The Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 and how it affects you

At Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents we often get questions about The Property Misdescriptions Act, what it stands for and how it helps us to better represent you. 

To help you understand the Act we have assembled this quick guide!

A GUIDE TO THE PROPERTY MISDESCRIPTIONS ACT 1991

The description of your property, which we give to potential buyers, is crucial in helping them to decide whether they want to buy your house.

The more complete the information, the more chance you have of making a quicker sale.

The Property Misdescriptions Act of 1991 was introduced to make sure that the information sellers provide about their property is truthful and accurate.

In short, it says that everything that is said or written by an estate agent must be true and that the public must be able to rely on estate agents’ information without asking for further proof.

It is an offence for estate agents to make a false or misleading statement about property, whether verbally, in writing, pictorially or by omission.

We rely on you our vendors to provide us with precise and accurate information for our property descriptions, including improvements and alterations, the availability and nature of services, such as gas, electricity and drainage, the working order of equipment, the precise tenure, or extent of your ownership.

We may therefore ask you, or your solicitor/conveyancer, for documents which prove details about your property.

We also ask that you tell us immediately if there are any changes to your property as this means that we must amend the sales description.

If we cannot verify information or obtain verification we may not be able to include it in the property description or advertisements.

Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents fully supports the Act and is a member of The Property Ombudsman Scheme for Estate Agents.

I you would like to discuss anything to do with the Act or our commitment to fair property descriptions please contact our office.

With your help and honesty we will promote your property to its fullest extent, ensuring that all descriptions are accurate, realistic and reliable. 

You can read  the full Act HERE.

We hope this has proven insightful for you!

For more expert advise call Jowett Chartered Surveyors & Estate Agents on 01484 536799. Or arrange for a free valuation to find out how much your Huddersfield home is worth.