Taking Material Information from burden to opportunity

UK Estate Agents have been working hard to get to grips with Material Information legislation since it came into play at the end of 2023. For some, Material Information is still seen as a burden, presenting new things to learn, more admin to keep on top of and information to source. And for others, it’s been embraced as a huge opportunity to win and get ahead in their market. But how do we go from burden to opportunity for everyone?

Here, we unpack where the opportunities for accelerating transaction success lie with Material information and the resources you can tap into to get it right.

First, let’s recap… What does Material Information mean?

Material Information refers to the essential facts about a property that must be disclosed by Estate Agents and conveyancers to potential buyers or tenants during the transaction process. This information is crucial because it can significantly impact a consumer’s decision to buy, rent, or even view the property.

The goal of providing upfront Material Information is to improve transparency in the property market, helping consumers make informed decisions and reducing the risk of transaction failures due to undisclosed issues.

The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) in the UK has categorized Material Information into three parts:

1. Part A: This includes the most basic and essential details that should be disclosed for all properties. It covers:
   • The property’s asking price or rent.
   • Council tax band or rate.
   • Tenure information (for sales), such as whether the property is freehold, leasehold, or commonhold.
   • Deposit details for lettings.
2. Part B: These are additional important details that relate to the physical aspects and utilities of the property. They include:
   • Physical characteristics like property type, number of rooms, and room sizes.
   • Utilities available, such as heating types and energy sources.
   • Parking arrangements.
3. Part C: This category covers information that may or may not apply to every property, but must be disclosed if relevant. It includes:
   • Any building safety issues (e.g., cladding, asbestos).
   • Planning permissions or restrictions (e.g., listed building status, conservation areas).
   • Environmental factors (e.g., flood risk, coastal erosion).

The proof that Material Information works

Beth Rudolf, Director of Delivery at The Conveyancing Association, explains the impact that bringing more Material Information upfront has already had on the industry: “The benefits are massive, not just in financial terms with increased pipeline turn and time and money saved, but in driving a faster, more efficient, and less stressful process for everyone.

“We only need to look at Scotland to see that upfront information is a huge success; it has reduced their fall through rate by 60% compared to England and Wales. Or we can look to Norway to see the positive impact it has, by the agents gathering all information upfront for potential buyers, speeding up the process, delighting their clients and increasing their fees.”

What opportunities does Material Information offer?

Secure higher fees – By having Material Information provided upfront, agents can use the time previously spent on gathering Material Facts to provide a better service for clients and reduce the time from offer to exchange.

Reduce fall-throughs – Consumers can benefit from more informed decision making during their property transaction with the insights provided by upfront Material Information. By being fully informed of the details of a property, buyers can be sure that a property is suited to their needs from early in the process.

Improve client satisfaction – By matching informed buyers with prepared sellers, both sides of the transaction will have a faster, more efficient and less stressful process, which they will be thanking your team for playing a key role in. it’s also a faster route to payment for your agency.

Who’s here to help?

NTSELAT – National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) is a UK government body responsible for enforcing standards within the estate and letting agency sectors. NTSELAT regularly provide official guidance and updates on Material Information, helping Estate Agents to operate fairly and legally, adhering to consumer protection laws and industry regulations.

iamproperty – We have partnered with industry experts to create the Material Information Hub, packed with exclusive insights and commentary to help agents understand the new rules and uncover the opportunities Material Information brings. To support day-to-day, our end-to-end conveyancing platform, movebutler, is designed to help agents stay one step ahead of compliance. movebutler has been enhanced with pre-populated forms to take the stress and hassle out of Material Information. Our new functionality provides automated information at your fingertips, which coupled with a short Property Information Questionnaire, gives you everything you need to stay compliant.

Estate Agents winning with Material Information

EweMove is a national Residential Sales and Letting Agent, with over 170 branches across the UK and voted ‘UK’s Most Trusted Agent’ from 2015 – 2022. We spoke with Paul Benson, Branch Director at EweMove Selby, to find out how iamproperty is supporting Paul to lessen the burden of compliance and generate new business opportunities for his agency.

Paul says: “Until I began using iamproperty’s movebutler platform to work with compliance and AML, it was a bit of a Wild West. Trying to get everything I needed in one place in a timely fashion was a nightmare but bringing it all together on one platform has saved me no end of time.

“Compliance is such a massive part of the puzzle and being fairly new to the industry, it’s always difficult to know if I’m doing the right things and not missing anything important. Working with movebutler helps me by putting everything in one place and is really simple to manage. Being able to see what stage everything’s at has saved me so much time and anxiety.”

To find out more about how Paul and thousands of other Estate Agency branches are using movebutler to maximise the opportunities that Material Information presents, read more about movebutler.