As a real estate agent, there are certain legal obligations you must comply with when advertising your services or properties for your clients. Various laws, such as the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), cover these obligations. This article provides an overview of the relevant ACL advertising requirements and examples of advertising practices you should avoid when marketing your services or next property.
What Are the ACL Advertising Requirements For Real Estate Agents?
When advertising real estate services or a property, a real estate agent must not make false or misleading representations concerning the real estate services or the:
- nature of the interest in a property;
- price payable for a property;
- location of a property;
- characteristics of a property;
- use to which the land is capable of being put or may lawfully be put; or
- existence or availability of facilities associated with a property.
A false or misleading representation includes:
- written statements about an agent’s real estate services or a property an agent is marketing for a client;
- verbal information an agent provides to prospective buyers during an open home inspection; or
- an agent’s silence on a specific piece of information that is intended to mislead a client or buyer.
In addition to the ACL, you should consider any specific advertising requirements in your state or territory before advertising real estate services or properties.
What Advertising Practices Should Real Estate Agents Avoid?
An effective advertising strategy is critical for marketing your real estate services, client properties and your real estate business’ long-term success and growth. However, it is essential to ensure that your advertising practices are effective, accurate and lawful. To achieve this, below are some advertising practices that you should avoid:
1. Misleading Characteristic Claims
You must avoid making false or misleading representations in your property advertisements about the size, condition, or features of a property or the number of people who have viewed or inquired about the property. For example, you cannot advertise a property as being:
- three bedrooms when it is only two bedrooms;
- “move-in ready” when it needs significant repairs; or
- ready to build a driveway or granny flat without the relevant planning approvals.
Some advertisements may use the term ‘STCA’ (Subject to Council Approval) to note the requirement for additional council and planning approvals.
2. Deceptive Pricing Advertisements
You must avoid deceptive pricing practices, such as pricing a property below market value to attract buyers. This is known as underquoting. For example, you cannot advertise a property:
- for $750,000 when you know that the seller is only willing to accept $1,000,000; or
- as being “price reduced” when you have never listed the property for sale at a higher price.
3. False Client Testimonials
If you use client testimonials to advertise your real estate services, the testimonials must be truthful and not include exaggerated, misleading or false comments. For example, you cannot display fake client reviews or testimonials when advertising your services or incorrect comments from actual clients.
4. Misleading Photographs
When using photographs as part of the property advertisement strategy, you must not use photos that provide a false impression. For example, using photographs that:
- have been manipulated to hide or include features, such as hiding a power pole or including trees to cover a neighbouring property;
- imply a property has parking when it does not, such as a photo of a boundary neighbour’s driveway; or
- are accompanied by statements that imply a property is close to the beach or has coastal views when it does not.
What Advertising Practices Should Real Estate Agents Adopt?
In addition to avoiding the practices above, below are three general principles that will assist you when advertising your real estate services or next property.
| Principle | Explanation |
| Be truthful and accurate in your advertising. | Do not make any false or misleading claims about your properties or your real estate services. |
| Be transparent about your fees and commissions. | Disclose your fees and commissions in writing upfront before a client enters into a contract with you. |
| Avoid making promises that you cannot keep. | Try to avoid making promises to sell a property for a certain price or to find a buyer for a property within a certain timeframe. |
By following these general principles, you can ensure that your advertising practices are effective, accurate and will not mislead your clients. This will help you build trust with your clients and potential buyers when advertising a property or your real estate services.
This factsheet outlines your key real estate advertising requirements.
Key Takeaways
As a real estate agent, advertising your services or marketing a property is crucial to your business’ growth and success. However, it is essential to ensure that your advertising practices are successful and legally compliant. By avoiding the advertising practices listed above, you can avoid advertising practices that do not comply with the ACL.
If you have any concerns regarding your legal obligations as a real estate agent, our experienced real estate lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
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