Build a sourced fact sheet for each property using the Part A, B and C categories, let AI draft the listing only from that sheet, run a second AI pass that lists unsupported claims and missing items, then have a person tick each line against evidence before publishing. AI must never supply facts such as tenure or flood risk itself.
One caveat before you build the checklist: National Trading Standards withdrew its Part A, B and C guidance in 2025, after the regulations it interpreted were replaced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The legal duty not to leave out or misstate material information remains, and new government guidance has been promised, so treat the parts as a working checklist rather than the rulebook.
The risk with AI copy is subtle. AI-written listings read fluently, and fluent text hides omissions and invented details. A paragraph about a "peaceful, well-connected cottage" can pass a casual read while saying nothing about the shared drive, the restrictive covenant or the mobile coverage. A checklist applied to the draft, with evidence for each line, turns fluent copy into compliant copy.
Parts A, B and C: withdrawn guidance, still a sound checklist
The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team published its material information guidance in stages: Part A in 2022, then Parts B and C in a consolidated sales guide in November 2023. In 2025 the team withdrew it, because the 2008 consumer protection regulations it interpreted had been replaced by the 2024 Act. The categories have not stopped being material, though. They closely match the ones the government consulted on from October to December 2025, so the table below, taken from the withdrawn sales guide (version 1.0), is a sound working checklist. It was never exhaustive: anything that would affect a buyer's decision still counts.
| Part | What it covers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Part A | Information that is always material | Council tax band (or domestic rates), asking price, and tenure, including inescapable costs such as service charges and ground rent |
| Part B | Information to establish for every property | Property type, and construction materials where they affect the buyer (a thatched roof, a prefabricated build); number and types of rooms with room sizes or a floor plan; electricity, water, sewerage and heating; broadband type, with buyers pointed to the official checker for speeds; mobile signal, including known problems; parking |
| Part C | Information needed only if the property is affected | Building safety (such as unsafe cladding, asbestos, risk of collapse), restrictions (conservation area, listed status, tree preservation order), rights and easements (public rights of way, or a neighbour's right of way over a shared drive), flood risk, coastal erosion risk, planning permission or proposals for development affecting the property and its immediate locality, accessibility or adaptations, coalfield or mining area |
Energy performance certificates sat outside the guidance because separate legislation already covers them; keep the certificate on your fact sheet anyway, since buyers ask for it.
The duty itself did not go away with the guidance. In its June 2026 response to the consultation, the government said it will publish new non-statutory guidance explaining what the 2024 Act already requires, work with industry on a standardised form for gathering material information, and later move towards upfront sales packs. Check the government's website for the new guidance, and your portals for new fields, before you finalise your checklist, and review it twice a year. That is why the checklist belongs in your process rather than in a one-off project.
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Buy nowThe rule that makes AI safe in listings
One rule governs everything below: the AI may only use facts that appear in a source document or record you have supplied, and every factual statement in the final listing must trace to that source. No source, no statement. When you work this way, AI is a drafting and checking assistant. When it is allowed to "fill in" a missing detail, it becomes a liability, however polite the sentence.
This also shapes how you gather inputs. The old sequence was: valuation visit, brief notes, write the listing, chase the rest later. The safer sequence is: gather the Part A, B and C facts at or soon after the valuation, record them in a fact sheet with their sources, then write. Preparing valuation appointments with AI shows how to prompt the visit so the facts are captured while you are on site.
Step 1: Build a property fact sheet
A fact sheet is a simple form per property, with one line per checklist item and three columns: the value, the source, and the date confirmed. Sources are things like the seller's statement, the title register, an energy certificate, a broadband checker result, the local authority's records, a survey or the seller's conveyancer. Mark each line Confirmed, Seller-stated or Unknown. Recording the source matters more than ever: the government's response says its new guidance will expect information to be gathered from source, such as title details from the land registry itself rather than from memory or an old brochure.
Item | Value | Source | Date confirmed | Status
Council tax band | D | Local authority record | [date] | Confirmed
Tenure | Freehold | Title register | [date] | Confirmed
Heating | Gas central heating, boiler 2019 | Seller | [date] | Seller-stated
Broadband | Fibre to the cabinet, speed [to check] | Provider checker | [date] | Unknown
Mobile coverage | Weak indoors, per seller | Seller | [date] | Seller-stated
Parking | Shared drive, right of way for number 14 | Seller; title to check | [date] | Seller-stated
Flood risk | Not known | - | - | Unknown
Unknown lines are not failures; they are your work list. The listing cannot be finalised until each is either confirmed, stated by the seller with a note, or recorded as checked with no issue found.
Step 2: Draft the listing from the fact sheet only
Give the tool the fact sheet and ask for copy. Tell it what to do about unknowns.
Write an estate agent listing for the property below in a warm, factual British English style, 180-220 words, plus a bullet list of key features.
Use ONLY the facts in the fact sheet. Do not add any fact, measurement, distance, school, or description of the area that is not in the sheet.
Where a line says Unknown, do not mention the topic; list it at the end under "Missing information".
Where a line says Seller-stated, phrase it as "the seller advises ...".
FACT SHEET:
[paste]
The "Missing information" output is a gift: a list, generated every time, of what you do not yet know. Compare it with the checklist and chase.
Step 3: Run the copy check against the checklist
Now the check that gives this tutorial its title. Take the draft listing and the fact sheet and run a second prompt whose only job is to audit.
You are a compliance checker for property listings. Compare the DRAFT with the FACT SHEET and the CHECKLIST.
Return three lists:
1. Statements in the DRAFT that are not supported by the FACT SHEET (quote them).
2. CHECKLIST items that are not mentioned in the DRAFT and are not marked Unknown or Not applicable in the FACT SHEET.
3. Phrases that overstate (for example "peaceful", "superb transport links", "no issues") without a fact to support them.
Do not rewrite the listing. Do not guess.
CHECKLIST: [Part A, B, C items]
FACT SHEET: [paste]
DRAFT: [paste]
Run this as a different chat from the drafting step, so the checker is not anchored on its own earlier output. Then a person reads the three lists and edits the listing.
A semi-detached house audited: draft, gaps and fixes
Take an illustrative three-bedroom semi-detached house, freehold, council tax band D. The seller says there is a shared drive, patchy mobile signal in the back bedrooms and a conservatory built in 2012.
The first draft, produced from a thin set of notes, said: "A peaceful family home with a private driveway, excellent mobile coverage and a lovely conservatory. Great transport links." The audit returned: (1) unsupported: "private driveway" (the fact sheet says shared drive with a right of way for a neighbour), "excellent mobile coverage" (seller says patchy), "great transport links" (no source); (2) missing: broadband (unknown), flood risk (unknown), conservatory planning or building regulations (unknown), construction materials (not stated); (3) overstating: "peaceful".
The corrected listing says "shared driveway with a right of way in favour of number 14" and "mobile signal can be weak in the rear bedrooms, the seller advises". Missing items become tasks: check broadband speed with the provider checker (10 minutes), flood risk (10 minutes), ask the seller for conservatory paperwork and involve their conveyancer. Total extra time at the start, about 40 minutes of chasing and checking per listing; the time saved on writing is about 20 minutes. The net is a small extra effort, in exchange for a listing that does not say something you cannot support. Treat all figures as illustrative.
The conservatory example is worth lingering on. If its building regulations sign-off is unknown, that is potentially a Part C style planning issue, and the right response is to ask, not to describe it as "fully compliant". Some Part C items are hard to establish from the seller alone; the withdrawn guidance itself recommended bringing in a conveyancer or surveyor to interpret them, so involve the seller's conveyancer early.
More checks worth building in
Measurements and room names
Room dimensions are Part B information: the withdrawn guidance asked for room sizes with a note of how they were measured (between internal walls, for example), or a floor plan instead. It also said a room should not be called a bedroom unless it meets building regulations for one, so check the plan's labels before the copy repeats them. Never let AI compute or round measurements. Paste measurements from the floor plan or survey, and have the checker confirm that every room in the copy matches the plan. A "double bedroom" in the copy should be a double bedroom in the plan.
Photographs and captions
If you let the tool write captions, make it describe only what the image shows and avoid claims such as "newly refurbished kitchen". A caption is a statement of fact like any other and needs a source.
Lettings and leasehold variants
For leasehold sales the lease length, ground rent and service charge need their own lines in the fact sheet, each sourced from the seller's documents. For lettings, keep a separate checklist: the withdrawn guidance came in its own lettings version, and rent, deposit and tenancy terms raise different questions from a sale. If you handle tenant questions with AI, AI for letting agents covers that side.
A quick before and after
Before: "Close to everything you need, with great schools nearby." After: "The seller advises that the primary school is about a ten-minute walk; distances to be confirmed." The second sentence is less exciting and far safer. Where you want colour, source it: a documented walk time from a mapping tool, noted with the date, belongs in the fact sheet.
A filled-in audit on a second property
A second illustrative case shows the audit on a flat. Fact sheet: leasehold, 112 years remaining on the lease (seller-stated), annual service charge supplied by the managing agent's statement, ground rent stated in the lease, council tax band C, second-floor flat with no lift, gas central heating, allocated parking space listed in the lease plan, fibre broadband confirmed through the provider checker, and a recent cladding survey mentioned by the seller but not yet seen.
The draft listing described "a bright second-floor apartment with secure parking and a modern fitted kitchen". The audit flagged: "secure parking" (the source says allocated space, security not recorded), "modern fitted kitchen" (no source; the photographs may support "fitted", but "modern" is opinion), and a Part C building safety item that was mentioned by the seller but not evidenced. The missing-items list asked for the lease length from the lease itself rather than from the seller's memory, the ground rent figure and review terms, the service charge breakdown, and the cladding survey. The lease items matter in a leasehold sale because buyers and their lenders will ask for them early; the sooner the file holds them, the fewer surprises later.
Time on this file was about 50 minutes, including three requests to the managing agent and the seller. The listing went live two days later than a quick version would have, with every line backed by a document or labelled as the seller's statement. That trade is the point of the process.
Turning the fact sheet into a seller conversation
The Unknown lines are also the best agenda for the conversation with the seller. Instead of sending a generic questionnaire, ask the tool to turn the Unknown and Seller-stated lines into a short list of plain questions, grouped by what the seller can answer themselves and what needs a document from someone else.
From the fact sheet below, write a short email to the seller with two sections.
Section 1: questions you can answer from memory (for example heating type, parking arrangements, any known mobile signal problems).
Section 2: documents we need, and who usually holds them (for example the lease, building regulations paperwork, any survey or guarantee).
Use friendly, plain language. Do not suggest answers. Do not mention anything that is not in the fact sheet.
End with "[your name]".
An illustrative result for the semi-detached house would ask whether the neighbour at number 14 uses the shared drive daily, whether the seller has any papers for the conservatory, and whether the seller knows of any flood or drainage problems in the road. Sellers answer specific questions faster than broad ones, and each answer goes straight into the fact sheet with a date.
Writing the listing so it stays accurate after edits
Listings are edited many times: a price change, a new photo order, a branch manager's favourite adjective. Each edit is a chance to add an unsupported claim. Two habits help. First, store the approved listing with the fact sheet, and require the audit prompt to be run again whenever the text changes by more than a typo. Second, keep a short banned-phrase list of unsupported superlatives for your branch ("stunning", "highly sought-after", "ideal for commuters") so the tool and the humans stop reaching for them. A list of about twenty phrases is plenty.
When a listing is passed between negotiators, the fact sheet travels with it. The negotiator who takes a call from a buyer should be answering from the sheet and not from memory. If a buyer asks about mobile signal and the sheet says "seller advises weak in rear bedrooms", that is what they hear.
Splitting the work across a small branch
In a branch of five or six people, the checks work best when each has an owner. The negotiator who does the valuation fills the first version of the fact sheet on site, using the Part A, B and C list as a prompt on a tablet. The listing writer, who may be the same person or an administrator, runs the drafting and audit prompts. The branch manager or a second negotiator reads the audit output and the final copy, and signs the property record before the listing goes to the portals.
Two minutes of second-person review sounds small, but it catches what the writer is too close to see. A useful habit is for the reviewer to read only the audit lists and the fact sheet first, then the listing, so they are checking claims against evidence instead of enjoying the prose. On a busy Friday, a branch that skips this will usually be the branch that publishes the unsupported "private driveway".
Keep a running tally of how many listings needed corrections at the audit stage and what kind. In a typical first month, a branch may find that most corrections are the same two or three things, such as parking descriptions and mobile coverage. Those become standing questions in the valuation visit checklist, which means the next fact sheet starts out more complete.
Handling a complaint or a correction
Sooner or later a buyer says the listing was wrong. The fact sheet and the audit record are your evidence of what was known and when. If the seller supplied a wrong fact, the sheet shows the status was Seller-stated, and the listing used "the seller advises". If the listing was wrong because the agent skipped a check, the record shows that too, and the fix is to change the process. Correct the listing straight away, tell the buyers who have already viewed, and note what you changed and why. Treat this as ordinary quality control. A short monthly look at corrections tells you whether the weak spot is gathering facts, copy, or the final check.
Five listing errors the audit is built to catch
- Invented neighbourhood detail. The tool adds a park, a station or a school it has no record of. Prevent with the "no area descriptions unless in the sheet" rule and catch with the audit.
- Silent omission. The draft simply leaves out flood risk. The audit list 2 is there to catch this; a person confirms that each omission is deliberate and recorded.
- Seller statements presented as fact. "Boiler replaced in 2019" is only the seller's say-so until a certificate shows it. Use the status column and "the seller advises".
- Stale facts. A listing is relaunched six months later with a changed broadband provider or a new flood warning. Add a re-check date to the fact sheet and re-run the audit on every relaunch.
- Privacy slips. Seller names, phone numbers or the full title register go into a consumer tool. Keep personal data out of prompts; the fact sheet needs property facts, not identities. Check the tool's terms with what to check in an AI tool's privacy policy.
Using it day to day
Keep the fact sheet template, the drafting prompt, the audit prompt and the checklist in one shared place. Whoever writes a listing runs the three steps and attaches the audit output to the property record, so a manager can see in a minute what was checked. For wider listing copy habits, how estate agents use AI to write property descriptions covers style, while the steps above are the compliance gate that should sit in front of it.
Cost is modest. A business plan on a general assistant is enough: ChatGPT Business and Claude Team each list a Standard seat at $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly) with a two-seat minimum, and the Microsoft 365 Copilot Business add-on is $21 a user a month on an annual commitment. Each vendor says business content is not used to train its models by default; confirm that on the current plan pages before uploading anything that includes personal data. If you would like to map the whole listing process with someone, my AI implementation consultation covers it; start at the contact page.
A ten-listing re-audit every quarter
Pull ten live listings and audit them again against the fact sheets and the current guidance. Count unsupported statements, missing checklist items, and listings with an Unknown line that was never resolved. If the count is not falling, the weak point is usually the fact-gathering at valuation, not the AI. Also check the portals for new fields and update the checklist. A good outcome is boring: listings that carry the relevant information, copy that a seller recognises as accurate, and a record showing how each was checked.
Questions agents ask about AI and material information
Can AI decide what counts as material information?
No. Use the Part A, B and C categories (and the government's new guidance once it is published) as your list and your own file as the evidence. AI can check a draft against that list and flag gaps, but whether a fact is material for a particular property is a decision for the agent, and in doubt you ask the seller or their conveyancer.
What if the seller cannot supply a Part C item?
Record what you asked, when, and the answer. Advise the seller to involve their conveyancer early, since some items need documents from the original purchase. Do not let AI fill the gap with a plausible statement; leave the item as unconfirmed and say so internally.
Should the listing say it was written with AI?
There is no need to label routine copy, but you remain responsible for every statement in it. What matters is that a person has checked each fact against the file before publication, and that you can show how.
Is the Part A, B and C guidance still in force?
No. National Trading Standards withdrew it in 2025 after the 2008 regulations it interpreted were replaced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The duty to include material information remains. In June 2026 the government said it will publish new non-statutory guidance and a standardised form, so check the government's website and your portals' fields, and update your checklist when the guidance appears.
Further reads
- Can an AI Chatbot Book Valuations for Estate Agents Out of Hours? — Capture valuation enquiries out of hours.
- How to Automate Buyer and Vendor Follow-Up With AI — Chase missing seller information systematically.
- Questions to Ask an AI Vendor Before You Sign Anything — Questions to ask before buying a listing tool.
- How Property Managers Use AI to Triage Maintenance Requests — Triage property enquiries beyond listings.
- AI Inventory and Check-Out Reports: A Letting Agent's Guide — Another document where accuracy matters.
- How Much Does AI Cost a Small Business in 2026? — Budget for the tools above.
- ChatGPT for Estate Agents: Rules for Vendor Updates and Feedback — For the branch or brokerage owner: the rules, templates and fact checks that let agents use ChatGPT for vendor updates and viewing feedback safely.
- Material Information in Listings: What Estate Agents Must Capture — The Part A, B and C material information checklist for listings, and an AI workflow that chases the gaps without guessing.
- Can Estate Agents Be Found in AI Search? What to Fix Now — A fix list for estate agencies that want to appear when buyers and sellers ask AI for local agents, with a monthly check you can run yourself.
- Can Estate Agents Use AI Photo Edits Without Misleading Buyers? — A line-by-line guide to AI listing-photo edits: what is routine, what misleads, the disclosure wording and a sign-off routine for the branch.
- AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.
Sources: National Trading Standards material information page (which now records the guidance as withdrawn) and its archived Material Information in Property Listings (Sales) guidance, version 1.0, November 2023; the government's Material information in property listings consultation (October 2025) and its June 2026 response in the home buying and selling reform roadmap; ChatGPT Business, Claude Team and Microsoft 365 Copilot Business pricing pages, checked November 2026.