Consultation outcome

Repeal of the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991

• From: Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
• Published: 11 January 2011
• Last updated: 24 December 2012 — See all updates

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

The regulatory framework for home buying and selling: government response to consultations on the Estate Agents Act and the Property Misdescriptions Act

Ref: BIS/12/1006

PDF, 182 KB, 32 pages

Estate agents market regulatory reform: final stage impact assessment

Ref: BIS/12/1154

PDF, 190 KB, 17 pages

Detail of outcome

The government response addresses consultations on amending the Estate Agents Act 1979 and repealing the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (PMA).

We believe that the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) provide broadly similar protection to the PMA. The concerns raised are similar to when the CPRs were first proposed, and these fears don’t appear to have materialised in other sectors. We believe this situation will continue whilst the PMA remains in place. Though some stakeholders dispute this, we do not believe repealing the PMA would significantly reduce levels of consumer protection.

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Original consultation

Summary

Seeks views on how best to remove unnecessary regulation for property description whilst maintaining consumer protection.

This consultation ran from
11 January 2011 to 11:45pm on 5 April 2011

Consultation description

Seeks views on the possible repeal of the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (PMA). The PMA makes it an offence to make false or misleading statements in the course of an estate agency or property development business about property offered for sale. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) provide similar protections for consumers. This duplication may be unnecessary, putting additional burdens on business without providing additional protection for consumers. The consultation considers whether the government should repeal the PMA, now that the CPRs are in place.

Documents

Consultation on the repeal of the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991

Ref: BIS/11/505

PDF, 215 KB, 52 pages

Published 11 January 2011
Last updated 24 December 2012 + show all updates

1. 24 December 2012

   Added Government response document, December 2012

2. 11 January 2011

   First published.