Lancaster and Morecambe Sellers: What You Must Declare About Your Home

The awkward questions shouldn’t wait until you’ve found a buyer

Most sellers expect the detailed questions to come later. Put the house on the market, find a buyer, accept an offer and then let the solicitors investigate everything.

But waiting can create problems that could have been avoided.

Important information about your home should be discussed much earlier, ideally before it is advertised. In the property industry, we call this material information. It may sound like jargon, but it simply means information a buyer needs to make an informed decision about a property.

There is a big difference between a buyer knowing something before they offer and discovering it unexpectedly eight weeks into the sale.

What counts as material information?

Some details are obvious, including the asking price, tenure and council tax band. Others depend on the individual property. A modern home may have an estate management charge, while an older Lancaster property may have been extended or altered over the years.

Other relevant information could include:

• lease length, ground rent or service charges

• parking arrangements or shared driveways

• rights of way and restrictive covenants

• unusual construction or known structural issues

• flood risk or previous flooding

• significant alterations and the relevant approvals

• Japanese knotweed

• restrictions affecting how the property can be used

There is no single checklist that fits every home. The practical rule is straightforward: if something could reasonably influence a buyer’s decision, tell your estate agent about it.

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, estate agents must not omit material information or present it in a way that is unclear, misleading or too late to be useful. The Act does not provide a property-specific checklist, so agents need to consider each home individually.

You may still see references to Parts A, B and C. These came from an earlier National Trading Standards framework but should not be presented as the current legal checklist.

Your estate agent cannot disclose what they don’t know

We can inspect your home, ask questions and carry out checks, but we cannot know everything that has happened during the years you have owned it.

Perhaps you converted the garage or extended the kitchen and cannot find the paperwork. Maybe part of the garden has flooded or there is a shared access arrangement.

None of these things automatically makes your home difficult to sell. Most properties have something that needs explaining. We would simply rather understand it at the beginning, when there is time to find paperwork or ask the right professional for advice.

Why does early disclosure matter?

Put yourself in the buyer’s position. They have agreed a price, paid for a survey and instructed a solicitor. Then something important appears unexpectedly.

Often, the issue is manageable. The surprise is what damages confidence. The buyer starts wondering whether it affects the value or whether they should renegotiate.

That is how an explainable issue can turn into a delay, a price reduction or even a lost sale.

What should you gather before selling?

You do not need to turn your dining table into a conveyancing office, but it is worth finding the documents you already have. These might include:

• planning permissions, Building Regulations approvals and paperwork for alterations

• certificates or warranties for windows, boilers and electrical work

• guarantees for roofing, damp treatment or other specialist work

• leasehold, service charge or estate management information

• documents relating to access, rights of way or covenants

• details of previous flooding, subsidence, structural work or significant insurance claims

You will probably need much of this during conveyancing anyway. Finding it early can save a frantic search once the chain is waiting.

If you genuinely do not know an answer, do not guess. Say that you are unsure so your agent, conveyancer or another suitable professional can help establish the facts.

The same applies to neighbour disputes. Tell your conveyancer what happened and let them advise whether it needs to be formally disclosed.

Thinking about selling in Lancaster and Morecambe?

At JDG, we would rather spend time understanding your property properly at the start than discover something important halfway through the sale.

Tell us about the extension, shared driveway or certificate you cannot find. Tell us about the slightly awkward detail you suspect does not matter. It may be perfectly manageable, and the sooner we know, the better.

Good preparation is not about making your sale more complicated. It is about removing surprises before they become problems.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is material information when selling a house?

Material information is information an average buyer needs to make an informed decision about a property. Estate agents have legal responsibilities to ensure it is not omitted or presented in a misleading, unclear or untimely way.

Should I instruct a conveyancer before finding a buyer?

There is a strong case for doing so. Early preparation can uncover missing paperwork or unusual title arrangements before the sale is underway, giving you more time to resolve them.