What this law is
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) is the main UK law covering contracts between consumers and traders. It applies to goods, services, and digital content. For property sellers, the services part is what matters.
Section 49 of the Act contains the most important rule for estate agency: every service must be performed with reasonable care and skill. This is an implied term in every contract you sign, whether the contract mentions it or not. If the agent does a slapdash job, they have broken the law.
The Act also bans unfair contract terms. If an agent tries to slip in a clause that is heavily biased against you — for example, a clause charging you a fee even if you sell the home years after you ended the agreement — a court can strike it out.
Why it exists
Before the CRA, consumer rights were spread across half a dozen older acts and were hard to understand. The 2015 Act was designed to be clearer and to give consumers stronger, faster remedies when something goes wrong.
What it means for you
- The agent must provide their service — marketing, viewings, negotiating offers, progressing the sale — with reasonable care and skill. If they lose documents, miss deadlines, or misrepresent your property, that is a breach.
- If the agent breaches the contract, you have the right to a repeat performance (redo the service) or a price reduction (refund part of the fee). You do not need to sue to ask for this.
- Unfair terms in a sole agency contract — especially automatic renewals, unreasonably long notice periods, or hidden fee triggers — can be challenged and removed.
- You have the right to clear, upfront information about fees and services. If the contract is vague or confusing, that alone may breach the transparency requirement.
Red flags to watch for
- ⚠A contract that auto-renews unless you cancel — with notice periods buried in small print.
- ⚠A clause that makes the fee payable even when you take the property off the market permanently.
- ⚠Vague descriptions of what the agent will actually do — "full marketing service" with no specifics.
- ⚠Missed phone calls, ignored emails, delays of weeks on passing offers on — all potential breaches of reasonable care.
How to use it
- 1Keep a written record of every interaction with your agent. This is your evidence if you later need to claim a price reduction.
- 2If the agent has failed to deliver, write to them asking either for a repeat performance or a discount. Cite the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
- 3If they refuse, escalate to the redress scheme (The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme). Their decisions are binding on the agent.
- 4For very large issues, the small claims court is another route.
Key terms, translated
- Implied term
- A rule that is part of the contract even if nobody wrote it down. The CRA's rules are implied terms in every consumer service contract.
- Reasonable care and skill
- The standard of a competent professional in that industry. For estate agents, this covers things like passing on offers promptly, writing accurate listings, and handling viewings properly.
- Repeat performance
- Asking the trader to redo the work properly, at their cost, to fix the problem.
- Price reduction
- A partial refund to reflect the fact that what you received was worth less than what you paid for.
Official source
This guide is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. For the original text, always go to the official source.
Consumer Rights Act 2015 on legislation.gov.ukFrequently asked questions
What counts as a breach of reasonable care and skill by an estate agent?
Missing deadlines, passing on offers late or inaccurately, producing a misleading listing, failing to progress the sale, losing documents, or being unprofessional with buyers are all examples.
Can I get part of my fee back if the agent did a bad job?
Yes. The CRA gives you the right to either a repeat performance or a price reduction. Start by asking the agent directly, then escalate to the redress scheme if they refuse.
Are sole selling rights clauses legal?
Yes, but they have to be clear and fair. An unusually long tie-in, or a clause that claims a fee long after the agreement ends, can be struck out as an unfair term.