Material Information One Year On: What Should Estate Agents Be Doing Now?

The guidance may have been withdrawn, but the obligation to provide consumers with the information they need has not disappeared.

It has now been over a year since the original Material Information guidance was withdrawn following the introduction of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024.

Since then, many estate and letting agents have found themselves asking the same question:

“What should we actually be doing now?”

The answer is surprisingly simple.

While the guidance has changed, the principle has not.

Consumers still need sufficient information to make informed decisions, and agents still need to take reasonable steps to ensure important information is not omitted, hidden or presented in a misleading way.

Why the Confusion?

The original Material Information framework provided a practical structure for agents. Parts A, B and C gave businesses a clear checklist of information that should be considered when marketing a property. However there was much debate about who was responsible for what content. Proposed changes announced this month will tighten this further and place obligations on all stakeholders, solicitors, agents and mortgage providers.

When the guidance was withdrawn, some agents assumed the requirements had disappeared. In reality, the withdrawal reflected a change in the legislative framework rather than a reduction in consumer protection. The introduction of the DMCC Act strengthened consumer protection legislation and gave the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) greater enforcement powers.

What did not change was the expectation that consumers should receive the information they need to make informed decisions.

Home Buying and Selling Reform Reinforces the Direction of Travel

The Government’s recently announced Home Buying and Selling Reform programme reinforces what many agents have already recognised—better upfront information is central to creating a faster, more transparent home buying and selling process.

One of the key ambitions of the reforms is to reduce delays, improve certainty and minimise the number of transactions that fall through by making more property information available at the beginning of the customer journey rather than weeks into the conveyancing process.

Although further detail is still expected, the direction of travel is becoming increasingly clear. The industry is moving towards earlier disclosure, greater transparency and better informed consumers.

For estate agents, this means the withdrawal of the original Material Information guidance should not be viewed as a reason to do less. Instead, it provides an opportunity to review how information is gathered, verified and presented so businesses are well prepared for future reforms.

The Risk of Doing Less

Some firms have quietly reduced their focus on Material Information while waiting for further guidance. This may prove to be a mistake.

The CMA’s focus remains firmly on consumer outcomes. If a buyer discovers significant information late in a transaction that would have affected their earlier decision-making, regulators are unlikely to be concerned that an agent was waiting for updated guidance.

The question is likely to remain:

“Would a reasonable consumer have wanted this information before making a decision?”

If the answer is yes, agents should carefully consider whether that information ought to have been disclosed earlier.

Why Good Disclosure Is Good Business

Many agents initially viewed Material Information as another compliance burden. However, agencies that embraced greater transparency have often discovered much wider business benefits. Providing better information upfront can lead to:

• Better-qualified enquiries.
• Fewer wasted viewings.
• Increased buyer confidence.
• Reduced fall-throughs.
• Improved customer trust.
• Fewer complaints.
• More efficient sales progression.

Consumers increasingly expect information to be available at the start of their property search, not halfway through the transaction.

Better Material Information Leads to Better Sales Progression

One of the biggest frustrations for buyers, sellers and estate agents is discovering important information halfway through a transaction.

Whether it is an unexpected lease restriction, an unadopted road, a lack of planning consent, uncertainty over boundaries or missing documentation, late disclosure often creates unnecessary delays. Buyers may need additional investigations, lenders may raise further enquiries and conveyancers can find themselves waiting for information that could have been identified much earlier.

This is where good Material Information becomes far more than a compliance exercise—it becomes an important sales progression tool.

When accurate information is gathered before a property is marketed, buyers are able to make better informed decisions from the outset. Conveyancers can begin their work with fewer surprises, enquiries can often be answered more quickly and transactions are less likely to stall because key facts emerge late in the process.

For estate agents, this can result in:

• Faster progression from offer to exchange.
• Fewer unexpected enquiries from conveyancers.
• Less renegotiation when new information comes to light.
• Fewer failed transactions.
• Better communication between agents, solicitors and clients.
• A smoother experience for buyers and sellers alike.

Every delay in a property transaction carries a cost. By gathering accurate Material Information at the instruction stage, agents can help remove avoidable obstacles before they become problems, benefiting everyone involved in the transaction.

What Should Agencies Be Doing Today?

The most successful firms are focusing on improving processes rather than waiting for further regulation.

This means:

• Reviewing property information questionnaires. (Download the Able Agent version in the image above)
• Training staff to recognise misleading omissions.
• Auditing property listings.
• Improving information gathering at the instruction stage.
• Recording efforts made to obtain key information.
• Working closely with sellers to obtain accurate information before marketing begins.

Most importantly, agents should continue asking one simple question:

“What information would a buyer reasonably expect to know before making a decision?”

That question remains just as relevant today as it was before the original guidance was withdrawn.

Looking Ahead

The property industry continues to await further clarity from Government and the CMA. The Home Buying and Selling Reform programme, together with the DMCC Act, points towards a future where greater transparency, earlier disclosure and better quality information become standard practice. For estate agents, this is no longer simply about compliance.

It is about building trust, improving customer experience, speeding up sales progression, reducing fall-throughs and helping buyers and sellers move home with greater confidence.

The agencies that embrace better upfront information today are likely to be the ones that benefit most from tomorrow’s reforms.

Charlotte Jeffrey-Campbell is Director of The Able Agent, an online learning platform used by thousands of estate and letting professionals across the UK.