BREAKING PROPERTY NEWS – 22/02/2022
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
More property info needed for sales & lets by the end of May
In a bid to speed up the average 28-week process of taking a property to sale and completion, there is to be a new, less-opaque regulatory compulsion for those selling or letting property.
The watchdog for compliance is trading standards, more specifically National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT). Together with other industry stakeholders such as property portals, NTSELAT has put together guidance in a document titled: IMPROVING THE DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL INFORMATION IN PROPERTY LISTINGS.
There will be three waves of new information required, which will roll out from May 2022. The first of these being:
Part A material information
1. Tenure (applicable to sales listings only) If Freehold • disclose as ‘freehold’ If Leasehold • disclose as ‘leasehold’, and • Current ground rent and any review period • Current service charge information and any review period • Length of lease • If Shared ownership, disclose • details of share being sold, and any additional liabilities or obligations If Commonhold, disclose • details of rights and obligations that apply between the unit holders, and between the unit holders and the commonhold association
2. Council Tax (England, Wales & Scotland), or Rates (Northern Ireland) – disclose • council tax band (E, W & S) • rates payable (NI)
3. Price or Rent For lettings, disclose • the monthly rent, and • any deposit payable For sales, disclose • the price expressed as a single amount
(Note: Displaying the selling price, although not prescribed by law, is considered to be material information – its omission would be a breach of the CPRs if it affected the transactional decision of the average consumer.)
From my point of view, it is a start, but we are very much in the foothills with what could be mandated, as even when all three sets of intel are in place, it will only be a fractional amount of the data set that exists on all property that must be included upfront.
Given the technology exists for a forensic logbook of a property asset, from its plan and construction onwards, together with its title, and the ability to offer finance on that asset to a ‘known’ buyer whose financials are no longer opaque due to open banking, why does it feel that the property industry is still in the stone age?
Luckily, the future of real estate is being coded by younger minds who are going to digitally re-plumb all of these slow processes, and far faster than any government or regulatory body will be able to mandate it.
My hope is that very soon due to the big data readily available from companies like Matt Gilpin’s Sprift, the property industry will fully grasp the nettle and utilise software and AI to give the tech-savvy buyers the answers to their questions before they even ask them.
With this, will we finally move away from the present slow process of discovery that happens after each sale or let is agreed, when all the ‘problems’ come to the surface?
MIPIM or bust – are there greener ways to solve the problems of Global Real estate?
MIPIM, or the International Market for Real Estate Individuals (Le Marché International des Professionnels de L’immobilier) kicks off on the 15th of March after a two-year absence. The big question will be, is it as relevant as it used to be?
For those unfamiliar Mipim is the biggest four-day real estate event in the world, hosted in Cannes.
Ronan Vaspart, director of MIPIM: “With investment into European real estate reaching an all-time high, this year’s MIPIM arrives at a crucial moment for the sector as we continue to build our recovery following the pandemic. At the same time, as we turbocharge our efforts to reach a net zero carbon future, it’s vital we have decision-makers gathered together to find the best solutions to embed ESG criteria into investment strategies. We are therefore really looking forward to continuing this conversation in person as we welcome back the investor community to Cannes in March.”
MIPIM is where the capital and real estate community meets with a number of strategic events, enabling networking and exploration of the key verticals that are opening up in 2022 and beyond. But with around 20,000 people descending on Cannes, is the event actually adding to the problems of getting a carbon-neutral planet?
There will of course be lots of people attending the event virtually, but it seems strange at an event where ESG and climate questions will be high on the agenda so many attending will be doing via a return flight.
The value of MIPIM is not in doubt, it has grown in stature since its first incarnation, and it’s regarded for its networking sessions at the various breakfasts and luncheons. It will even have an opening cocktail party. But after two or more years of virtual meetings, is a huge physical conference/awards and networking event on this scale a green option?
With over 17,000 delegates already signed up to attend, it would seem that everyone is very much up for it, and with the chance to pitch to potential investors and new potential business partners it would seem that Mipim will go from strength to strength.
But like all big events as the mindsets of people become increasingly concerned with a persons’ carbon footprint, will MIPIM need to pivot its model to ensure that its credentials are in step with the modern world it is helping to create?
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