Material Information Rules 2026: What Sellers Must Disclose

If you are selling a property in England or Wales, you have a legal obligation to disclose material information — facts that a buyer needs to make an informed decision. This is not new, but the rules are being strengthened significantly. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024 is replacing the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) with clearer requirements and stronger enforcement powers.

For sellers, this means greater scrutiny of what information you provide (or fail to provide) to your estate agent and, ultimately, to buyers. The TA6 Property Information Form is the primary vehicle for this disclosure. Survey findings play a particularly important role, as they can create specific disclosure obligations that did not exist before the survey was carried out.

What is material information?

Material information is defined broadly as any information that the average consumer (in this context, a potential buyer) needs to make an informed transactional decision. In property sales, this includes:

• Basic facts about the property (size, type, tenure, location)
• Its physical condition, including known defects
• Legal matters (planning permissions, building regulations, restrictive covenants, disputes)
• Environmental factors (flood risk, contamination, subsidence history)
• Services and utilities (type of heating, water supply, drainage)
• Any factor that could materially affect the property's value or the buyer's decision to purchase

The test is whether a reasonable buyer would consider the information important when deciding whether to view, make an offer, or proceed with the purchase. If the answer is yes, it is material and should be disclosed. For a comprehensive overview of your obligations, see our guide on what to disclose when selling.

The DMCC Act and what is changing

The DMCC Act 2024 does not create entirely new obligations — the requirement to disclose material information existed under the CPRs. What it does is:

• Strengthen enforcement powers. Trading Standards can now impose direct financial penalties without needing to go through the courts in all cases.
• Clarify definitions. The Act provides clearer guidance on what constitutes a misleading omission of material information.
• Increase maximum penalties. Fines for non-compliance are significantly higher under the new regime.
• Align with NTS guidance. The Act supports the National Trading Standards guidance on property listings, which sets out specific material information requirements.

NTS material information guidance: Parts A, B and C

National Trading Standards has published detailed guidance for estate agents on what constitutes material information in property listings. This guidance divides material information into three parts:

Part A: Information in all property listings

Part A covers the basic facts that must be included in every property listing:

Part B: Information before viewing or offer

Part B covers information that should be available to buyers before they view the property or make an offer:

• Utilities: type of heating, hot water system, sewerage connection (mains or private)
• Parking: type of parking available and any associated costs
• Building safety: for buildings over 11 metres, information about external wall systems, fire safety, and any building safety issues
• Flood risk: whether the property is in a flood risk area
• Restrictions and rights: restrictive covenants, rights of way, easements
• Planning: current or recent planning applications affecting the property or surrounding area

Part C: Property-specific material information

Part C covers additional information that is material for specific properties. This is where survey findings and property-specific issues become particularly relevant:

• Known structural issues: subsidence, underpinning, structural cracking, previous structural work — issues commonly identified through property surveys
• Damp or rot: known or suspected damp, woodworm, dry rot
• Asbestos: known or suspected asbestos-containing materials
• Japanese knotweed: current or treated infestations
• Neighbour disputes: ongoing or recent disputes about boundaries, noise, or other matters
• Non-standard construction: construction types that may affect mortgage availability
• Alterations without consent: work done without building regulations approval or planning permission

How surveys create disclosure obligations

This is where the material information rules intersect directly with property surveys. When you commission a vendor survey, you become aware of whatever the survey reveals. This knowledge creates specific disclosure obligations:

1. You must disclose known defects on the TA6. The TA6 Property Information Form asks specific questions about structural problems, damp, flooding, environmental issues, and alterations. Survey findings that relate to any of these questions must be disclosed honestly.
2. You must inform your estate agent. Under the material information rules, you must provide your estate agent with accurate information so they can market the property lawfully. If your survey reveals a material defect, your agent needs to know.
3. You cannot "unknow" what the survey found. Once you have a survey, you have knowledge. If the survey reveals subsidence, significant damp, or structural problems, you cannot pretend you are unaware. Claiming ignorance when you have commissioned a professional inspection would not be credible.

This is sometimes cited as an argument against commissioning a pre-sale survey — the concern that it creates disclosure obligations that would not otherwise exist. However, this argument is flawed. If a defect exists, the buyer's surveyor will almost certainly find it anyway. At that point, the fact that you knew about it (from your own survey) but failed to disclose it makes your position significantly worse, not better.

Proactive disclosure is always better than reactive discovery. See our guide on whether a pre-sale survey is worth it for more on this trade-off.

Consequences of non-disclosure

Failing to disclose material information can have serious consequences:

Trading Standards enforcement

• Compliance notices requiring corrective action
• Financial penalties — under the DMCC Act, these can be imposed directly by Trading Standards without court proceedings
• Criminal prosecution for deliberate or reckless misleading omissions

Civil claims

• Claims under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 if the buyer suffers a financial loss due to a misrepresentation (which includes deliberate omission of known material facts)
• Claims for damages, rescission (unwinding) of the contract, or an indemnity

Practical consequences

• Sale falling through when the buyer discovers undisclosed issues during their own survey or conveyancing
• Loss of buyer trust, making renegotiation more difficult
• Potential impact on your ability to sell to subsequent buyers if the non-disclosure becomes known

Practical steps for sellers

1. Be honest and thorough on all property forms. Answer every question on the TA6 and other forms accurately and completely — our guide on TA6 survey disclosure obligations walks through each relevant section. If you are unsure about something, say so rather than guessing.
2. Tell your estate agent everything material. Do not leave your agent to guess or discover issues later. Provide them with all information they need to market the property lawfully.
3. If you have a survey, disclose the findings. You do not need to hand over the report itself, but you must disclose any material defects it reveals on your TA6 form and to your estate agent.
4. Keep records. Document what you have disclosed, when, and to whom. This protects you if a dispute arises later.
5. Take legal advice if unsure. If your survey reveals a significant issue and you are not sure how to handle it, speak to your solicitor before making decisions about disclosure or pricing.

Pine helps sellers understand and meet their disclosure obligations as part of the sale preparation process, ensuring you go to market with full, transparent information that protects both you and the buyer. The move towards upfront information packs is closely aligned with these material information requirements.

Frequently asked questions