Note
National Trading Standards have released additional requirements since this article was published. They cover:
- the removal of Price on Application (POA) as a Price modifier (for residential/overseas/commercial sales agents)
- the EPC rating being prominently displayed on each listing (for residential sales agents)
For more information on the National Trading Standards - Latest requirements, click here
From 31 May 2022, all estate agent websites and property portals need to start including extra ‘material information’ on their UK residential property listings. These changes are in line with new guidance set by National Trading Standards, who want to increase clarity for consumers on the properties they’re looking to buy or rent.
‘Material information’ is defined as the information an average consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision. National Trading Standards state that in the case of buying or renting a property, a ‘transactional decision’ includes the decision to view a property, as well as the decision to buy or rent one.
This article includes:
- What needs to be included in property listings under the new guidance?
- Adding/updating property listings
- FAQs
What needs to be included in property listings under the new guidance?
The new guidance is being introduced in three stages, referred to as Part A, Part B and Part C.
The list below shows the information that needs to be provided to comply with ‘Part A’ of the guidelines. We’ve made changes to the way you upload listings, and what we display on our consumer portal, by introducing new fields to capture and display ‘Part A’ information, helping you to stay compliant.
Sales
- Sale Price (£)
- Council tax band (England, Wales and Scotland)
- Tenure (freehold, leasehold, share of leasehold, commonhold, feudal)
- Length of lease (years remaining)
- Annual ground rent amount (£)
- Ground rent review period (year/month)
- Annual service charge amount (£)
- Service charge review period (year/month)
- Shared Ownership (% share being sold)
Lettings
- Price - rent (£)
- Council tax band (England, Wales and Scotland)
- Deposit (£)
(More information on each stage is available here)
Adding/updating property listings
Estate agents are responsible for submitting material information on all new and existing UK residential property listings. You’ll need to include it along with the property listings information you already share with us.
New and existing listings need to be updated with Part A information from 31 May 2022 – for both sales and lettings. This includes properties that are sold subject to contract (SSTC). It does not include overseas or non-residential properties.
Note
If Part A information is missing, National Trading Standards may get in touch with you if your listings don’t comply with the new guidance
I'm a ZooplaPro user
If you manually upload listings, you can use the dedicated unique fields to provide ‘Part A’ information on your listings, which can be found on the Add residential property page (via Add listing) and the Edit residential property page.
Dedicated unique fields for a Leasehold property
To find out more about the changes and what you need to do to stay compliant, please see the following articles:
How to upload a Sales listing - Setting the property details for your Residential sales listings - Setting the price of your listings
How to upload a Lettings listing - Setting the property details for your Residential letting listings - Setting the price of your listings
I'm an Alto user
Head to the Alto Help Centre to find out more about the changes and what you need to do to stay compliant.
I'm an Expert Agent user
Head to the Expert Agent learning centre to find out more about the changes and what you need to do to stay compliant.
My CRM provider uses your real time listings API
We've updated our API to ensure it's compliant. As long as the required information has been added to/updated on the listing, the Part A material information will display on the portals.
Once you've submitted material information on all new and existing UK residential property listings, it will display on the Zoopla portal.
Zoopla website
On the Zoopla website, information provided will be displayed to consumers on each listings details page.
Material information displayed on a For sale and For rent listing, on the Zoopla website
Zoopla app
On the Zoopla app, information provided will be displayed to consumers on each listing.
Material information displayed on a For sale and For rent listing, on the Zoopla app
FAQs
We’ve also pulled together a list of frequently asked questions to help you get to grips with the new requirements:
- What other changes are in the pipeline?
We’ll update you when we know more. Once the details for Part B and Part C have been agreed, we’ll share next steps. (More information on Parts A, B and C is available here)
- What if I don’t have all Part A information yet? Can I still list a property?
National Trading Standards requires all Part A information to be available from 31 May 2022. While we don't have any plans to de-list properties, National Trading Standards may get in touch with you if your listings don't comply with the new guidance.
- Will Zoopla de-list my property if any Part A information is missing?
We don’t have any plans to de-list properties, but National Trading Standards may get in touch with you if your listings don’t comply with the new guidance.
