There has been significant support from estate agents for the new Material Information rules due to be announced by Trading Standards this month, with 83% of agents supporting the concept of more upfront information being made available to purchasers pre-offer, according to a new survey from HOP (the Home Owner’s Passport).
However, there is uncertainty about where this information will come from.
Some 44% of agents surveyed said they were likely to obtain the information directly from the vendor. Whilst this has been a credible option for the limited requirements of Part A, it is likely that Parts B and C will include data such as restrictive covenants and easements, which often vendors don’t know about. This question of where to get accurate information will become a live issue for agents very quickly after the new rules are introduced.
The next two preferred sources of the data for the agents that responded to the survey were from a conveyancer or direct from an existing CRM provider; and these may well become more reliable option for agents. Many lawyers are already starting to provide pre-offer instructions and title fix services, and tech onboarding solutions such as HOP can provide API integrations of the required data directly into CRMs.
Sally Holdway, director at the HOP, and who was herself a practising conveyancing solicitor commented, said: “As we move towards the inclusion of what has traditionally been seen as ‘conveyancing’ data in the new rules, our advice to agents is to obtain this information either directly from lawyers, or from the same sources the lawyers use.
“The potential sanctions for getting this wrong are significant for agents, so it is important to get it right first time. As we have built our Material Information Reports in HOP we have been careful to do it to existing conveyancing standards, so agents can trust the results.”
Despite the concerns about sources for reliable Material Information, the survey revealed that there is also broad support from agents for upfront information to go beyond the Material Information prescribed by the NTSELAT rules, and include all of the contract paperwork and searches the conveyancing solicitor will required.
Some 72% of estate agents supported contracts packs being available pre-offer, and these being attached to a badge such as ‘Contract Ready’ so consumers can readily identify properties where the paperwork was in place and ready to go.
One final ask from agents was for more support with the new rules. Only 50% of estate agents surveyed were aware of Parts B and C of the Material Information requirements, and 94% wanted more training. NTSLEAT have already confirmed that the new rules will be accompanied by comprehensive industry guidance, so hopefully this will be a short-lived problem.
In the meantime, the team at HOP has created a free training session for agents and lawyers on the expected changes and how to prepare, which is available here.
The importance of paying close attention to parts A, B and C of the material information guidance
