Advice to agents has been published on a new website, the Government-backed businesscompanion.info

The advice is described as being written by expert contributors under the guidance of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute.

But some agents may disagree with, or find muddling, some of the advice, published in reference to Consumer Protection Regulations.

The advice says that if a house has an ugly view to one side, then agents might not need to mention it.

It states: “If a house has open fields on three sides and a builder’s yard or nightclub on the fourth, the safest option is not to refer to the outlook.

“If you said that it was surrounded by views across open fields, you would mislead unless you made equal reference to the view on the fourth side.”

However, the advice appears to contradict itself, going on to say: “If the fourth side was of such importance to a consumer that it could affect his decision to buy, it may be a misleading omission not to mention it.”

Compliance expert Mike Day said: “It looks as if someone has taken advice that would have been appropriate under the old Property Misdescriptions Act whereby effectively only statements made were covered and has applied that.

“Basically, under the PMA, provided your statement was factual and didn’t imply something else – no problem. The Consumer Protection Regulations, however, go much further and an omission is an offence if felt to be misleading.

“My basic approach to this is to ask oneself – ‘If the information given, or not given, would affect your decision to transact (view, offer, buy etc), then it should be disclosed’.

“While there is still a degree of subjectivity, I think the ‘average consumer’ (as described in the Regulations) would see living next door to a nightclub as something they would want to know about.”

The advice also tells agents that “new instructions” should be listed as such “for only a short period (we would suggest a month)”.

The guides advise on what agents sell, where (on or off premises or distance sales), and how.

Also covered is the new Consumer Rights Act, implemented on October 1, which contains rules about digital content.

Subjects covered in the guides for agents include:

• Property descriptions
• Display of fees
• Safety of rented accommodation
• Consumer contracts, pricing and the sale and supply of goods
• Information on when to offer a refund, repair or replacement
• Aggressive selling, misleading descriptions and advertising
• Use of membership logos, online reviews and endorsements
• Alternative dispute resolution

Guides for estate agents are here

 Guides for letting agents are here

The website is here