The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team of Powys County Council—in its role as the UK’s lead enforcement authority for the Estate Agents Act 1979—has updated its guidance to help property sales businesses comply with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008 (BPRs) when carrying out activities in the UK. This guidance updates and replaces OFT guidance on property sales: compliance with the CPRs and BPRs.

Powys' guidance

Increasing the transparency of referral fees

On 28 February 2019, the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) published new guidance on referral fees received by estate agents across the UK. Their aim is to make previously hidden fees open and transparent to consumers. Within the guidelines, agents now need to disclose in writing at the earliest opportunity:

• the price of its services, including any 'compulsory' extras
• where a referral arrangement exists, that it exists, and with whom
• where a transaction-specific referral fee is to be paid, its amount
• where a referral retainer exists, an estimate of the annual value of that retainer to the estate agent or its value per transaction
• where the referral is rewarded other than by payment, an assessment of the annual value of the reward or the value of the reward per transaction

The NTSEAT guidance was produced with assistance from NAEA Propertymark, The Property Ombudsman, PRS, Guild of Property Professionals and RICS. If the industry does not take this guidance seriously and transparency is not achieved, referral fees could be banned when this guidance is reviewed.

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