The awkward questions shouldn’t wait until you’ve found a buyer
What do you need to declare about your home when you decide to sell? It is a question many sellers do not think about until much later in the process.
The traditional approach often looks something like this: put the house on the market, find a buyer, accept an offer and then wait for the solicitors to start investigating the finer details.
Increasingly, that is not the best way to approach a property sale.
Important information about your home should be identified much earlier, ideally before the property is advertised.
The phrase you will often hear estate agents use is material information.
It might sound like another piece of property industry jargon, but getting it right can make the difference between a buyer understanding something before making an offer and discovering it eight weeks into conveyancing.
Those are two very different conversations.
What is material information when selling a house?
Broadly, material information is information an average buyer needs to make an informed decision about a property.
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, businesses must not omit material information from consumers or provide it in an unclear, untimely or misleading way.
For estate agents, that means considering what a prospective buyer needs to know before deciding whether to pursue a particular property.
Some information is obvious, such as:
- Asking price
- Tenure
- Council Tax
- The accommodation being sold
Other information is much more specific to the individual property.
A modern freehold home might have an estate management charge or restrictive covenants. A rural property could have private drainage or shared access. An older cottage might raise questions about its construction, rights of way or alterations carried out many years ago.
Material information is therefore about much more than simply filling in boxes on a property portal.
What happened to Parts A, B and C?
This is worth explaining because you may still see Parts A, B and C mentioned on estate agency websites and in property advice online.
The framework was introduced by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team as a practical way of categorising material information.
In broad terms:
Part A covered information such as price, tenure and Council Tax.
Part B expanded this to include matters such as property type and construction, utilities, parking and other characteristics.
Part C dealt with matters relevant to the individual property, including restrictions, rights, flood risk and other potential issues.
It remains a familiar and useful way for property professionals to think about the information a buyer may need.
However, Parts A, B and C should not now be described as the current statutory checklist determining whether a property listing is compliant.
The current legal obligation sits under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which does not contain a prescribed A, B and C list specifically for residential property.
The Government has subsequently been working with the property industry on updated sector-specific guidance and reforms designed to improve the information available to buyers earlier in the process.
For sellers, however, the practical principle remains straightforward:
If something could reasonably influence a buyer’s decision about your property, tell your estate agent about it.
What might you need to declare about your home?
There is no single list capable of covering every property, but potentially relevant information can include:
- Tenure and, where applicable, lease details
- Service charges or estate management charges
- Parking arrangements
- Shared driveways or access
- Rights of way and easements
- Restrictive covenants
- Unusual construction
- Flood risk
- Significant alterations to the property
- Relevant planning or Building Regulations matters
- Known structural issues
- Japanese knotweed
- Certain restrictions affecting how the property can be used
Some information can be established independently by your estate agent or through authoritative sources.
Other details may only be known by you as the homeowner.
That is why sellers have such an important role to play.
Your estate agent cannot disclose something they do not know
An estate agent can inspect your property, ask questions and carry out appropriate checks.
What they cannot do is automatically know everything that has happened during the years you have owned it.
Perhaps your driveway is shared under an arrangement contained within the title. Maybe there was once an issue with a boundary. Perhaps you converted the garage, removed an internal wall or extended the kitchen and are not quite sure where the paperwork ended up.
Maybe part of the garden has flooded before.
None of these things automatically makes a property difficult or impossible to sell.
They are, however, exactly the sort of things that are better discussed at the beginning.
Discovering an issue before your property launches gives everyone time to understand it and establish what needs to happen next. Discovering it when your buyer’s solicitor raises an enquiry several weeks into conveyancing can be considerably more disruptive.
Why can late disclosure cause problems?
Put yourself in the buyer’s position.
You have found the house. You have negotiated the price. You have paid for a survey, started your mortgage application, instructed a solicitor and mentally decided where the sofa is going.
Then something significant appears that you did not know about.
The problem is not necessarily the issue itself. It is the surprise.
Suddenly, the buyer may start asking different questions. Does this affect the price? Would I have offered differently if I had known? Is there anything else I have not been told? Do I still want to proceed?
That is how relatively manageable property issues can turn into renegotiations, delays and, occasionally, lost sales.
Being open about what you need to declare about your home can help avoid those surprises later.
What should sellers gather before going on the market?
You do not need to turn your dining table into a conveyancing office, but if you are thinking about selling, it is worth finding the paperwork you already have.
Alterations and improvements
Look for planning permissions, Building Regulations approvals, completion certificates and documentation relating to extensions, loft conversions, structural alterations or other significant work.
Windows, heating and electrical work
Find any relevant certificates, warranties and paperwork relating to replacement windows, boilers, heating systems and electrical work.
Guarantees and warranties
These might relate to roofing, damp treatment, timber treatment, insulation or other specialist works.
Leasehold and estate information
If applicable, gather information about the lease, service charges, ground rent, management companies or charges associated with communal areas and private estates.
Rights and restrictions
Anything you hold relating to shared access, rights of way, covenants or unusual arrangements affecting the property may prove useful.
Previous problems
If there has been flooding, subsidence, structural work, Japanese knotweed or a significant property-related insurance claim, discuss it with your estate agent and conveyancer.
You will probably need much of this information during conveyancing anyway. Finding it now can save a frantic search later.
Do you have to disclose a dispute with a neighbour?
This is an area where it is particularly important not to make the decision yourself.
If you have had a disagreement or dispute with a neighbour, tell your conveyancer.
Something that felt relatively minor to you might still be relevant to the legal questions you are asked when selling. Equally, not every disagreement necessarily amounts to something that needs to be treated as a formal dispute.
The sensible approach is simple. Tell your solicitor what happened and let them advise you.
What if there is something you would rather buyers did not know?
Tell your estate agent anyway.
That might sound counterintuitive when you are trying to achieve the best possible price, but early disclosure can actually help protect your sale.
A buyer who knows about an issue before making an offer can take it into account when making their decision. If they proceed, they do so knowing that it exists.
The same issue discovered unexpectedly two months later can feel very different.
Buyers are often more accepting of imperfections than sellers expect. What they are much less comfortable with is an unexpected surprise.
What if you genuinely do not know?
Do not guess.
There is nothing wrong with saying that you are unsure.
The next step is to establish whether the answer can reasonably be found through your estate agent, conveyancer, another appropriate professional or an authoritative source.
There is a significant difference between not knowing something and providing information that later turns out to be incorrect.
If you are uncertain, say so.
Should you instruct a conveyancer before finding a buyer?
There is a strong case for getting your conveyancer involved early.
Traditionally, sellers have often waited until an offer has been accepted. The problem is that this can mean nobody looks closely at the legal information surrounding the property until the transaction is already underway.
Early preparation can identify missing paperwork, unusual title arrangements or questions that might otherwise emerge weeks later.
The Government’s wider work on reforming the home buying and selling process is also moving towards information being available earlier and greater collaboration between estate agents, conveyancers and other property professionals.
For sellers, the principle makes sense.
Solve the questions while nobody is waiting for the answers.
Most homes have something
This is worth remembering.
A property does not have to be perfect to be saleable.
Older homes have often been extended and altered over generations. Newer developments can come with covenants, management companies and communal arrangements. Village properties might have private drainage, shared driveways or unusual boundaries. Period homes can have construction quirks that would not exist in a modern property.
These things do not automatically stop people from buying.
Often, they are simply part of understanding the property properly.
The purpose of material information is not to frighten buyers away. It is to help them make an informed decision and reduce the likelihood of unwelcome surprises later.
Thinking about selling?
If you are considering selling, do not wait until you have accepted an offer to start thinking about your paperwork or what you may need to declare about your home.
At Ensum Brown, we would rather spend more time understanding your property at the beginning than discover something important when a buyer and the rest of the chain are already waiting.
Tell us about the extension. Tell us about the shared driveway. Tell us if you are not sure whether you have the certificate. Tell us about the slightly awkward thing you think probably does not matter.
Then we can establish what actually does matter and make sure it is handled properly.
Good preparation is not about making selling your home more complicated. It is about removing as many surprises as possible before they have the chance to become problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is material information when selling a house?
Material information is information an average buyer needs to make an informed decision about a property. Estate agents have legal responsibilities around ensuring material information is not omitted or provided in a misleading, unclear or untimely way.
What do you have to declare when selling a house?
What needs to be disclosed will depend on the individual property and circumstances. Relevant information could include rights of way, restrictions, shared access, flood risk, structural issues, alterations and certain disputes. Sellers should speak to their estate agent and conveyancer rather than deciding for themselves that something is not relevant.
What happens if I do not know the answer to a property question?
Do not guess. Tell your estate agent or conveyancer that you are unsure so they can establish whether the information can be obtained from an appropriate source.
About the Ethical Agent Network
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It is not a badge you buy. It is one you earn, and have to keep earning.
We are proud members, and the logo is there so you can spot an agent who has already been vetted to look after you properly.
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