Terms of Business — Sales

Terms of Business Brochure — Tessa Lang Property Ltd (TLP). Estate Agents are required by the Estate Agents Act 1979 and the Estate Agents (Provision of Information) Regulations (SI 1991 No. 859) to confirm their Terms of Business in writing.

In the case of all instructions, Tessa Lang Property Ltd (TLP) will confirm its remuneration by submitting an accompanying letter / confirmation of agency with these terms of business. Unless otherwise varied in writing, Tessa Lang Property Ltd’s Terms of Business are detailed below. We ask that you sign, date and return a copy of the accompanying letter before we commence marketing your property. Please read such terms carefully as Tessa Lang Property Ltd will rely on the written terms set out here and in any accompanying letter confirming your instructions as setting out the terms of our agreement with you. If you require any changes, please ask for them to be put in writing. In that way we can avoid any problems surrounding what Tessa Lang Property Ltd and you are each expected to do. If you do not understand any term, please discuss it with us before signing.

If, having received the accompanying letter and these terms, you do not sign and return the copy of the accompanying letter to us but nevertheless permit us to proceed with marketing of your property, you will be deemed to have accepted all our Terms of Business.

Tessa Lang Property Ltd are members of the Property Redress Scheme and we adhere to its Code of Practice. Our current membership number is PRS001836.

In accordance with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, it is of paramount importance that we ensure we are providing accurate information to a prospective purchaser when providing property details, as any incorrect information discovered after a purchaser has committed to a purchase could result in action being taken against the Vendor. In order to avoid any misunderstandings, we request you to carefully check the accuracy of the draft property details or advertising copy which we submit to you prior to marketing (including any floor plan) to ensure that they correctly describe all aspects of the property. You will need to notify us immediately of any errors or omissions on the property details or advertising copy and also supply any further information regarding the property that is likely to have any bearing whatsoever on an individual’s transactional decision.

In the case of a leasehold property, we will require proof of Lease, Ground Rent and Service Charges (if applicable) before we can include these details in any sales literature relating to your property.

It is a criminal offence and a civil wrong (which could lead to a prospective purchaser withdrawing from a contract to purchase your property or pursuing a claim for damages) to give a false or misleading description of, or statements about, your property.

You are responsible for providing us with accurate information about your property. You agree to pay to Tessa Lang Property Ltd, its employees and agents any damages, claims, losses and reasonable expenses which Tessa Lang Property Ltd, its employees or agents may have to pay or for which Tessa Lang Property Ltd, its employees and agents may be held liable arising from any misdescription of your property that arises from any false, inaccurate or misleading information which you supply to us or from any omission on your part to supply the necessary information.

If you are uncertain of any point regarding this Act, please contact a Director for clarification.

Unless otherwise agreed with you and confirmed in writing, our remuneration is inclusive of all marketing expenses. All Tessa Lang Property Ltd’s remuneration and expenses are subject to Value Added Tax at the prevailing rate and regardless of the client’s domicile. Tessa Lang Property Ltd’s remuneration will be calculated as a percentage of the sale price achieved. The sale price includes any extra amount paid for, or apportioned to, carpets, curtains, equipment, furniture, fixtures or other chattels.

Our remuneration is payable in accordance with the basis of our appointment. The circumstances giving rise to our entitlement to remuneration and the quantum of such remuneration are set out below in respect of each type of appointment under the heading ‘Agency’. In cases where the introduction of a purchaser by Tessa Lang Property Ltd gives rise to our entitlement to remuneration, this shall include an indirect introduction.

An indirect introduction would be an instance where the contractual purchaser was a nominee, associate (for example, including but not limited to a friend, partner, or business partner), associated company, relative or representative of the persons we introduced. It would also include someone introduced by us through our appointed sub-agent (unless this appointment is contrary to your instructions).

The person(s) to whom the accompanying letter is addressed is (are) individually and collectively responsible for payment of our remuneration and all marketing expenses incurred unless it is clearly stated in writing that a third party is responsible. If this is the case, the name and address of the third party must be disclosed and they must give written confirmation of such an arrangement to Tessa Lang Property Ltd.

Please note that you must also immediately inform us if you become aware of any circumstances which might result in the net sale proceeds of your property being insufficient to pay our remuneration and any outstanding expenses in full. Such circumstances would, by way of example only, include any intervention or proposed intervention by your mortgagee.

The person(s) giving instructions to us and acknowledging these Terms of Business confirm that they are duly authorised by the beneficial owner to sell the property. In consideration of our agreement to sell the property on behalf of the beneficial owner, the person(s) giving instructions and acknowledging these Terms of Business hereby guarantee payment of all sums at any time due to Tessa Lang Property Ltd in respect of all matters upon which we are instructed by the beneficial owner of the property or in connection with our services to the beneficial owner of the property. If this guarantee is given by more than one person, the liability shall be individual and collective.

Our remuneration is payable upon exchange of contracts. It is, however, our practice, by concession only and at our discretion, to accept payment of any such remuneration out of the sale proceeds immediately upon completion. Accordingly, if you wish to take advantage of this concession, you must immediately give your solicitor or conveyancer instructions and authority to settle Tessa Lang Property’s remuneration and expenses on your behalf out of the proceeds of the sale, and we shall be entitled to seek such settlement from them. If you do not give such instructions and authority, or we are not paid our remuneration on completion, interest will be charged at four percent (4%) above TLP’s bankers’ base rate from the date of exchange of contracts. In any event, we reserve the right to charge interest at four percent (4%) above TLP’s bankers’ base rate from the date of exchange of contracts on any account that remains unpaid twenty-eight (28) days after it was first rendered.

If we are obliged to instruct solicitors to recover any unpaid remuneration, you will be liable to pay the solicitors’ fees and disbursements on an indemnity basis whether or not proceedings are issued.

Our remuneration will also be payable in full if the property is owned by or registered in the name of a company, corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, trust, organisation or any other legal entity and, rather than the property being sold, any interest, equity, percentage or shares is or are sold so that control or ownership of the relevant company, corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, trust, organisation or other legal entity is sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of to a person, firm, company, corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, trust, organisation or other legal entity directly or indirectly introduced by us.

Our remuneration will become due and payable on the exchange of contracts or the occurrence of any other event which changes such control or ownership and, for the purposes of any such sale, transfer or disposition, the sale price upon which our remuneration is determined shall include any amount or amounts apportioned to the repayment of, or paid for, or in respect of, the existing debt or debts of the company, corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, trust, organisation or any other legal entity which originally owned or in whose name the property was originally registered.

Sole Selling Rights

Our rate of remuneration is 2.5% of the sale price of your property plus Value Added Tax (3% including Value Added Tax), or in line with current market. You will be liable to pay remuneration to us, in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, in each of the following circumstances:

• If unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged in the period during which we have sole selling rights, even if the purchaser was not found by us but by another agent or by any other person, including yourself;
• If unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged after the expiry of the period during which we have sole selling rights but to a purchaser who was introduced to you during that period, or with whom we had negotiations about the property in that period.

Joint Sole Selling Rights

A Joint Sole Selling Rights Agency differs from a Multiple Agency in that the sale of your property is entrusted to us and one other estate agency with whom we will work in tandem to achieve a sale on your behalf, and is in all other respects the same as a Sole Selling Rights Agency.

Our rate of remuneration is 2.75%, or in line with current market, of the sale price of your property plus Value Added Tax, to be allocated between the agents as they agree.

You will be liable to pay remuneration to us plus Value Added Tax, in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, in each of the following circumstances:

• If unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged in the period during which we have joint sole selling rights, even if the purchaser was not found by us (or our joint sole selling agent) but by another agent or by any other person, including yourself;
• If unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged after the expiry of the period during which we have joint selling rights but to a purchaser who was introduced to you during that period, or with whom we (or our joint sole selling agent) had negotiations about the property in that period.

The proportion of the remuneration shared by each agent will be separately agreed between ourselves and the other agent(s) and may vary in a range between “winner takes all”, where one agent earns the whole fee at one end of the scale, and an equal share between the agents at the other end of the scale.

Discreet Sole Selling Rights

Clients in some cases do not wish to expose their home to the open market. A Discreet Agency is offering the property to selective applicants who are registered on our database and potential purchasers who we feel would be suitable for the property. Our rate of remuneration in this case is 2.5% of the sale price of your property plus Value Added Tax (3% including Value Added Tax), or in line with current market.

You will be liable to pay remuneration to us in addition to any other costs or charges agreed in each of the following circumstances:

• If unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged in the period during which we have discreet sole selling rights, even if the purchaser was not found by us but by another agent or by any other person, including yourself;
• If unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged after the expiry of the period during which we have discreet sole selling rights but to a purchaser who was introduced to you during that period, or with whom we had negotiations about the property in that period.

Sole Agency

Our rate of remuneration is 2.5% of the sale price of your property plus Value Added Tax (3% including Value Added Tax), or in line with current market.

You will be liable to pay this remuneration to us, in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, if at any time unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged:

• With a purchaser introduced by us during the period of our Sole Agency or with whom we had negotiations about the property during that period, or;
• With a purchaser introduced by another agent during that period.

Joint Sole Agency

A Joint Sole Agency differs from a Multiple Agency in that the sale of your property is entrusted to us and one other estate agency with whom we will work in tandem to achieve a sale on your behalf, and is in all other respects the same as a Sole Agency.

The rate of remuneration will need first to be agreed between all the parties. You will be liable to pay remuneration plus Value Added Tax to us, and your other appointed Joint Sole Agent(s), in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, in such proportion to each agent as may be agreed, if at any time unconditional contracts for the sale of your property are exchanged:

• With a purchaser introduced by us or your Joint Sole Agent(s) during the period of our Joint Sole Agency, or with whom either of the Joint Sole Agents had negotiations about the property during that period, or;
• With a purchaser introduced by any other Agent during that period of our Joint Sole Agency.

The proportion of the remuneration shared by each agent will be separately agreed between ourselves and the other agent(s) and may vary in a range between “winner takes all”, where the agent introducing the successful purchaser earns the whole fee at one end of the scale, and an equal share between the agents at the other end of the scale.

Discreet Sole Agency

Clients in some cases do not wish to expose their home to the open market. A Discreet Sole Agency is offering the property to selected applicants who are registered on our database and potential purchasers who we feel would be suitable for the property.

Our rate of remuneration is 2.5% of the sale price of your property plus Value Added Tax (3% including Value Added Tax), or in line with current market.

You will be liable to pay remuneration to us in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, if at any time unconditional contracts for the sale of the property are exchanged:

• With a purchaser introduced by us during the period of our Discreet Sole Agency or with whom we had negotiations about the property during that period, or;
• With a purchaser introduced by another agent during that period.

Multiple Agency

Our rate of remuneration is 2.5% of the sale price of your property plus Value Added Tax (3% including Value Added Tax), or in line with current market. You will be liable to pay remuneration to us, in addition to any other costs or charges agreed, if at any time unconditional contracts for the sale of your property are exchanged with a purchaser introduced by us or with whom we had negotiations about the property during the period of our Multiple Agency.

You should be aware that you may incur a dual fee liability, i.e. become obligated to pay remuneration to us and another agent if:

• You have previously instructed another agent to sell your property on a sole agency, joint sole agency or a sole selling rights basis, or;
• You instruct another agent during or after the period of our sole agency, joint sole agency, discreet sole agency, a sole selling rights or discreet sole selling rights basis.

Occasionally vendors are approached direct by prospective purchasers. Should you receive such an approach following our appointment on a Sole Agency, Joint Sole Agency, or Multiple Agency basis (as appropriate) and the marketing and publicity conducted by us on your behalf, we recommend that, in order to avoid any misunderstanding at a later stage, you direct that enquiry to us and inform us immediately so that we can negotiate best on your behalf. If a sale is negotiated to any person introduced to you because of any marketing or publicity conducted by us and you fail to direct that enquiry to us, and that person enters into a binding contract to purchase the property, then remuneration shall be payable to us in accordance with the basis of our appointment as if we had introduced that person.

If we are appointed on the basis of a Sole Selling Rights Agency, Joint Sole Selling Rights Agency, or Discreet Sole Selling Rights Agency, you must appreciate that during the period of such agency you are not entitled to offer your property for sale privately or through any other agent. Should you receive any approach for the purchase of your property following our appointment, you must direct that enquiry to us and immediately inform us.

You must also notify us in writing if you have already established contact with a prospective purchaser, and provide written details of such prospective purchaser or, if more than one, such prospective purchasers to us. Such notification and details must be given to us prior to our appointment. If you provide such written notification and details as required, then any subsequent sale of your property to a party or parties who have been expressly excluded by agreement with us will not attract our remuneration unless you specifically request us to become involved in the relevant sale. We would ask you to refer any enquiries from other agents to us.

Tessa Lang Property may, at its sole discretion, sub-instruct or multi-list your property to other selected Estate Agents or intermediaries in instances where we consider this may assist in introducing a potentially suitable purchaser for your property.

This will not incur any extra costs for you and all viewings and negotiations will be co-ordinated through TLP.

You are required by law to obtain and have an Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC”) within twenty-eight (28) days of placing your property on the market. Tessa Lang Property will not be able to and cannot by law market your property unless you have commissioned an EPC. If requested by you, we will arrange to obtain an EPC on your behalf and at your expense from an approved EPC provider. We can provide details of the cost of an EPC upon request.

Tessa Lang Property may advertise details of your property including, without limitation, its address, asking price, photographs, plans and description on its own website, on other websites advertising the sale of properties, in magazines, newspapers and in such other media as we consider in our discretion reasonable to achieve a sale of your property.

It is possible that a purchaser may wish to instruct, or indeed already has instructed, Tessa Lang Property with regard to a property-related service where TLP may earn some form of remuneration. Related services might include:

• Sale or purchase of a property
• Rental of a property
• Management of property
• Provision of financial services through a third party
• Provision of furniture sales or rentals through a third party

These will always be agreed in advance with you and confirmed in writing. A detailed schedule of such expenses or, where appropriate, an estimate of such expenses will be submitted to you for your signed approval before such expenses will be incurred. Where it is agreed that these expenses will be borne by the client, these are normally payable at the commencement of marketing but in any event are payable once invoiced to you by us.

You have the right to cancel your contract with us within fourteen (14) days without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after fourteen (14) days from the day you sign the contract.

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision by a clear statement sent to us by post or fax to:

Tessa Lang Property Ltd
33 Belsize Lane
at XUL Architecture
London NW3 5AS
F: +44 (0)20 7352 5386

You may use the model cancellation form provided with the instruction paperwork but it is not obligatory. Please contact us if you require a further copy of this form.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

The above cancellation rights:

• Only apply to a contract made with an individual who is not acting for the purposes of a trade, business or profession; and
• Do not apply to a contract that was made with you at our office.

Unless you provide us with specific written permission to do so, we will not be able to market your property until the cancellation period has expired.

If you wish us to proceed with immediate marketing of your property, please provide the necessary written instruction by completing and returning to us the Vendor’s Confirmation section of the Instruction Letter.

If you do instruct us to begin immediate marketing of your property during the cancellation period and then exercise your right to cancel, you will pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you communicated your cancellation of the contract to us. This will include all expenses incurred in line with any expenses schedule agreed with you plus any other reasonable costs.

Where we introduce or have negotiations with the purchaser(s) who ultimately buy(s) your property before you exercise your statutory right to cancel your contract with us, the contract will be deemed to have been fully performed and the remuneration and expenses agreed with you will be due and payable notwithstanding any cancellation communicated by you.

In the absence of any specified agency period, our appointment may be terminated by either party giving fourteen (14) days’ written notice. In such event, any outstanding expenses are payable immediately.

Upon the expiry of any fixed period of our Sole Selling Rights Agency, Joint Sole Selling Rights Agency, Discreet Sole Selling Rights Agency, Sole Agency, Joint Sole Agency or Discreet Sole Agency (as appropriate), we shall, unless otherwise specified in writing, continue to act for you on the same basis.

You may specify how you wish us to continue to act on your behalf, or terminate our agency at the end of the relevant fixed period, by giving us your instructions in writing at any time up to fourteen (14) days prior to its expiry.

Should you specify that we should continue to act for you on a different basis to our original appointment, then if the purchaser was originally introduced during the period of our Sole Selling Rights, Joint Sole Selling Rights, Discreet Sole Selling Rights Agency, Sole Agency, Joint Sole Agency or Discreet Sole Agency or Multiple Agency, the rate of remuneration applicable to our original appointment will continue to apply even though negotiations may commence or continue through a different basis of agency appointment.

If you appoint another agency to act in addition to us on the expiry of our original appointment, or any extension thereof, our appointment will revert to that of a Multiple Agent and our remuneration will be that due in respect of a Multiple Agency appointment, except where the appointment of another agency is part of a change whereby we are instructed by you on the basis of an appointment as agents with Joint Sole Selling Rights or with Joint Sole Agency.

Notwithstanding termination of our agency, our remuneration will continue to remain payable in accordance with the nature and terms of our original appointment. In particular, we ask you to note that we will be entitled to receive remuneration if you terminate our appointment and within six (6) months after the date of termination you sell your property to a buyer whom we introduced. We will give up our right to such remuneration if the buyer first introduced by us went on to buy your property through another estate agent, but only in circumstances where the buyer was introduced by such other estate agent more than six (6) months after the date our appointment ended. If no other estate agent was involved in introducing the buyer, a time limit of two (2) years as opposed to six (6) months will apply.

You will be liable to pay one half of the agreed sale remuneration to Tessa Lang Property in addition to all agreed charges and expenses incurred by us on your behalf if a ‘ready, willing and able purchaser’ is introduced by TLP in accordance with your instructions. This must be paid even if you subsequently withdraw and unconditional contracts are not exchanged, irrespective of your reasons.

A purchaser is a ‘ready, willing and able purchaser’ if he is prepared and able to exchange unconditional contracts for the purchase of the property.

TLP will automatically charge interest at the rate of four percent (4%) above TLP’s bankers’ base rate from the date of invoice on any such remuneration which remains unpaid twenty-eight (28) days from the date of invoice.

If it is agreed that Tessa Lang Property should erect a board, you should not permit another board and notify us immediately if another one is displayed or to be erected, as only one board per property is usually permitted.

The Estate Agents Act 1979 requires an agent to disclose both to the client and a purchaser any connection which the agent or any of its employees or associates may have with either party, directly or indirectly, or with any member of their respective families. If Tessa Lang Property becomes aware of such interests, we will advise the client and any purchaser in writing.

We will, in accordance with the requirements of the Estate Agents Act 1979, notify you of all offers received by us for the property. Such notification will be in writing within two (2) days both to you and to the buyer who made it.

Tessa Lang Property does not maintain your property. Unless damage is caused by TLP, we accept no liability or responsibility for the maintenance or repair of, or for any damage to, the property while unoccupied. If the property is vacant when adverse weather conditions are likely, frost damage may occur to water and heating systems and sanitary appliances. You should take all necessary action to protect your property from such risks, ensure that you have adequate insurance cover, and notify your insurers accordingly. Property management services may be agreed by separate contract.

If you, whether directly or indirectly, accept another property in part exchange for your own property, the value of any such other property taken in part exchange will be included as part of the sale price upon which our remuneration is calculated. An indirect acceptance of a property would be the situation where such property was conveyed to your nominee, representative, associate or associated company, or someone else at your direction.

The Money Laundering Regulations impose a legislative obligation upon all Estate Agents to carry out compulsory checks to verify the identity and address of all their Clients. Tessa Lang Property may make such enquiries of you and any entity or organisation which you represent as it considers appropriate to verify your/its identity and/or address, and require you to produce appropriate evidence in this regard. If you refuse to provide such evidence or the evidence provided is, in our opinion, insufficient, then we reserve the right and may be obliged to terminate our relationship with you.

Tessa Lang Property is also under a legal duty in certain circumstances to disclose information to the appropriate governmental agency or regulatory authorities. Where we know or suspect that a transaction on behalf of a client involves money laundering, or that you or the entity or organisation which you represent is involved in money laundering, TLP may be required to make a money laundering disclosure. If, while we are acting for you, it becomes necessary for us to make a money laundering disclosure, we may not be able to inform you that a disclosure has been made or of the reasons for it.

Tessa Lang Property is committed to compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 in handling both its data protection obligations and the rights of customers.

To facilitate the successful marketing and sale of your property, we will require you to provide us with various pieces of personal information. In all cases we will hold your personal information either in hard copy on our property files or digitally within our software, and we have measures in place to prevent unauthorised access to your personal information. We will provide it to others only where it is required and as outlined below, or in accordance with your written consent. Your information will not be passed to a third party not listed below without obtaining your consent.

Specifically, we will hold and use your information in the following manner:

• Identification details — We may hold copies of your photographic identity documents and at least one document that confirms your home address. We may also use an online service to verify your identity. This is done to meet our obligation under Money Laundering Regulations and to ensure we are dealing with the owners of the property. In line with our obligation, the copy documents and/or identity verification report will be held for 5 years from the date of the property sale or the date you withdraw your property from the market. We will not provide any other party with copies of these documents, except solicitors or estate agents involved in the sale of your property, who also have an obligation to verify your identity and they formally request it.
• Property details — Information about your property will be provided to anyone who makes an enquiry to us about potentially viewing or purchasing your property. This information will include the property details and any other relevant information you provide to us.
• Viewings — As your agent we will organise viewings on your behalf. Where we are conducting the viewing for you, it is important that you check your property prior to the viewing to ensure that any personal information you would not wish a viewer to see is removed. We may provide the viewer with details of the person who is to meet them at the property and conduct the viewing.
• Negotiating with prospective buyers and handling offers — We will negotiate with prospective buyers and take offers from them. This process will involve providing potential buyers with relevant personal information to facilitate a successful negotiation. This will also involve providing you with relevant and necessary personal information about the potential buyer. You should ensure that you treat any information we provide to you as confidential, and it must not be passed on or shared with any other person or business.
• Agreed sale — Once a sale is agreed, we will provide your personal contact information to the buyer and the solicitors acting for both parties. We may provide your contact information to various professionals that may be acting for the buyer, such as surveyors and contractors wanting access to the property to produce estimates, etc. We will discuss the sale of your property with various parties once a sale is agreed to facilitate exchange of contracts and completion of the sale.

Your details may be added to our mailing list and used to provide you with information we believe will be of interest or benefit to you. You will be able to opt out of receiving these emails at any time.

We will retain the personal information we hold for up to 6 years.

If you would like to contact us regarding any data issue, please email info@tessalangproperty.co.uk.

You have the following rights relating to the information we hold about you:

• The right to make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to find out more about the data we hold about you;
• The right to be informed;
• The right of access;
• The right to rectification;
• The right to erasure (also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’);
• The right to restrict processing;
• The right to data portability;
• The right to object.

More information on how we hold and process your data is available in our Privacy Policy.

If, in the unlikely event, you encounter any problems with Tessa Lang Property’s service which you are unable to resolve with the sales negotiator involved, you should raise the matter with Dr Dorothy Connell, Non-Executive Director, who will then make every effort to resolve the matter quickly and efficiently.

Dr Dorothy Connell
Non-Executive Director
Tessa Lang Property Ltd
33 Belsize Lane
at XUL Architecture
London NW3 5AS
Email: drdconnell@gmail.com

Our full in-house complaints procedure, including timeframes and how to escalate to the Property Redress Scheme, is published separately on this website.

These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in all respects in accordance with the laws of England and, in relation to any legal action or proceedings to enforce these Terms of Business or arising out of or in connection with the appointment of Tessa Lang Property as agents, both TLP and you, the Client, submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

In this brochure, the expression ‘Tessa Lang Property Ltd’ shall mean:

Tessa Lang Property Ltd
(Company Registration Number 06712920)
Registered Office: 2A Maygrove Road, London NW6 2EB