Most sellers spend weeks choosing an estate agent and about ten minutes reading the contract. That's understandable: the agent is friendly, the valuation is encouraging, and the paperwork looks standard. But an agency agreement is a legally binding document, and a handful of clauses in it decide how much you'll pay, how long you're stuck, and what happens if things go wrong. The good news is that almost every one of them can be questioned, amended or removed before you sign.
Here are the clauses that cause UK sellers the most grief, and what to say to get them changed.
Your rights before you sign
A few protections apply regardless of what the contract says.
- Written terms up front. Under the Estate Agents Act 1979, an agent must give you their terms in writing — including fees and when they become payable — before you're committed to anything.
- A 14-day cooling-off period. If you sign at home or away from the agent's office (which is common after a valuation visit), the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually give you 14 days to cancel.
- Redress schemes. Every agent dealing with residential sales must belong to an approved redress scheme, such as The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. That's your route if a dispute can't be resolved directly.
The clauses to watch
Long tie-in periods
Sole agency agreements typically lock you in for a minimum term, and anything from 12 to 20 weeks is common. If the property isn't selling, you can't move to another agent without potentially paying two lots of commission.
How to avoid it: Ask for a tie-in of eight weeks or less. If they won't budge, ask for a performance break: a right to end the contract early if there have been no viewings within, say, four weeks.
Long notice periods and auto-renewal
Some contracts don't simply end at the close of the tie-in. They roll on indefinitely until you give written notice, and the notice period itself might be four weeks or more.
How to avoid it: Ask for the agreement to end automatically at the end of the term, or for the notice period to be reduced to 14 days. Either way, give notice in writing so there's a record.
"Sole selling rights"
This is the one most worth spotting. Under sole agency, you can usually sell to a buyer you find yourself without paying the agent. Under sole selling rights, the agent is owed commission whoever finds the buyer — even a neighbour you sold to directly.
How to avoid it: Ask for sole agency instead. If the agent insists on sole selling rights, think hard about whether they're the right agent; it's a significant concession for very little in return.
"Ready, willing and able purchaser"
This wording means the agent earns their fee once they introduce a buyer who is ready, willing and able to proceed — not when the sale completes. If you change your mind, take the house off the market, or the chain collapses at your end, you could still owe commission.
How to avoid it: Ask for the fee to be payable only "on completion of the sale" and for the "ready, willing and able" wording to be removed.
Long "tail" or introduction periods
Even after you end the contract, many agreements say the agent is still owed commission if you later sell to anyone they introduced. A tail of six months is common; some run for two years or more.
How to avoid it: Negotiate the tail down to three to six months, and ask that it only applies to buyers who actually viewed through the agent — not anyone who merely saw the listing online. Ask for a written list of introduced buyers when the contract ends.
Withdrawal and upfront fees
Some agents charge a fee if you withdraw from the market, or ask for non-refundable "marketing" costs up front for photography, floor plans or premium portal placement.
How to avoid it: Ask for withdrawal fees to be deleted, or capped at a modest, clearly stated amount. For upfront costs, ask exactly what each one pays for and whether it's refundable if you cancel within the cooling-off period.
Vague fees and VAT
"1.2% commission" sounds clear until you discover it's quoted before VAT, which adds a fifth again. On a £300,000 sale, that's £3,600 plus £720 VAT — £4,320 in total.
How to avoid it: Ask for every fee to be stated as a figure including VAT, with a clear list of what's included and what costs extra.
How to negotiate without awkwardness
Agents expect negotiation, even if they don't advertise it. A few approaches help:
- Ask for the contract in advance and read it before the meeting, not during.
- Put your changes in writing. A short email listing the clauses you want amended leaves a clear record.
- Get changes into the signed document. A verbal "don't worry about that clause" is worth very little.
- Compare at least three agents. Contract terms vary as much as fees do, and mentioning a competitor's shorter tie-in is often enough.
- Be willing to walk away. An agent who won't change anything at the start is unlikely to be more flexible later.
Or skip the contract altogether
For a growing number of sellers, the simplest way to avoid tricky clauses is not to sign an agency agreement in the first place. Selling privately means no tie-in, no tail period and no commission. You handle viewings and negotiation yourself, and a conveyancer manages the legal side exactly as they would with an agent.
That's the approach Keyzee is built for. You create your listing, set your own price and speak to buyers directly, with nothing to cancel if you change your mind. If you've weighed up the terms on offer and you're not convinced you need an agent at all, it's worth seeing how far you can get on your own.
The short version
Read the contract before the valuation visit, not at the kitchen table afterwards. Watch for sole selling rights, "ready, willing and able" wording, long tie-ins and long tail periods. Ask for changes in writing, and don't sign until they're in the document.
And if you'd rather not deal with agency contracts at all, you can list your home privately with Keyzee and keep the whole sale on your own terms.