Property ads may soon contain air quality information, says NAEA chief

Estate agents' listings may soon include compulsory information on a location's air quality, the chief executive of NAEA Propertymark, Mark Hayward, has said.

Speaking on BBC Radio London, the NAEA boss said: "I think anything that would affect someone's decision to buy should be there to be seen by the public."

Research by the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Paediatrics and Child Health suggests that air pollution has been linked to 40,000 early deaths in the UK.

It is thought that the air quality information could be included in agents' listings as a 'traffic light-style' pollution warning.

"What we are saying is it will now factor into somebody's wish list in terms of what and where they want to buy," Hayward added.

Buying agent Henry Pryor said that homes in high polluted areas could sell for up to 15% less than a similar property in a less polluted location. And therefore, the inclusion of air quality on property adverts could have an impact on property values in city centres.

The situation of declining air quality in the capital has already been described as an 'emergency' by London Mayor Sadiq Khan. One report, authored by Kings College London, suggests that long-term air pollution was responsible for over 9,000 deaths in a single year in the capital.

Paula Higgins, chief executive of the Homeowners’ Alliance, told The Telegraph: “Giving buyers information about pollution would help them think with their head and not with their heart." 

"People need to look at pollution levels in a prospective area just as they would when they look at crime rates.”