Material & Upfront Information

Estate and letting agents have a legal obligation to share “material information” with consumers to help them make informed decisions. Guidance provided in November 2023 stated this should include property descriptions, such as the sale or rental price, the number of bedrooms and tenure information (i.e. freehold or leasehold), provision of parking and utilities and other external issues such as flooding, coastal erosion, planning permissions and mining. Although this guidance was withdrawn in May 2025, Agents must still proactively request this information and conduct verification check to confirm accuracy.

Traditionally, information such as local, environmental, mining and water searches are obtained by a potential buyer of a property to help them decide whether to buy a property or not. Upfront Property Information is where these searches are obtained by a home seller before their property is marketed and provided to a potential buyer to save time and highlight issues from day one.