The Homebuyers Code of Practice: what it means and what you should check

In 2024, the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team (NTSELAT) introduced mandatory material information rules that fundamentally changed what estate agents must disclose before a property is listed. Understanding these rules gives buyers significant leverage — and knowing how to verify the information independently is even more valuable.

What the Homebuyers Code of Practice requires

The rules are split into three parts, which came into force in stages:

• Part A (required at listing) — the asking price, property type, number of bedrooms, and council tax band must appear on all portal listings from day one.
• Part B (required before any offer) — physical characteristics like construction type, whether the property is freehold or leasehold, lease length (if applicable), ground rent and service charge details, and any known building safety issues.
• Part C (required before exchange) — broader disclosures including flood risk, planning restrictions, restrictions on use, and anything that could materially affect value.

Agents who fail to disclose Part A information can have their listings removed from portals. Parts B and C carry financial penalties and professional sanctions from The Property Ombudsman or NTSELAT.

What this means in practice for buyers

The rules give you a formal right to certain information before you spend money on surveys or solicitors. In practice, many agents are still catching up — so it pays to know what you're entitled to ask for.

Key questions to put to any agent in writing before offering:

• Is the property freehold or leasehold? If leasehold, what is the remaining lease term?
• What is the annual ground rent, and does it escalate? (Doubling ground rents are now restricted by law, but older leases may still carry them.)
• Is there a service charge, and what did it total in each of the last 3 years?
• Has the property been subject to any flooding events? What flood risk zone is it in?
• Are there any planning permissions, covenants or restrictions on the title?
• Has the property had a known building safety issue (cladding, EWS1 status)?

How to verify disclosures independently

Seller disclosures are a starting point, not a conclusion. Every piece of Part B and Part C information can be cross-checked against public records:

• Tenure & lease — HM Land Registry title register (available for £3 per title at GOV.UK)
• Council tax band — the Valuation Office Agency's public portal
• Flood risk — Environment Agency flood maps (England), SEPA SIFRA (Scotland), Natural Resources Wales
• Planning history — every local authority publishes applications on their planning portal; the national planning.data.gov.uk also aggregates applications
• EPC — the GOV.UK EPC register shows the certificate, its assessor, and any previous certificates
• Sold prices — HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, published freely for every completed sale since 1995

A Property Snapshot report pulls together all of these sources — flood zone, EPC, council tax band, Land Registry history, planning applications, crime, schools and more — into a single document so you can compare what the agent told you against the public record in minutes.

What the rules don't cover

The Code of Practice does not require sellers to disclose neighbour disputes, historical subsidence, or issues found in previous surveys that were never actioned. It also doesn't cover the quality of local schools, future development nearby, or area-level risks like crime trends. These require your own research — or a professional survey.

Summary

The Homebuyers Code of Practice gives UK buyers more information rights than ever before. Use them: ask agents in writing for Parts B and C disclosures before you offer, verify the answers against public data, and treat any reluctance to provide information as a red flag worth investigating.