When you buy a home in England, the estate agent selling it works for the seller, not for you. The seller instructs the agent and pays their fee, and the agent's job is to get the best result for that client. Government guidance for buyers puts it plainly: the agent will help guide you through the process, but "remember - their primary role is to help the seller sell their property."
That does not leave you unprotected. By law the agent must not mislead you or hold back information you need, must pass every offer you make to the seller, and cannot treat you differently because you choose not to use their mortgage adviser or other services. This guide explains what the selling agent does for you, what they must not do, and when to consider an agent of your own.
An estate agent's client is the person who instructed them, which on a sale is the seller. As a buyer you do not usually pay the selling agent anything. Government guidance lists estate agent fees among the seller's costs, and the costs it tells buyers to budget for (Stamp Duty Land Tax, surveys, conveyancing and search fees, buildings insurance, moving and mortgage costs) do not include an agent's fee. If you are selling as well as buying, our guide to the fees you pay when selling a house covers agent fees from the seller's side.
The Property Ombudsman (TPO) Code of Practice, which its member agents must follow, sets out this split: the agent's duty of care is to their client, but they must treat everyone involved in the sale, including buyers, fairly and with courtesy.
Most people start their search on property websites or through local estate agents, and registering with agents in your chosen area means you hear about new listings. If you are looking in Cambridge or the surrounding villages, you can search the homes RAH currently has for sale and read what to expect when buying through RAH, including email and SMS alerts for new properties.
Whether the agent or the seller shows you round is the seller's decision. Agents who are members of The Property Ombudsman must follow the seller's instructions on viewings and pass viewing feedback to the seller. Before arranging a viewing, they must tell you if they know the seller has already accepted an offer subject to contract.
Since 6 April 2025 the main rules have been in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. A trader must not give false or misleading information, present information in a way likely to deceive, or leave out "material information" (information the average consumer needs to take an informed decision), where this is likely to change the decision the average consumer would make. Government guidance tells buyers to ask the agent for the material facts about a property, because agents are legally required to pass them on.
The Act has no fixed list of what is material for a home. The government's 2025 consultation noted that no property-specific guidance had been produced since the Act took effect, and in June 2026 it said it would publish guidance during 2026 on the information in property listings. Meanwhile, questions the government's buying guide suggests asking the agent include:
Agents gather much of this from the seller, and the TPO code requires its members to ask the seller to declare it in writing. The agent is not a lawyer or a surveyor, though: your solicitor or conveyancer checks the legal position and a surveyor checks the building.
The asking price is the seller's figure. Government guidance for sellers says it "should be informed by your own research and the opinion of local estate agents, but remember that the final decision is yours", and that an agent's opinion of value is not a formal valuation. Treat it as the seller's opening position, not an independent view of what the home is worth.
Check the figures yourself. HM Land Registry publishes the prices homes have sold for, and its UK House Price Index put the average price in the Cambridge City Council area at £475,151 in July 2026, unchanged on a year earlier. That average hides a wide range: £298,575 for flats and maisonettes and £979,438 for detached houses in the same month. South Cambridgeshire, covering many surrounding villages, averaged £439,573, up 2.2% on a year earlier.
For an independent view, use a surveyor, who can assess the property's condition and give an independent valuation. Our guide to which home survey you need explains the options.
When you make an offer, the agent negotiates on behalf of the seller. Their aim is the best price and the most secure buyer for their client, so expect questions about how you are paying. The TPO code requires its members to take reasonable steps to find out the source and availability of your funds, for example whether you need a mortgage, have a home to sell or are a cash buyer, and to pass this to the seller. A mortgage decision in principle shows the seller you are serious.
You can offer below the asking price. Government guidance tells buyers "don't be afraid to make a lower offer" and calls this "the start of a negotiation process". The seller does not have to accept any offer, however high.
The Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No. 2) Order 1991 makes it an undesirable practice for an agent not to forward to the seller, promptly and in writing, accurate details of any offer received, including conditional offers, unless the seller has said in writing not to pass on offers of that kind. Government guidance says this duty runs right up to exchange of contracts, so offers must still be passed on after the seller has accepted one. TPO members must also confirm each offer in writing to the seller, and to the buyer who made it, within two working days.
An agent must not knowingly or recklessly misrepresent whether other offers exist, what they are, or another buyer's position, such as their finances or how quickly they can exchange. If your offer has been accepted, a TPO member must tell you promptly if the seller then accepts another.
Once your offer is accepted, tell the agent who your solicitor or conveyancer is. You should receive a memorandum of sale setting out your offer and both sides' legal representatives. Until contracts are exchanged the sale is not legally binding: the price can still be renegotiated, and the seller can choose to keep the home on the market.
Many agents offer or recommend mortgage advisers, conveyancers or surveyors. You do not have to use the firm recommended.
The 1991 Order also makes it an undesirable practice for an agent to discriminate against a buyer because that buyer will not, or is unlikely to, take up services from the agent or a connected business, and "services" expressly includes banking, insurance and financial assistance. In July 2025 the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team said agents who do not pass on offers because a buyer will not use linked services such as mortgage advice or conveyancing "are in breach of their professional requirements and can face sanctions", and asked anyone affected to report it through the Citizens Advice consumer service.
Independent advice can still be worth having. Our independent mortgage advice page lists two independent brokers we recommend. Using them is up to you, and the law requires that your choice makes no difference to how your offer is handled.
Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, an estate agent is treated as entering into a business relationship with the buyer, as well as the seller, when the seller accepts the buyer's offer. HMRC's guidance says the agent must carry out customer due diligence on the buyer and complete it before a binding contract is entered into, normally at exchange. Lenders and lawyers make their own checks, so you may be asked more than once for proof of identity, proof of address and evidence of where your money is coming from.
The legal work is done by your solicitor or conveyancer, not the agent. The TPO code recognises that between acceptance and exchange agents have "no direct influence" on the conveyancing or mortgage process, but requires its members to monitor progress, help where asked, pass on useful information and, where there is a chain, routinely check the linked transactions. For anything about the contract, searches or title, ask your own solicitor or conveyancer.
Exchange of contracts is when you and the seller become legally bound. On completion day your legal representative sends the money and the estate agent gives you the keys. Under the TPO code, a member agent must not hand over keys after exchange without the specific permission of the seller or their legal representative, so do not expect early access unless it has been agreed.
If the agent, or someone connected to them such as their employer, an employee or an associate, has a personal interest in the home, section 21 of the Estate Agents Act 1979 says the agent must tell you the nature and extent of that interest before negotiating with you. The 1991 Order adds that this must be done promptly and in writing.
Every estate agent dealing with homes must belong to an approved redress scheme: The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. Ask the agent which one, and complain to the agent first using its own procedure. If you are not satisfied, take the complaint to the scheme. The Property Ombudsman says its service is free for consumers, and you can refer a complaint once the agent has given its final response or eight weeks have passed, and you must refer it within 12 months of the agent's final response. Breaches of the law are a matter for Trading Standards, and the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team can issue warning and prohibition orders against people found unfit to carry out estate agency work.
In its June 2026 home buying and selling roadmap, the government said it would publish a non-statutory Code of Practice setting minimum standards for property agents and consult on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents.
If you want someone negotiating on your side, you can instruct a buying agent. You are their client, so their duty of care is to you. The Estate Agents Act 1979 covers acting for someone who wants to buy as well as sell, and The Property Ombudsman publishes a separate code for buying agents.
You pay a buying agent yourself, on top of your other costs. Under the TPO buying agents' code, which binds its members, the fee may be fixed or a percentage of the purchase price, all fees including any retainer must be in the agent's terms of business, and you must receive those terms in writing before you are committed. Commission normally becomes due on exchange. Compare terms carefully before you sign. To start a search in and around Cambridge without one, see our buying service.
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Speak to a solicitor or licensed conveyancer about the legal side of your purchase, and a qualified mortgage adviser about borrowing.
The seller, who instructs and pays them. The agent must still treat you fairly, give you the material information you need and pass on all your offers.
Not usually. The seller pays the selling agent. You would normally only pay an agent if you instruct a buying agent. Some selling agents do charge buyers, and TPO members must then state "buyer's fees apply" with the asking price.
Yes. Offers must be passed to the seller promptly and in writing, right up to exchange of contracts, unless the seller has said in writing not to pass on offers of that kind.
No. Discriminating against a buyer who will not use the agent's services, including mortgage advice, is an undesirable practice under the 1991 Order, and Trading Standards says agents who do it can face sanctions.
Anti-money laundering law requires the agent to check the buyer once an offer is accepted, and to finish those checks before contracts are exchanged.
An agent you instruct and pay to find and negotiate a home for you. Their duty of care is to you, and their fees must be set out in writing before you commit.
