Property portals and estate agents failing consumers
A new report from the HomeOwners Alliance (https://hoa.org.uk/) says that consumers are not getting the critical information estate agents are legally required to provide about the property upfront.
The Homeowners alliance analysed 150 leasehold property listings across the 3 main portals. Those being Rightmove, Zoopla and OntheMarket and found:
Leasehold
Only 94% of listings stated whether property was leasehold or freehold. 78% included the number of years left on the lease.
Only 62% mention service charges. 49% include details of ground rent. and just 9% include the date of the next ground rent review.
Poor performance on energy and council tax
24% of listings did not include an Energy Performance Certificate rating. This has been a legal requirement since 2013!
66% of listings included the council tax band, despite this being required for all listings. London listings were less likely to feature council tax (55%) than in Manchester (77%).
Comparing the portals
Zoopla and OnTheMarket’s listings tended to be more comprehensive than Rightmove. For example, 86% of Zoopla’s listings and 78% of OnTheMarket listings included the number of years remaining on the lease, compared with 70% on Rightmove.
How does Harlow compare?
Property portals and estate agents failing consumers
Jukes Estate Agents Sales and Marketing director Geoff Flewers conducted some research into all Harlow properties listed in 2025 so far. Here is his findings:
Only 66% of properties listed so far in 2025 had an EPC rating listed. This is a legal requirement!
14% of leasehold properties listed did not have length of lease remaining listed.
Approx. 25% of leasehold properties listed did not list how much the service charges were.
Finally, 43% of leasehold properties listed had no information about ground rent.
Geoff Flewers said: “When I looked at these listings, I did not include listings that had only been listed in the last 7 days. Whilst all of the information should be on the listing as soon as it’s listed, there are times when an EPC may take a day or three to be registered. Also, some vendors are not so fast in getting service charges, ground rent & lease details to the agent. However, my findings on the other listings are not good! Agents need to be more responsible with the way they list. Buyers simply may pass over a property because there is no EPC rating etc.