This Primary Authority Advice has been produced by Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards Service, in partnership with The Property Ombudsman and Propertymark, for use by member businesses as an aid to complying with the law. If you follow this advice correctly, your local Trading Standards Service should respect this and not ask you to comply with the law in a different way. If you are contacted by a local authority enforcement body, please inform them that you are a member of the scheme.
Assured advice issued:
Photographs are often used in marketing material both in print and on websites, but these can affect a consumer’s transactional decision to view, visit or even purchase a property. Photographs should ideally be taken using a standard lens and portray the property and fixed surroundings fairly. Photograph captions should not mislead the consumer.
Agents should avoid taking photographs from certain angles to purposely cut out fixed features that will affect the property, or the view from the property, for example removing a cooling tower from shot, if this would result in an unfair representation of the property.
Agents should also avoid adjusting the photograph using a software package to airbrush out / remove a fixed feature, if this would result in an unfair representation of the property.
If an agent needs to utilise a wide angle lens (for example a 14mm lens) to capture a smaller room, e.g. utility room, then it should be clear on the caption next to the photograph that a wide angle lens has been used to take the photograph. If the use of a wide angle lens would result in an unfair representation of the property, then it should not be used.
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Download the full version of this advice to see what legislation and guidance Warwickshire Trading Standard Service considered before providing this advice.
