You have decided that you want to sell your property and have found an estate agent! The next step is to get your property on the market. However, before this can happen your estate agent requires certain information to market the property. Referred to as ‘material information’, this is information that would help an ‘average’ buyer decide whether to view the property, make an offer to purchase or proceed with any aspect of the house buying process. The information can be positive and negative.
What is Material Information?
The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) have defined in detail what is classed as material information and importantly, confirmed when this information must be provided with a property listing. The guidance issued by NTSELAT is broken down into three parts:
- Part A: includes information about the council tax band, asking price and tenure (whether the property is freehold or leasehold).
This information must be provided for all property listings.
- Part B: includes information about the physical characteristics of the property, the number and type of rooms, utilities, and parking.
As with Part A, this information must be provided for all property listings.
- Part C: includes information about building safety, restrictions and rights, flood and erosion risk, planning permission and proposals for development, property accessibility and adaptations and whether the property is in a coalfield or mining area.
Part C does not automatically apply to all property listings. This information is only required if the property is affected by the issue in question.
I am selling my property. Is Material Information beneficial to me?
Yes! Even though you will need to gather lots of information upfront and provide this to your estate agent, there are benefits to doing so…
Usually, lots of the information contained within Parts B and C would only be provided to a buyer much later in the conveyancing process, when solicitor fees have been incurred and you are often several weeks into the transaction.
Something that may be a ‘deal breaker’ to one buyer, may be a non-issue for another buyer. For example, if your property title deeds state that caravans cannot be parked on the property, this would be disclosed to any prospective buyers as part of the marketing material. Hopefully, avoiding any viewings from buyers who insist parking for a caravan on the property is a must.
The aim is that any potential buyers have made an informed decision to view or offer on the property. This should reduce transactions falling through at a later stage, saving both time and money.
If you are also buying a property, the property listings for any potential purchases should also contain material information – helping you make an informed decision as to whether the property is worth looking into further.
I am buying a property. Is Material Information beneficial to me?
Yes! Buying a property is probably the biggest purchase that any of us will make. It goes without saying that you want to be certain that this is the right property for you.
The provision of material information means that you will have lots of information up front about the property, which would not usually be supplied until you had actually put an offer on the property and started the conveyancing process. It is important that you consider the material information supplied by the estate agent carefully before viewing or considering the property.
If you think that there is something missing and the estate agent has not supplied certain parts of the required material information, such as details of the utilities the property benefits from, you can ask the estate agent for this information. The estate agent should supply any missing information at the earliest opportunity. The estate agent is also under an obligation to update the information when it becomes available or changes.
How can Gardner Leader help?
Our Residential Property Team specialise in property sales and purchases.
If you are selling or buying, speak with our Residential Property team to find out how we can best assist you in your house move here.