Material information is the information a typical buyer or tenant needs to make an informed decision about a property. Estate and letting agents must not leave it out of a listing. National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) guidance splits it into three parts: Part A (always required), Part B (should be established for every property) and Part C (only where the property is affected). This guide turns that into a working checklist.
Why is material information a legal issue?
Leaving out information a typical consumer would need can be a misleading omission under consumer protection law. Since 6 April 2025 the unfair commercial practices rules sit in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Trading standards can enforce them, and the Competition and Markets Authority can now fine businesses directly, with penalties of up to 10% of global turnover.
NTSELAT's guidance explains how agents should apply those rules to listings. It does not create a separate law, but trading standards uses it as the benchmark.
What are Parts A, B and C?
| Part | When it applies | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Part A | Always material, for every property | Price or rent, council tax band or rate, and tenure (for sales) |
| Part B | Should be established for every property | Property type and construction, number and size of rooms, utilities (electricity, water, sewerage, heating, broadband, mobile signal) and parking |
| Part C | Only if the property is affected | Building safety, restrictions, rights and easements, flood and coastal erosion risk, planning permission, accessibility, and coalfield or mining areas |
NTSELAT publishes separate guidance for sales and for lettings, and the exact items differ, so check the version that applies to your instruction. Property portals are adding dedicated fields for the data, and missing fields may be flagged on the listing.
Material information checklist for estate agents
Use this at instruction, before the listing goes live.
Part A: always - ☐ Asking price or rent confirmed in writing - ☐ Council tax band or rate checked, not assumed - ☐ Tenure confirmed (freehold, leasehold, shared ownership), and for leasehold, lease length, ground rent and service charge captured
Part B: establish for every property - ☐ Property type and construction type - ☐ Number of rooms, and measurements where relevant - ☐ Heating type, electricity and water supply, and sewerage arrangements - ☐ Broadband and mobile coverage checked against the supplier or Ofcom tools - ☐ Parking arrangements
Part C: only where it applies - ☐ Flood or coastal erosion risk checked - ☐ Restrictive covenants, easements or rights of way - ☐ Planning permission or building regulation status for any works - ☐ Building safety issues, such as cladding - ☐ Accessibility features or limits - ☐ Mining or coalfield location
How do you gather and prove it?
Collecting the data is only half the task. If trading standards asks how you knew a fact, you need the evidence.
- Ask at instruction. Use a standard questionnaire for the seller or landlord and request supporting documents such as a lease, a flood report or planning papers.
- Verify, don't assume. Check council tax with the local authority and check broadband and flood risk against the official checkers.
- Record the source and date. For every item, note who confirmed it, from which document and when.
- Get the confirmation signed. A signed declaration from the seller or landlord, with a timestamp, shows you relied on their disclosure.
- Update on change. If the position changes, for example a price drop or a new restriction, update the listing and the record.
Signed declarations and timestamped records are a natural fit for e-signing. See our guide to electronic signatures for estate agents and the wider data protection rules for estate agents, because the information you collect is personal data in many cases.
What are the most common mistakes?
- Treating Part C as optional. If the property is affected, the information is material.
- Using free-text fields inconsistently so buyers can't compare listings.
- Relying on the seller's word for council tax, broadband or flood risk with no check.
- Not keeping the evidence, so you can't show what you knew when the listing went live.
- Failing to update the listing after a change.
How SignFlow Now helps
SignFlow Now lets estate agents collect signed, timestamped declarations from sellers and landlords at instruction, giving you evidence of what you were told and when.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. NTSELAT guidance is updated periodically, and the sales and lettings requirements differ. Check the current NTSELAT guidance and your trading standards authority before relying on this checklist. Last reviewed 11 November 2026.