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      What do estate agents have to disclose, and which of their tricks are actually illegal?

      In England, the main sales-agent rules are UK-wide consumer law and estate-agency law, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland diverging only on specific points such as Home Reports, missives and tenant-fee sanctions. The practical test is whether the information affects a buyer’s, seller’s or tenant’s decision, not whether the trick has an old property-law label.

      By Abodient Team Published 02 September 2026 Updated 01 September 2026 14 min read
      What do estate agents have to disclose, and which of their tricks are actually illegal?

      In England, the main sales-agent rules are UK-wide consumer law and estate-agency law, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland diverging only on specific points such as Home Reports, missives and tenant-fee sanctions. The practical test is whether the information affects a buyer’s, seller’s or tenant’s decision, not whether the trick has an old property-law label.

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        What must an estate agent disclose about a property?

        An estate agent must disclose material information about a property: under the DMCC Act 2024, “material information” means information the average consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision, so flooding, tenure, charges, defects, restrictions and risks can all be disclosable if they would affect the decision. There is no fixed statutory residential-property checklist: government says “The DMCCA, however, does not include a prescribed list of material information specific to residential property transactions,” so old material information disclosure lists are not law. In England and Wales, the agent must be satisfied before marketing that an EPC has been commissioned; in Scotland the marketer must possess the Home Report documents while the house is on the market. A personal interest is separate: an estate agent with a stake in the land must disclose “the nature and extent of his personal interest in it” before negotiating.

        Does an estate agent have to tell you about other offers?

        No law makes an estate agent tell a buyer about other offers; the statutory duty is to pass accurate offer details promptly and in writing to the seller, because the 1991 Order targets failure to forward offers “to his client,” not to rival buyers. That said, a TPO-member agent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland must tell recent unrejected bidders that other offers exist: the code says, “You must keep all buyers who have recently made offers through you, and which have not already been rejected, informed of the existence of other offers you have submitted to the seller.” The amount is different: a TPO member must get the seller’s agreement before disclosing the amount of another offer. You usually cannot find out what offers have been made on a house unless the seller, agent under code rules, or later Land Registry sale data reveals something.

        Can an estate agent lie about another offer?

        No, an estate agent cannot lie about another offer: misrepresenting the existence or details of an offer is an undesirable estate-agency practice, and since 6 April 2025 a misleading sales pitch can also be an offence under the DMCC Act 2024. The 1991 Order expressly catches misrepresentation “as to the existence of, or details relating to, any offer for the interest in the land,” while the newer consumer-law offence applies where a trader uses a misleading action. This matters because fake bids are not just pushy negotiation; they can trigger enforcement against the agent’s ability to do estate-agency work. Fraud Act arguments are narrower and not UK-wide: the Fraud Act’s main offences extend to England, Wales and Northern Ireland only, so the cleaner answer across the UK is the 1991 Order plus the DMCC Act.

        What can you do if an estate agent will not respond to your offer?

        If an estate agent will not respond to your offer, put the offer in writing, ask for written confirmation that it has been sent to the seller, and complain to the agent’s redress scheme if the agent still fails to deal with it. The legal duty is not a duty to chat with the buyer; the 1991 Order makes it an undesirable practice not to forward accurate offer details promptly and in writing to the seller. If the agent is a TPO member in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the code adds a buyer-facing deadline: “You must confirm each offer in writing to the seller, and to the buyer who made it, within 2 working days.” UK residential estate agents must belong to an approved redress scheme, and GOV.UK says, “If they do not respond or you’re not happy with their response, you can complain to the relevant ombudsman service or scheme.”

        Do estate agents have to tell you why a sale fell through?

        Estate agents do not have a blanket legal duty to tell you why a sale fell through, but they must not hide a property defect if that defect is material information for a later buyer. The DMCC Act test is still whether the average consumer needs the information for an informed transactional decision, not whether the previous buyer personally explained their withdrawal. A survey defect, title problem, flooding issue or unmortgageable lease problem can be material; a buyer’s bereavement, divorce, job loss or mortgage application failure may be confidential personal information. TPO’s code reflects that boundary by saying confidential consumer information must not be released without permission unless legally required. In ordinary England and Wales sales, a fall-through is also structurally common because an accepted offer is not binding until exchange; Hamptons put fall-throughs at 32.2% within a year of offer accepted.

        How accurate are estate agent valuations?

        Estate agent valuations are not governed by a statutory accuracy percentage, and a normal market appraisal is usually judged by good faith, comparable evidence and market conditions rather than a fixed tolerance band. TPO’s residential sales code says, “Any figure you advise, either as a recommended asking price or as a possible selling price must be given in good faith and must reflect available information about the property and current market conditions and must be supported by comparable evidence.” That makes over-optimistic pricing a standards issue before it is a legal one. A typical agent appraisal is also not the same as a formal RICS Red Book valuation, because RICS excludes advice given during an agency or broker instruction to sell. Market data shows the gap can be material: GetAgent reported agents in England and Wales achieving 96.7% of original asking price in July–December 2023.

        Do estate agents deliberately undervalue a property?

        Some estate agents may deliberately undervalue a property to win a quick sale or favour a buyer, but the clearer documented market pattern is often overvaluing to win the instruction and then reducing later. TPO members must not do either deliberately: the code says, “You must never deliberately misrepresent the market value of a property.” UK consumer law also bans materially inaccurate information about market conditions or availability where it is used to push a consumer into worse-than-normal conditions, but there is no simple statute saying every low appraisal is illegal. A cautious seller should treat a low figure as a reason to demand comparable evidence, not as proof of misconduct. The best practical check is three written appraisals, recent sold comparables, and the agent’s proposed asking-price strategy in writing; a suspiciously low valuation is harder to defend when the local evidence points higher.

        Do estate agents make up viewings?

        Estate agents must not make up viewings if the claim misleads a buyer or seller, because UK consumer law prohibits unfair commercial practices and the 1991 Order catches misrepresentation about the existence or status of a prospective purchaser. The old shorthand that fake viewings are not specifically illegal is too narrow after the DMCC Act 2024: “Unfair commercial practices are prohibited.” For TPO members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the paper trail should also exist because the code says, “You must record any viewings that have been arranged for that property, feedback from those viewings and pass this to the seller within an agreed timescale.” In practice, fake viewings are a risky and low-value trick for an established agent because they create records, complaints and redress exposure; exaggerated interest is more common than wholly invented appointments.

        Can an estate agent buy a house they are selling?

        Yes, an estate agent can buy a house they are selling, but they must disclose the conflict of interest before negotiating and, under TPO rules, the buyer-agent must take no further direct part in the sale. The Estate Agents Act 1979 applies where an agent is negotiating on their own behalf, and it requires disclosure before negotiation of the nature and extent of the personal interest. Non-disclosure is serious but often misdescribed: the Act says failure to comply “shall not render the estate agent liable to any criminal penalty nor constitute a ground for any civil claim,” though it can be considered by the enforcement authority. For TPO members, the step-aside rule is more practical than the statute: “If you, an employee or an associate is intending to buy a property which your firm is instructed to sell, that person must take no further direct part in the sale of that property on behalf of your business.”

        Which estate agent tricks are actually illegal?

        Estate agents in England & Wales carry no licence to revoke — only compulsory redress-scheme membership — and the penalty for missing estate-agent redress membership is £1,000, not GOV.UK’s stated £5,000. The actually illegal or enforceable tricks are false or misleading particulars, hiding material information, fake scarcity, invented local sold prices or rival demand, fake offers, failing to pass genuine offers to the seller, discriminating against buyers who refuse in-house services, undisclosed referral fees, and undisclosed personal interests. The Property Misdescriptions Act is no longer the answer because “The Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 is repealed.” Gazumping is different: in England and Wales, an offer is not legally binding until exchange; in Scotland, the buyer is legally committed after conclusion of missives. Tenant-fee tricks diverge by nation: England uses civil penalties, Wales and Scotland criminalise prohibited fee demands, and in Northern Ireland a term making the tenant pay the landlord’s agent’s commission is void.

        Last reviewed September 2026.

        Sources

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