Part B and C of the Material Information Rules are expected to be confirmed by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team by August this year. The Material Information Rules is a project which was set up by the National Trading Standards and requires all property listing to contain certain information. Material Information is classified as any details which could potentially impact on a decision that a buyer makes about a property, for example any information which could determine someone's decision to arrange a viewing of a property.
At present, Part A of the Material Information Rules requires property listings to identify the council tax band, tenure and the property price. It is forecasted that Part B and C of the rules will advance the information currently provided on property listings. It is anticipated that Estate Agents will need to ensure that listings include information about any restrictive covenants, flood risks, utilities available at the property and any other information which could impact on the buyer's decision to purchase a property.
It has been suggested that under the new Part B and C of the rules, the strength of broadband and mobile signal may also need to be disclosed on property listings. The requirement for Estate Agents to provide more information upfront should in turn mean there are fewer fall throughs as some issues, which would normally be discovered later in the process, can be identified by the Vendor and the Agent at an early stage and if possible rectified. If the issues discovered are too great to be overcome, the asking price and listings can be amended to reflect the discovery to save time and costs further down the line.
The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team would like to make all material information mandatory once Part A, B and C of the project are complete. The Levelling Up White Paper mentioned the three-phase initiative which has sparked the possibility that the Material Information Rules may become legislation in the future.
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