The government is proposing a further extension of so-called Material Information to be provided by agents and consumers ahead of people buying properties.
This will initially apply to sales only – the government says that “because the legal framework affecting the renting of property is fundamentally changing with the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Bill … we will return to the possibility of similar guidance for residential letting agents at a later stage.”
So the proposals released this morning are part of far-reaching changes suggested by the new Housing Secretary with the aim of speeding the transaction process. There are also proposals on mandatory agent qualifications and changes to buying and selling (please see separate stories).
The Material Information proposals are open to formal consultation from today until December 21.
The background to the proposals is that industry trials suggest that having key information available earlier in the process can speed up sales transactions by four weeksbut data from National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team (NTSEAT) suggests that only circa 35% of listings contain adequate information, and some listings (circa 10%) don’t even include the most basic information such as costs and tenure type.
The government says it will produce new guidance for sales agents on what is likely to be considered material information, including “an indication of the categories of information they need to include in residential property listings whilst also advising how other professionals and consumers should support the provision of material information.” That guidance is not detailed in the consultation document released today.
Indeed, the consultation is essentially a series of questions asking agents to explain how they would define Material Information, and what items would be included in the different categories of Material Information.
The consultation says: “It is difficult to accurately set out a definitive list of material information which should apply to every transaction. It can be challenging to obtain, interpret or verify the accuracy of key information, particularly for technical data such as information about the construction of the property.
“In some cases, the most detail estate agents can provide is an indication that they’ve undertaken due diligence to acquire and provide information, or an indication that an issue may be present which requires further technical expertise (for example, from a surveyor) to verify.
“Even when estate agents have gathered and verified relevant material information, it can be difficult to decide how and when to present this information in a way that is most useful to consumers.
“Equally, some estate agents do not make sufficient effort to provide material information. We are aware that some estate agents knowingly disregard their responsibilities regarding material information as they believe requesting this information could deter sellers from listing their property with them. We need to understand the challenges in providing material information to help inform potential solutions.”
Source: Estate Agent Today
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