If you sell through an estate agent, who shows buyers round is your decision. Letting the agent do it means someone else can check who is coming, collects feedback that buyers may find easier to give to an agent than to the owner, and keeps the negotiation at arm's length. Doing the viewings yourself can work well if you know the home best, have the time, and your agent offers a cheaper package for owner-led viewings.
Whichever you choose, two things do not change. What you say to a buyer about the property must be true, because a buyer who relies on a false statement can claim against you after the sale. And if you open your home to strangers yourself, you need a plan to stay safe. This guide covers both, along with the rules your agent must follow and how to decide.
You do. GOV.UK confirms that you can sell your home yourself or use an online, high street or hybrid estate agent, and that some agents offer a cheaper package if you are able to conduct your own viewings. Agents that belong to The Property Ombudsman (TPO) must take your instructions on viewings, specifically whether or not the agent should conduct them. Agree the arrangement before marketing starts and make sure it is reflected in your terms of business.
Read the contract's fee terms at the same time. If it gives the agent sole selling rights, GOV.UK warns that you will pay the agent even if you find your own buyer during the agreed period, so showing round a buyer you met through friends will not avoid the fee. The standard explanation of the term in the Estate Agents (Provision of Information) Regulations 1991 adds that you also pay if contracts are exchanged after the period ends with a buyer introduced, or negotiated with, during it. Under a sole agency, by contrast, you do not pay that agent if you find the buyer yourself. Our guide to the fees you pay when selling a house explains the main contract types.
Every estate agent dealing with homes must belong to an approved redress scheme, either The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme, and GOV.UK suggests asking your agent which one. The points below come from TPO's Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents. They bind TPO members only, so if your agent belongs to the other scheme, ask which code it follows.
Separately from the TPO code, estate agents are bound by consumer protection law. Since 6 April 2025 that has been the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which prohibits traders from giving false or misleading information, presenting information in a way likely to deceive, or leaving out material information (information the average consumer needs to take an informed decision), where this is likely to cause the average consumer to make a decision they would not otherwise have made. Giving that information in a way that is unclear or untimely also counts as leaving it out. The government's 2025 consultation on property listings said this suggests the responsibility is largely on estate agents and other property professionals to provide that information upfront and at the earliest opportunity. The TPO code adds that an agent who learns of material information cannot ignore or suppress it. Our guide to what an estate agent does in a sale explains these duties from the buyer's side.
At RAH, we follow up on every viewing so we can give sellers feedback, and we confirm viewing bookings to buyers by email with SMS reminders. You can read more about how we market and sell homes in Cambridge and the surrounding villages on our selling page.
The starting point in England is "buyer beware". In Sykes v Taylor-Rose (2004), the Court of Appeal referred to the caveat emptor rule and left in place a finding that a seller has no general duty to disclose defects or matters that may affect the value of the land. That is not permission to mislead. Under section 2(1) of the Misrepresentation Act 1967, a buyer who enters the contract after a misrepresentation by the seller and suffers loss as a result can claim damages, unless the seller proves they had reasonable grounds to believe, and did believe, that what they said was true.
Section 2(1) is not limited to written answers. In Lloyd v Browning (2013) the Court of Appeal dealt with a claim under it over things sellers had said at meetings, which failed only because the contract limited the buyers to relying on written replies from the sellers' solicitors. Your contract may not contain a clause like that, and the Law Society's notes for the TA6 Property Information Form tell buyers that if they want to rely on information received separately from the form, "in writing or in conversation", including directly from the seller, they should tell their solicitor. So a casual remark on a viewing can end up in the buyer's enquiries. Practical rules:
Deliberately lying is more serious still: dishonestly making a false representation to make a gain or cause a loss can be fraud under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. For how long a buyer can bring a claim after completion, see our guide on how long you are liable after selling a house.
Two further points if you show buyers round yourself. The consumer protection rules in the 2024 Act apply to traders, defined as people acting for purposes relating to their business. A homeowner selling their own home is unlikely to be a trader, although the Competition and Markets Authority says this is judged case by case, so someone who buys and sells homes as a business could be. For most sellers, the main duty is the misrepresentation one above. And the seller must make a valid Energy Performance Certificate available free of charge to a prospective buyer at the earliest opportunity, and at the latest when you first give them written information about the property or when they view it, whichever is earlier. Have a copy ready to hand over.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a personal safety charity, publishes advice for people selling their home. If you sell through an agent, it suggests confirming that the agent will check every viewer's identity, making clear you do not want anyone to view whose identity has not been checked, and asking for all viewers to be accompanied by someone from the agent's office. If you conduct viewings yourself, its advice includes:
The government's guide to selling a home says that, whether you or your agent is showing the property, it should look and smell clean, tidy and welcoming. Its suggestions include:
It is also sensible to put away keys, post and anything else that shows personal details before strangers walk through your home.
The choice does not have to be all or nothing. You could have the agent run first viewings and join second viewings yourself to answer detailed questions, or be at home for the start of a viewing and then leave the agent to show the buyer round. If you take on some viewings yourself, agree with your agent who handles offers and feedback, and send any buyer who wants to make an offer back to the agent, so the agent can check how the buyer is paying and confirm the offer in writing. TPO members must confirm each offer in writing to the seller, and to the buyer who made it, within two working days.
Ask yourself four questions:
If most of your answers point to the agent, let them do it and ask for feedback after every viewing. If you are planning a sale in or around Cambridge, you can request a free valuation and talk through how viewings would be handled for your home.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Speak to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer about your own circumstances.
Agents that belong to The Property Ombudsman must accompany viewings when they hold the keys, unless you instruct otherwise. Agents in the other redress scheme follow that scheme's code, so ask yours what it does.
It is your choice. Going out lets buyers look around freely and speak openly to the agent. If you stay, let the agent lead, and make sure anything you say about the property is accurate.
It can be. GOV.UK notes that some agents offer a cheaper package if you conduct your own viewings. Check the saving in writing and the contract terms, particularly any sole selling rights.
Potentially, if what you said was untrue and they relied on it when entering the contract. Under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 they may claim damages unless you can show you had reasonable grounds to believe, and did believe, it was true. Some contracts limit buyers to relying on written replies, but do not count on yours doing so.
Members of The Property Ombudsman must record viewings and feedback and pass the feedback to you within an agreed timescale.
Thank them and ask them to put it to your agent, so it can be checked and confirmed in writing. Do not agree terms on the doorstep.
