Homeowners Alliance report found material information often missing from listings

The HomeOwners Alliance published a report in January 2025, "What buyers need to know?", which found many instances of material information missing from property listings in England and Wales¹. The findings come as the property market in England and Wales undergoes what the organisation describes as a major transformation with the introduction of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024¹.

Material information is set out by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) in three parts. Part A covers essential information for all properties, including price, tenure, council tax band and other inescapable costs¹. Part B covers property-specific details such as utility connections, mobile and broadband coverage and parking¹. Part C covers location-specific factors including flood risk, building safety, planning permission and proposals, and restrictions and rights¹.

Despite NTSELAT introducing Part A in 2022, the report found property portals were not consistently including this information¹. The report's findings include:

The report found 24% of listings did not include an Energy Performance Certificate rating, despite this being a legal requirement since 2013¹. Council tax band was included in 66% of listings, with London listings less likely to feature it (55%) than Manchester listings (77%)¹.

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, estate agents are required to disclose any information of which they are aware or should be aware of in relation to the property in a clear, intelligible and timely fashion, and to take all reasonable steps to provide "accurate descriptions of properties they are marketing"¹. The HomeOwners Alliance states that estate agents are legally obliged to pass on all offers from prospective buyers to the seller, and that this applies to all offers received until contracts have been exchanged, unless the seller has formally requested not to be notified of certain offers, such as those below a specified amount¹. It adds that if a number of sales have fallen down on a property, the estate agent should reveal why previous sales fell through, and that agents must let buyers know if they are aware of a murder or suicide in the property¹.

Why it matters for households

Buyers in England and Wales can reach the point of paying for a survey and starting the conveyancing process before discovering a property is leasehold or that a garden floods for half the year, according to the HomeOwners Alliance¹. Missing material information in a listing affects what a buyer knows before arranging a viewing or making an offer¹. For leasehold properties, service charges, ground rent and remaining lease term are among the details that should be confirmed¹. For shared ownership listings, agents must include the percentage of shares being offered for sale and the amount of rent payable on the share not being sold¹. Listings for rent should include information about deposits, including any holding deposit payable¹. The Competition and Markets Authority will oversee compliance with the Act and has been granted stronger enforcement powers, including monitoring online listings, investigating consumer complaints, issuing penalties for non-compliance and working with local Trading Standards teams¹. Estate agents failing to provide required information could face substantial fines¹. Buyers and sellers can report misleading or missing information to Trading Standards or the CMA¹.

What happens next

The CMA has indicated that enforcement will ramp up from mid-2025, giving estate agents time to implement the new requirements¹. The HomeOwners Alliance states that buyers and sellers should start expecting better disclosures now as the industry moves towards compliance¹. More detail on the process is set out in its guide to buying a home, with further material in the home-buying hub.