Many agents report feeling ‘unassisted’ during Material Information changes. – TNT

The withdrawal of National Trading Standards Estate Agency (NTSELAT) guidance on Material Information has created uncertainty and confusion across the property sector, and the government has yet to provide enough support for the industry, a new survey has revealed.

Of the 300-plus property professionals who took part, over 96% revealed they feel unsupported as they try to navigate these regulatory changes.

The survey, conducted by global PropTech specialists, Reapit, follows the decision by NTSELAT to withdraw its guidance for the property industry – in other words, Material Information parts A, B and C.

While specific industry guidance has not been issued by the Competition and Market Authority (CMA), a key change is that ‘drip pricing’ (where when consumers see a low initial price, but extra fees are added later) has been explicitly outlawed and the definition of an ‘invitation to purchase’ is now written into UK law under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) – rather than being set out in the old regulations. The DMCC Act came into effect on 6 April 2025.

This shift significantly raises the stakes for agents. Failing to include or link to accurate pricing and property details in a property advert – whether on a portal, social media, or in your agency window – could be automatically considered an unfair commercial practice.

This has created uncertainty among industry professionals as to whether or not they should continue to follow the old guidance until new guidance is published by the CMA.

To support the industry, Reapit invited agents to attend a webinar in earlier this month entitled ‘Beyond the basics: What the DMCC Act really means for agents.’

More than 400 agents registered to attend the event, which was hosted by their Commercial Director, Dr Neil Cobbold and featured contributions from David Smith, partner at law firm Spector, Constant and Williams, and Greg Tsuman, PPARLA and Managing Director of Lettings at Martyn Gerrard.

Before the webinar, agents were invited to take part in a survey designed to gauge the industry’s reaction to the changes relating to Material Information and the introduction of the DMCC Act.

The Reapit survey revealed that:

+ 61% of agents had heard of the DMCC Act but didn’t have a firm grasp of the details; 24% said they understood the key changes, while 11% weren’t aware of the Act.

+ Nearly half (46%) were still using the Material Information guidance from NTSELAT, 40% were unsure what they should do, and 14% had moved away from it entirely.

+ Finally, 63.1% said the government had not provided sufficient guidance, 33.6% were unsure and only 3.3% felt the government had done enough – meaning 96.7% felt underinformed and unsupported.

During the webinar, lawyer David Smith told attendees that he did not believe agents would be a primary target for the Competition and Markets Authority – which is responsible for enforcing the DMCC Act.

“l see this as an evolution, not a revolution,” he said.

Smith emphasised that past prosecutions had involved extreme cases of misleading consumers. While in theory, breaches of the Act could involve significant fines (up to £300,000 or 10% of turnover, whichever is greater), he stressed that agents who were open and honest about properties in adverts had little to fear.

“This is about misleading omissions. It’s a tidying-up exercise to strengthen consumer protection regulations – the DMCC Act covers a wide range of industries.

“You are required to provide information that is reasonably within your knowledge.

“The rules still are what they have always been – not every piece of information has to be made available to everybody.”

Greg Tsuman agreed that until further guidance is published, agents need to ensure they are being open and honest in all marketing materials.

“Ask reasonable questions of (sellers and landlords) and treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself,” said Tsuman.

And Neil Cobbold, while confirming that at this stage Reapit’s existing features allow agents to disclose enough information to accommodate the DMCC Act, added: “Make sure that if you know something, you disclose it.”

Commenting after the webinar, Cobbold explained: “The view from the panel is that the Competition and Market Authority would focus on its 4 Ps – proportionality, predictability, process and pace – when it comes to enforcement in 2025. This means they will aim to resolve issues early and ensure that any penalties are proportionate. However, agents must not only look at how they present property listings, but also at how they advertise their sales and lettings services to potential vendors and landlords.

“Cracking down on ‘drip pricing’ has been highlighted by the CMA as one of the areas they’ll be acting on in the first 12 months so ensuring all fees are disclosed upfront when selling services will be key for agents.”