Landlords quitting the sector could have to spend hundreds of pounds more when selling their home owing to new Trading Standards guidance.
That’s the claim from a prominent conveyancing solicitor.
The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) guidance means sellers will have to list on property particulars a range of new ‘material information’ including any restrictive covenants – which prevent homeowners from carrying out certain activities in their home – if the property is listed, if there is a tree preservation order and if there are any rights of way.
Additionally, sellers may have to carry out environmental and local land charges searches so that details of flood risk, coastal erosion, coalfield mining and relevant planning permissions can be added to the listing.
The guidance is better news for buyers, however, who will now be able to access all the information upfront before committing to a purchase.
Simon Nosworthy, head of residential conveyancing at Osbornes Law, says: “This guidance is a revolution in the way people sell their homes in the UK. Beforehand the onus was on the buyer to carry out environmental and local authority searches but now this will be on the seller.
“Effectively sellers will have to engage with a conveyancing solicitor before they list their property and not when they have received an offer. This means that if a homeowner lists their property and fails to sell it, they will have already spent a decent amount of money on fees and searches. Overall this could mean homeowners spending hundreds of pounds more.”
The release of the new guidance has come in two phases.
Around 18 months ago the first part (part A) required property listings to include price, council tax band and whether the property is freehold or leasehold. Most estate agents already included this information.
In November last year two further sections (parts B and C) were announced. Part B relates to information such as details of utility supplies, heating and parking. Part C, which includes material information mentioned above, represents the most drastic change and will mean sellers need to employ a solicitor before they list their property.
Nosworthy adds: “While the guidance was announced in November it appears that the NTSELAT is allowing time for estate agents to be trained before being enforced. Additionally, very few consumers know about this, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be made to gather this information on their home in the coming months.
“However, it still remains to be seen what the housing platforms like Rightmove do about the guidance and if they make estate agents list this information.
“While it may be seen as an arduous hurdle for those selling a home, it is good news for buyers and should ensure the whole process is smoother. It also has the added benefit of meaning there will be no nasty shocks down the line for buyers.”
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Another stupid market killer to put people off selling making it more expensive for the buyer to find a place with all this crap, didn’t we have something like this before that was scrapped where do they get off.
Sounds rather like the Home Information Packs (HIPs) that sellers had to provide which were stopped in 2007 iirc.
But surely, most 'for sale' listings include most of this stuff anyway.
This is very similar to the situation in France where we have to supply a 'sellers package'. Yes, it does cost money but ultimately this is included in the asking price.
The French system is far superior. Once the agreement to sell/buy is signed the seller cannot withdraw. The buyer has a 10 day cooling off period, after that cannot withdraw without losing their 10% deposit. Other reasons for not completing can ce written into the contract if agreed by both parties.
Gives far more certainty to the process and stops the 11th hour wanting to renegotiate the price etc.
Scottish Sealed Bid system, is really the only one that has merit. No gazumping, no messing.
Yes but with the French system if they find issues up to 5 years later with the property they can claim from you the seller!
Most of this guff is included when you purchase a house anyway and you pay about £300-400 as part of the Conveyance.
It will probably help potential buyers spot problems earlier but since you still get many buyers don't bother to take out their own Survey let alone read what their Solicitors tell them, I doubt it's going to have much impact except increases in listed prices.
Waste of time as usual, just to justify someone's job someewhere.
😂😂🏡🏡 Doni care 🤷♂️🤷♂️No I don’t, I have sold and will continue to do so .
All that information is already required on the Property Information Form all vendors have to complete. This sounds like a Conveyancer looking for an excuse to up his fees!
Under the new Guidance from the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT), Vendors, in conjunction with Agents, will be obliged to provide a form of "Sales Info" at the point of Advertising the property for sale.
Meaning Sellers will need to start the Conveyancing process at a much earlier stage to help ensure validated information is available to the agent and included at the point of marketing.
This will increase costs for Vendors as the onus to gather some information on Searches/survey shifts from the buyer to the Seller. However it is believed it will improve fall-through rates as buyers gain a clearer picture of the property and any issues up front and it may also generate "more realistic" Valuations i.e. a rebalancing downward pressure on house prices.
A lot of this stuff is just a way for others to make money. At the end of the day you get indemnity insurance to cover any issues. It is not expensive and resolves most issues which arise
The headline is misleading. This applies to all sellers, not just landlords? 🤔
Correct.
This applies to ALL house sales, so its a misleading headline.
Visit National Trading Standards website for the full guidance
Didn’t buyers have a Survey done anyway and lenders required it.
Who allows this cr*p on here? Doom... Gloom.... Doom... Gloom.... Followed by more doom and gloom... This site is getting worse...
Vendor has always had to provide information relating to the property in the questionnaire. This conveyancer is shopping for business. It is not that much different. EPC and all information need to be provided by vendor. Why would you need a conveyancer, upfront. You can increase the price of the property if you have employed a conveyancer but there is no guarantee that the vendor will sell for the asking price.
In the scheme of things an extra few hundred pounds won't stop ten of thousands of Landlords selling their rental properties and investing elsewhere where they get a more stable and better return on their investment.
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