Property sales and lettings

Helpful information on the advertising rules for property sales and lettings, and examples of previous ads subject to an Advertising Standards Authority ruling.

The estate agent market is highly competitive and it is common for property sales and lettings ads to include claims such as ‘market leaders’, ‘leading estate agent’, ‘premier’ or ‘top selling agent’. Over the years, we have investigated and upheld various complaints about the use of these types of claims when they cannot be substantiated. As a general rule, we consider ‘leading’ and ‘number one’ claims to relate to sales or market share and that counting ‘sold’ or ‘for sale’ board presence is an inadequate method of substantiation.

We also advise advertisers to steer clear of making comparative sales claims about discrete postcodes based on data obtained from the Land Registry, and superiority claims based only on website data taken from property portals such as Rightmove or Zoopla.

The other main area of complaints we see about property sales and lettings ads are to do with fees, costs and charges.

If VAT can be calculated on fees and charges in advance then it needs to be included in the quoted price and not referenced separately. This rule also applies to percentage charges which are subject to VAT. All tenant and landlord fees should be advertised inclusive of the current rate of VAT.

For the avoidance of doubt, this position also applies to both letting agents and property portals. Advertisers may wish to consult the Competition and Markets Authority’s guidance for lettings professionals on consumer protection law.

Furthermore, lettings agents should ensure that non-optional fees, such as credit checks, application fees, fees for drawing up tenancy agreements and inventory fees are clearly stated in ads for properties being let. Ads should make clear whether charges are per tenant or per property.

Advertisers are reminded that all non-optional fees that can be calculated in advance and apply to all, or most consumers, should accompany the monthly rent. Including this information elsewhere is unlikely to be acceptable.

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Latest rulings

CPBigwood Ltd t/a SDL Auctions
- Not Upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 10 January 2018
A catalogue for SDL Auctions property auction, which took place on 6 July 2017, contained a contents page that listed all of the lots for sale. Text at the head of the page said “All guide prices are subject to additional non-optional fees, including the buyer’s administration fee. Please see Important Notices in th...
Cottons Surveyors Ltd t/a Cottons Chartered Surveyors
- Not Upheld
- Catalogue
- 10 January 2018
A catalogue for Cottons property auction, which took place on 25 May 2017, contained a number of lots for sale that were presented with price information in the form “*Guide Price: £x - £y (+Fees)”. The asterisk linked to small print text at the foot of each page that stated “*Refer to Guide and Reserve Price Defini...
homeraffler.com
- Upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 13 December 2017
A prize promotion shown on www.homeraffler.com, seen on 30 June 2017, featured text that stated “WIN A LUXURIOUS LONDON HOME ?… With the help of Eventbrite you can now purchase tickets by using Credit and Debit Cards …? How to Enter To enter into this contest please either purchase ticket using the Payment Methods b...
Purplebricks Group plc t/a Purple Bricks
- Not Upheld
- Internet (on own site)
- 25 October 2017
A website for Purplebricks, an online estate agent, www.purplebricks.com, seen between September 2016 and February 2017, featured a page headed “MEET OUR EXPERTS”. Text on the page stated “Our Local Experts are some of the most respected estate agents in their local area. Below the text a banner st...

View all rulings

Property sales and lettings

Helpful information on the advertising rules for property sales and lettings, and examples of previous ads subject to an Advertising Standards Authority ruling.

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