The Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (PMA), the law that 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in the course of an estate agency or property development business about property offered for sale, is due to be repealed â probably late in 2013.
The Government consulted on the issue last year, and came to the conclusion that other rules - the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) â provide broadly the same protection as the PMA. The PMA is therefore no longer necessary.
The CPRs were introduced in 2008 in order to implement the EU unfair commercial practices directive, but cover all consumer transactions, rather than simply property transactions.
The Office of Fair Trading recently issued guidance to help professionals understand their responsibilities under the CPRs and business protection regulations.