1.1 Sales information and marketing

Developers must ensure that all sales and marketing material – including visual representations such as photography, CGI, and video – is not misleading. It must be clear, fair and written in plain language, and it must keep to all relevant Codes of advertising and laws. Developers must state in their sales and marketing literature that they are on our register of registered developers.

Developers must prominently display the Code logo in public areas related to the process of selling new homes, including areas such as the sales office and selling agents’ offices, as well as in their sales brochures and on their websites.
The Code must be available, free of charge, to any customer who is interested in buying a new home and must be made available in appropriate formats and languages.

Developers must consider the needs of vulnerable customers in all their sales and marketing literature.

1.2 Describing the new home

Developers must properly inform and not mislead customers, taking into account their obligations set out in Part 2 and under the Material Information obligations within the Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers Act 2024 for property listings (where information is relevant and available). Information must include the following as a minimum, plus anything else the developer is aware of, and which would likely impact a consumer’s decision:

1. Size of property (room and total home in either m2 or sq ft dimensions). Calculation of home dimensions must comply with the RICS Code of Measuring Practice for gross internal area.
2. Tenure(including the length of any lease).
3. Specification of the property (including items that are not included within the standard specification that customers may reasonably expect to be included, i.e. floor coverings, turf, etc.).
4. Indicative energy performance ratings.
5. The price of the property.
6. Mobility adaptations.
7. Estimated legal completion dates.
8. The warranty that applies to the new home.
9. Management services.
10. Service charges.
11. Future phases of the development (including expected timescales, where known).
12. Any agreements or restrictions that may affect the customer if they want to sell the property in the future.
13. Costs and benefits of, and the cover provided by, any additional products such as insurances or warranties and guarantees that are provided.
14. Which Council Tax band the new home is expected to be placed in (Rates in Northern Ireland).

1.3 No high-pressure selling techniques

Developers must not use high-pressure selling techniques to influence a customer’s decision

This includes:

1. Encouraging a customer to reserve or buy a new home by suggesting there are other people interested in the property or that the price will soon increase (if this is not true);
2. Offering a financial incentive in return for an immediate decision to reserve or buy a new home.
   
   In the case of time-bound events such as launch weekends, then customers who attend must be given seven days to consider the purchase – even if this goes beyond the incentive timescale – during which time the incentive (but not any specific home) will be held open for them. Sales teams must be clear with customers who wish to take this additional time, that the home could still be sold to other buyers;
3. Encouraging a customer to reserve a new home by telling them they will lose the opportunity to personalise it, when the stage of construction would still allow this;
4. Encouraging a customer to buy any unnecessary or inappropriate additional insurance products, warranties or guarantees; or suggesting that a sale may not go ahead unless a customer uses a specific third-party professional adviser, such as conveyancer or mortgage broker;
5. ‘drip pricing’ of elements of a new home that customers may reasonably expect would be included.

1.4 Part-exchange and assisted-move schemes

When a developer offers a part-exchange or assisted-move scheme to a customer, the terms must be clear, fair and not misleading, and must not be used to pressurise the customer into a sale. The developer must give the customer enough time to consider the information they have been given.

The terms of the part-exchange scheme must be explained in plain language and must include the following details:

1. The full terms and conditions that apply, including any leasehold or tenure conditions. The terms and conditions must include the price offered for the part-exchange property and how long the offer is valid for.
2. How a fair market valuation has been decided on. This must be independent and come from more than one suitably qualified source.
3. Any deductions that will be applied to the market valuation.
4. How the customer can qualify for the part-exchange scheme.
5. The date the customer needs to accept the offer by.
6. What will happen if the customer does not accept the offer by the date they were given.
7. The date (or dates) the part exchange and purchase of the new home are expected to complete by, and what will happen if they do not occur on the same date.

1.5 Considering vulnerable customers

Developers must consider whether a customer is vulnerable and, if so, take any appropriate steps to help them make informed decisions.

Developers must take all reasonable steps to provide vulnerable customers with appropriate advice and help that is suitable to their needs, and must make sure that their employees do not make assumptions about the degree of knowledge that a customer has.

As buying a home is not something that most people do very often, developers must consider all customers as being situationally vulnerable, and offer extra support if needed.

1.6 Customer service standards and training

Developers must make sure they have in place all systems, procedures and permissions they need, including permission to share customers’ information (if this applies), to be able to accurately and reliably meet the requirements of the Code.

Our compliance team will undertake audits and may ask developers for information about how they are keeping to the Code, and the developer must provide this within 30 days.

We provide online training on keeping to the Code, and developers must make sure that all employees who deal with customers complete this. Also, any agents a developer uses must make sure they are familiar with and meet the requirements of the Code.

1.7 Legal and other advisers, commission and incentives for goods and services

Developers must make customers aware that they should get independent legal advice when buying a new home.

Developers may recommend professional advisers to a customer. This includes legal representatives, pre-completion inspectors, financial advisers or mortgage intermediaries. However, developers must make it clear to the customer that they are free to choose their own advisers and do not have to use one they recommended. Developers cannot offer incentives when recommending a professional adviser.

If a customer is dealing with a developer online (for example, through a website, an app or by email), and the website, app or email includes a link to the services of a specific professional adviser (such as a legal representative, financial adviser or mortgage intermediary), the developer must clearly identify the specific third-party provider and ask the customer to confirm that they want to continue before leaving the main page by following the link.

If a developer will receive any fee, commission or any other reward or advantage for introducing a professional adviser or recommending certain products or services to a customer, they must tell the customer the nature of the reward, the expected amount being received, who will receive it and for what activity, when they refer the customer to the professional adviser or when the customer buys or reserves the goods or services. This information must be clear and disclosed in writing before the customer makes any commitment.