Rightmove and Zoopla property definitions

Devongardener

Hi,  are there any Estate Agents in the forum who could advise me on current Rightmove and Zoopla rules for listing a link-detached property?

We were trying to sell our bungalow (linked by garage to one other) last year and it was appeared on both RM & Z as detached when the search filter was set as detached.     Unfortunately the sale fell through at the last minute in September at the beginning of the financial turmoil,  so we took it off the market then.

We relisted it 3 weeks ago, and by chance, because I keep the ‘detached’ filter on to search for our next property, I noticed that ours didn’t appear.  I call the EA and was told that the RM rules had recently changed and they had to adhere to RCIS definitions and couldn’t put a linked detached into the detached section, because the garage could be converted to a living area.  I understand that linked detached is less desirable and lower value than fully detached, but neither we nor our neighbours have converted the garages as it stands now, for sale.

It’s very frustrating as we’ve had no viewings at all this time, I know it’s a very different market to last year, but I’m wondering if the search criteria might be causing a problem, as there may be others like us who would not want a strict semi, but would consider linked detached.   I guess most searches start with price and area but many do filter by property type too.
 

Thanks.

ReadingTim

If people are looking for a bungalow, they'll filter on RM for bungalows, not detached.  Ditto Zoopla.  I don't think that's the problem tbh.  

jrawle

I suspect the estate agent are making it up as they go along. A house near me went up for sale. It's link detached and they have converted the garage (there is still the neighbour's garage between them and the next house). When it was first listed, it actually said semi-detached. I thought to myself that they were likely to lose viewings as a result for the reasons you give. Lo and behold, next time I looked, it had changed to say detached.

Some properties on Rightmove actually say "Link Detached". These do show up when searching for detached houses only. However, the majority just say detached even when they are linked. I don't know what the RICS rules are, but the Land Registry do have their own rules for the classification used for price paid data, and they clearly state that properties linked by only the garage should be counted as detached.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662877/Annex-B-Property-type-classification-HM-Land_Registry.pdf

I suspect Rightmove uses these classifications by default, and that's why you rarely see "Link Detached". However, the estate agents can clearly override this.

My own house is link detached, and the Land Registry incorrectly had it listed as a semi. I actually contacted them, and they corrected it for all the houses in my street that were affected! However, the house I mentioned above in a neighbouring street is still incorrectly listed as a semi at the Land Registry, which I'm guessing is why the initial Rightmove listing was wrong.

So to summarise: I think the EA are making it up and they could change it to say whatever they want. You should also check the Land Registry price paid data for your house. If that says it's a semi, contact them to get it changed.

Devongardener

@jrawle thank you that’s really helpful!