Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has assessed the potential merits of introducing mandatory offer disclosure in Modern Method of Auction property sales.

The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team are investigating practices in the auction market involving the submission of misleading or inauthentic bids.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits unfair commercial practices by traders in their dealings with consumers, including misleading actions or omissions, which can extend to auction property sales. The Act also requires businesses to act with professional diligence, in line with honest market practice and general principles of good faith.

On 6 October, my Department published two consultations outlining reform proposals to transform home buying and selling. Transparency during the property sales process is one of the core objectives of these reforms. That is why we proposed requiring sellers to provide comprehensive upfront information to buyers and mandating the provision of critical information in property listings. The consultations can be found on gov.uk here and here.