Material Information Seller Checklist: What to Gather Before Listing

When you instruct an estate agent to sell your home, one of the first things they will do is ask you for detailed information about the property. This is not just a formality. Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs), your agent is legally required to include material information in the property listing — and they cannot do that without your help.

Our guide on material information in property listings explains what material information is and what agents must include in listings. This guide is the practical companion: it tells you, the seller, exactly what you need to gather before your agent creates the listing, where to find each piece of information, and who is responsible for providing it.

The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) divides material information into three parts. Think of this checklist as your to-do list for each part.

Part A: core property details

Part A covers the fundamental facts that must appear in every property listing from the moment it is published. Most of these are straightforward to obtain, and your agent may already have access to some of them through public databases. However, you should verify everything is correct before the listing goes live.

Action steps for Part A

1. Download your title register. Visit the HM Land Registry website and download an official copy of your title register (£3). This confirms your tenure, registered owner, and any charges or restrictions. Keep a copy to hand for your agent and your solicitor.
2. Check your council tax band. Search the Valuation Office Agency website for your property. Note the band and the annual charge. If you believe the band is incorrect, do not attempt to challenge it just before selling — a revaluation could result in a higher band.
3. Verify your EPC. Search epcregister.com for your property. If you have a valid certificate (less than 10 years old), note the rating. If it has expired or you have never had one, book an assessment before contacting your agent.
4. Count your rooms accurately. Walk through the property and note the number of bedrooms, reception rooms, bathrooms (including en-suites), and any additional rooms such as a study, utility room, or conservatory.

Part B: property features and services

Part B covers more detailed information about what the property offers in terms of utilities, services, and features. This is where your personal knowledge of the property becomes essential. Your agent cannot find this information in a public database — they need you to tell them.

Action steps for Part B

1. Gather your utility bills. Collect recent bills for gas, electricity, water, and council tax. These confirm which utilities are connected and which suppliers you use. If you have a septic tank, oil tank, or private water supply, note the details and any maintenance arrangements.
2. Document your heating system. Note the type of heating (gas central heating, oil, electric, etc.), the make and approximate age of the boiler or heating system, and when it was last serviced. If you have a boiler service record, keep it available.
3. Check broadband and mobile coverage. Use Ofcom's online checker to confirm available broadband speeds and mobile signal strength at your address. Your agent will include this in the listing, and buyers increasingly check this before viewing.
4. Be specific about parking. If you have a garage, note its dimensions. If you have a driveway, note how many cars it holds. If parking is on-street, note whether it is permit-controlled and what the annual cost is.
5. Check your construction type. If your property is non-standard construction, this is material information because it can affect mortgageability. If you are unsure, check your purchase survey or ask your solicitor to confirm from the title deeds.

Part C: situation-specific issues

Part C is the most important section for honest disclosure. It covers issues that only apply if they are relevant to your specific property. Not every property will have Part C issues, but if yours does, they must be disclosed in the listing. This is also where there is the greatest overlap with the TA6 form you will complete during conveyancing, so gathering this information now saves time later.

Action steps for Part C

1. Review your insurance history. Check whether you have ever made an insurance claim for flooding, subsidence, storm damage, or any other structural issue. The buyer's solicitor will ask about this on the TA6, and it must be disclosed in the listing if relevant.
2. Check the flood risk map. Search the Environment Agency's long-term flood risk service for your address. Note the risk level for rivers, surface water, and reservoirs. Even if your property has never flooded, a high-risk classification is material information.
3. Walk your boundaries. Check for any signs of Japanese knotweed (tall bamboo-like stems with heart-shaped leaves in summer, dead brown canes in winter) within the property and within three metres of the boundary. If you have had treatment, locate the management plan and any guarantee.
4. List all building work. Make a comprehensive list of every alteration, extension, or improvement you have made to the property during your ownership. For each item, note whether you obtained planning permission and building regulations approval, and locate the certificates.
5. Consider disputes and complaints. Think carefully about whether there are or have been any disputes with neighbours, noise complaints, or issues with boundaries, rights of way, or shared access. As our guide on the seller's duty of disclosure explains, failing to disclose known disputes can lead to legal claims after completion.

How this checklist relates to your wider disclosure obligations

Material information for your listing is just one part of your disclosure responsibilities as a seller. The information you gather for this checklist feeds directly into several other stages of the sale:

• The TA6 Property Information Form. Many of the Part B and Part C items on this checklist correspond to specific questions on the TA6 form. If you have already gathered the information for your agent, completing the TA6 during conveyancing will be significantly faster.
• Your duty of disclosure. Under the seller's disclosure obligations, you must not make false or misleading statements about the property. The information you provide to your agent must be truthful, as it will form the basis of the listing that buyers rely on when deciding whether to view or make an offer.
• The conveyancing document pack. Several items on this checklist — such as the EPC, title register, and building work certificates — are also part of the documents needed to sell a house. Gathering them now means you are building your legal pack at the same time as preparing your listing information.

What your agent does with the information you provide

Once you have gathered the material information and supplied it to your estate agent, they are responsible for presenting it in the property listing. Under the NTSELAT guidance, agents should:

• Include Part A information in the listing from the first day the property is marketed on any portal, website, or printed material
• Include Part B information in the listing or make it available to prospective buyers at the earliest opportunity
• Include Part C information in the listing wherever a relevant issue exists, so that buyers are aware before arranging a viewing or making an offer
• Update the listing if circumstances change during the marketing period (for example, if a new planning application is submitted on neighbouring land)

Major property portals including Rightmove and Zoopla now have structured fields for material information, making it easier for agents to present these details in a consistent format. Listings with complete material information tend to attract more serious buyers, because expectations are set correctly from the outset.

Common mistakes sellers make

Based on The Property Ombudsman's published complaint summaries and industry guidance from Propertymark, these are the most common material information mistakes sellers make:

1. Forgetting about old building work. If you extended the kitchen fifteen years ago, you still need to disclose this and provide the planning permission and building regulations certificates. The fact that work was done a long time ago does not remove the obligation.
2. Not checking the lease. Leasehold sellers sometimes provide incorrect information about remaining lease length, ground rent, or service charges because they have not checked the lease document recently. Verify these figures before giving them to your agent.
3. Assuming the agent will find everything. Your agent can verify some details independently, but they cannot know about past flooding events, insurance claims, neighbour disputes, or building work unless you tell them. Part C in particular requires your honest input.
4. Downplaying known issues. If you know about a problem, disclose it factually. Understating an issue in the hope that the buyer will not notice is a recipe for a collapsed sale or, worse, a legal claim under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 after completion.
5. Providing information verbally only. Where possible, back up your information with documentary evidence. Certificates, survey reports, insurance claim reference numbers, and planning decision notices all add credibility and reduce the risk of disputes later.

Your preparation timeline

If you follow this checklist before contacting an estate agent, you can have all of your material information ready within one to two weeks. Here is a suggested order:

1. Week one. Download your title register from Land Registry. Check your EPC on the register (book a new assessment if needed). Verify your council tax band. Gather utility bills and note your heating system details. Check broadband and mobile coverage via Ofcom. Walk the property to check for Japanese knotweed. Review your insurance claims history.
2. Week two. List all building work carried out during your ownership and locate certificates. Check the local authority's planning portal for your property and neighbouring land. Search the Environment Agency flood map. Note any disputes, rights of way, or restrictive covenants. If leasehold, request a management pack from the freeholder or managing agent. Compile all documents in one folder.

By the time your agent visits for a valuation, you will be able to hand them everything they need to create a fully compliant listing from day one. This approach also gives you a head start on the conveyancing paperwork, because much of what you have gathered will also be needed for the TA6 and the draft contract pack.

Sources

• National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team — Material Information in Property Listings: Part A, Part B, and Part C guidance — ntselat.gov.uk
• Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1277) — legislation.gov.uk
• The Property Ombudsman — Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents — tpos.co.uk
• Propertymark — Material Information Guidance for Estate Agents — propertymark.co.uk
• HM Land Registry — Official copies of register and plan — gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry
• Valuation Office Agency — Check your council tax band — gov.uk/council-tax-bands
• Ofcom — Broadband and mobile coverage checker — checker.ofcom.org.uk
• Environment Agency — Check long-term flood risk — check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk
• Misrepresentation Act 1967 — legislation.gov.uk

Related guides

• Prepare Legal Documents Before Listing Your House

Frequently asked questions