Landlords selling up out of the sector may cost them hundreds of pounds more for each property because of the latest Trading Standard’s guidance, according to a leading conveyancing solicitor.

The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) guidance now requires sellers to include in its property’s details a list of new ‘material information’ that include ‘restrictive covenants’. This stops new homeowners from being able to carry out changes or activities within the property if it is listed, usually when there are tree preservation orders, rights of way etc.

However sellers may also have to undertake  environmental and local land charges for searches so as to uncover and include on the property’s listings any details of planning permissions, coalfield mining, flood risks and coastal erosion.

This is obviously a real positive for buyers who will now be able to see all relevant information before committing to buying a property.

The head of residential conveyancing law firm, 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 new guidance was released in two stages with Part A eighteen months ago requiring all property listings to include the asking price, whether the property is freehold or leasehold and the council tax band which the overwhelming majority of estate agents already include.

In November 2023 two additional sections parts B and C were released with the former requiring details to be listed such as heating, utility supplies and parking whilst C included the most radical change whereby sellers must now appoint a solicitor before they are able to have their property listed.

The solicitor 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.