In plain English
It is illegal for an estate agent to mislead you, hide an important fact, or pressure you into a decision. Since 6 April 2025 this is covered by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which replaced the old 2008 rules and let the regulator fine firms directly.
What this law is
The rules that ban misleading, aggressive, or unfair selling now live in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, usually shortened to the DMCCA. Its consumer-protection rules came into force on 6 April 2025 and replaced the old Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (the CPRs). If you read older guides that still talk about the CPRs, the DMCCA is the law that took over.
The protections did not weaken. The DMCCA still bans both misleading actions (saying something untrue) and misleading omissions (hiding something important), plus aggressive practices. For property it is arguably more important than the Estate Agents Act 1979 in day-to-day life, because silence can be illegal if the thing left out would change your decision. Leaving out material information is now automatically treated as unfair.
Enforcement got stronger. The Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) can now act directly, without first going to court, and can fine a business up to £300,000 or 10% of its worldwide turnover, whichever is higher. Serious breaches can still be criminal. Local Trading Standards continue to enforce these rules too.
Why it exists
Property is the biggest purchase most people ever make. Parliament recognised that an uninformed buyer, or a seller manipulated by an agent, can lose tens of thousands of pounds. These rules exist to force complete honesty at the point of sale, and the 2024 Act modernised them and put real enforcement behind them.
What it means for you
- Agents have to disclose material information. Anything that a reasonable buyer or seller would want to know before making a decision. That includes things like: flood risk, Japanese knotweed, cladding issues, a planned bypass nearby, structural problems, and lease length.
- Agents cannot make misleading statements, even through pictures. A photo taken with a wide-angle lens that makes a box room look like a double breaches these rules. So does hiding a damp patch with staged furniture.
- Pressure selling is banned. An agent cannot say "there is another offer coming in tomorrow, you must decide tonight" unless it is true and they can prove it. Fake urgency is illegal.
- You have a direct right to redress. You can ask for a refund of part of what you paid, a reduction in fees, or compensation. Without needing to sue. Trading Standards and the redress schemes will enforce this.
Red flags to watch for
- ⚠Glossy photos that look nothing like the property when you view it in person.
- ⚠The agent says "I do not know" about lease length, service charge, ground rent, or flood risk. They are required to have this information or get it.
- ⚠You are told multiple buyers are circling but shown no evidence.
- ⚠The floor plan shows rooms at dimensions you cannot measure when you arrive.
- ⚠The agent dismisses your questions about the area, neighbours, or planning permission without a straight answer.
How to use it
- 1Write everything down. If an agent makes a verbal claim about the property, follow up by email asking them to confirm it in writing.
- 2If you discover something material was hidden. After viewing or even after completion. These rules may give you a legal right to compensation.
- 3Report breaches to Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133), which routes them to Trading Standards, and to the agent's redress scheme.
- 4If you are selling, make sure your agent is asking you the right questions so they can disclose material facts properly. If they never ask, that is a warning sign about their compliance.
Key terms, translated
- Material information
- Anything a reasonable person would want to know before making a decision. For property, this includes price, tenure, lease length, service charge, ground rent, council tax band, construction type, flood risk, and any known defects.
- Misleading omission
- Leaving something out that the buyer or seller needed to know. Silence can be as illegal as an outright lie.
- Aggressive practice
- Using pressure, intimidation, or exploiting a stressful situation to push you into a decision you would not otherwise make.
- Right to redress
- Your legal right to claim a refund, discount, or compensation when a trader misleads you or uses an aggressive practice. It first arrived in 2014 and carried over into the 2024 Act.
Official source
This guide is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. For the original text, always go to the official source.
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 on legislation.gov.ukFrequently asked questions
What if I only discover a problem with the property after I have moved in?
If the agent (or seller) knew and did not tell you, that is a breach of the rules on unfair trading (now the DMCCA 2024). You can claim compensation. The claim can go through the agent's redress scheme or the courts, depending on scale.
Is a staged photo illegal?
Staging is fine. Presenting a home beautifully is allowed. What is illegal is deliberately hiding defects or making the property look materially different from reality. Wide-angle lens distortion is a grey area, but the rules are clear that photos should not mislead you about size.
Can I claim compensation directly from the agent?
Yes, through the redress scheme (The Property Ombudsman or Property Redress Scheme) or, for larger issues, through the courts. Consumers have had a direct right to redress for misleading or aggressive practices since 2014, and it carried over into the 2024 Act.
Do these rules apply to private sellers or only estate agents?
They apply to traders. A one-off private sale by a homeowner is usually not caught, but the moment an estate agent is involved the rules apply to the entire listing.