity report is being made). Agents must therefore establish at every significant stage of the sales process whether, or not, a vendor wishes to continue receiving offers. Without written instructions to the contrary, the agent is obliged by law to continue passing on offers until contracts have been exchanged or missives concluded. Where instructions have been received that no further offers are to be accepted, this is material information and should be declared in the property listing and any other advertisement.”
One Response
It would be interesting to see how this is enforced. Recently, I came across an agent marketing the property as freehold but it was, in fact, Leasehold and subject to staircasing to 100%. The buyer was not happy when told that this would delay the purchase and increase the costs of the transaction. As far as I was concerned, that was misrepresentation and mismarketing. But was anything going to be done about it?