Learn · Property due diligence

How to cross-check an agent's property claims

Audit listing claims (land size, STCA, flood, rent, station, bedrooms) against the record that would test each one.

Districts Research · Published 10 September 2026 · Updated 11 September 2026

Illustrative lot — not a recorded property, an official map or a certificate.

The usual mistake

How do I check whether an agent's claims about a property are accurate?

The usual mistake is to treat a confident sentence as a small fact. “800 square metres”, “STCA”, “not flood affected” and “$750 a week” are four different kinds of claim. Each has a preferred source. Each source has a limit. Cross-checking is not an accusation. Agents work for the vendor and often repeat what they were given.

Ask for the source, not the conclusion. “Which flood layer did you check?” is a better question than “Is it flood affected?”. Districts keeps listing observations beside official fields and labels which is which. Where the official field is not loaded, the listing sentence is untested, not confirmed.

Claim audit: typical sentences and the record that tests them

Run every specific sentence through the table. Planning terms and portals differ by state and territory, so “STCA” in one campaign is not a national approval path.

Preferred sources. A verbal answer is not the source.

Claim	Verifiable?	Preferred source	Ambiguity to write down	What the source does not establish
800 m²	Yes, as an area	Cadastral parcel / official lot area. Districts shows officialParcelArea beside the listing figure when both load.	Rounded marketing area versus title area. Access handles and common property.	That the usable building envelope is 800 m², or that a subdivision will meet frontage.
STCA / “subject to council approval”	Partly	The zone use table and the standards in that council’s scheme. See optionality.	STCA is a reminder that approval is required. It is not evidence that approval is likely.	That a planner would support the proposal, or that services exist.
Not flood affected	As a map intersection, yes	Official flood overlay intersecting the parcel. Ask which layer the agent means. See flood.	Planning overlay versus insurance definition versus a finished-floor story.	Depth, velocity, premium, or that the dwelling stayed dry in a named event.
$750 rent	As an advertised figure, yes	Current comparable listings for the same class, labelled advertised. A written managing-agent appraisal is one opinion.	Advertised versus achieved. Furnished versus unfurnished. Room count.	That a tenant will pay $750 next month.
Future station / funded line	As a project stage, yes	The agency page for that project. Walk the catalyst ladder.	Announcement versus budget versus contract versus operation.	That the station will open, or that prices will move when it does.
Renovated	Partly	This-lot DA and building-approval history where a register exists, plus the inspection.	Cosmetic versus structural. Whose renovation: last sale or this campaign.	That works were approved, certified or covered by insurance.
Four bedrooms	Partly	Inspection and, where relevant, the approval that created the fourth room.	Study, rumpus or unapproved enclosure counted as a bedroom.	That a lender, a valuer or a tenant will count four.
Dual living / granny flat	Partly	Approval register and the title (whether the flat can be let separately).	Two kitchens versus two lawful dwellings.	That a second occupancy is lawful or insurable.
Subdividable	As a screen, partly	Zone, minimum lot size, frontage, overlays, services. See subdivision.	Land size quoted without frontage or sewer.	That a plan of subdivision would be certified.
Quiet street	Weakly	Your own visits at different hours. Nearby applications for traffic-generating uses.	Quiet on a Sunday inspection versus a school pickup or a future collector road.	A noise reading or a future traffic volume.
High-growth suburb	As a dated statistic, partly	ERP or Census with geography and date; recorded sales count. See research a suburb.	One year’s median move versus household change versus a hotspot list.	That this lot will rise. Growth is a forecast, not a recorded claim about the dwelling.

Worked listing audit: labelled illustration

Listing copy: “812 m² family home, four bedrooms, dual living, not flood affected, rent $750, dual occupancy STCA, quiet street, high-growth pocket.” Districts fields, where loaded: officialParcelArea 743; three bedrooms on the listing form versus four in the headline; flood-planning overlay materiality “affects”, floodShare 0.18; advertised two-bed house comps $620 to $680; optionality screen says the zone contemplates dual occupancy subject to standards; thisLotDa not loaded; suburb Census 2021 rented share loaded, no 2026 growth figure.

Audit line: area claim fails the parcel; bedroom claim is untested until inspection; flood claim fails the loaded overlay; rent claim sits above the advertised set; STCA is a true reminder, not evidence; quiet street and high-growth have no official field on the page. Write those six results. Then decide which ones need a conveyancer, an inspector or a condition. Do not average them into a vibe.

Questions that return a source

Ask for the address and date of each comparable sale. Ask which flood layer was checked, and whether that was a planning map or an insurance comment. Ask whether the fourth bedroom or the dual living was approved. Ask which agency page supports the station. Put material answers in email. An email is a record of what was said. It is still not verification.

Traps that let a sentence close the file

These mistakes accept the small claims and only test the large ones.

Checking “development potential” and accepting the land size.
Using the agent’s three comps without type and land size.
Treating a confident verbal “no flood” as the official position, or silence as clear.
Reading “STCA” as a soft approval.
Letting “high-growth” replace a dated ERP or Census line.

What a contradicted claim does not establish

A listing area that exceeds the parcel does not by itself mean fraud. It often means rounding or a different inclusion. A flood overlay on 18 per cent of the lot does not mean the dwelling floods. Districts can only test a claim where a record exists. It cannot test “strong interest” or a verbal sale without an address. Where the official field is not loaded, the claim stays untested.

How Districts sits listing claims next to records

Listing land size sits beside the cadastral area. A listing flood hint is a listing observation; the overlay result is separate. Advertised rent is labelled advertised. Official-source planning facts are labelled separately from the optionality screen. That separation is the audit, done where the sources exist.

How to confirm the claims you would pay for

Parcel and planning: council or state portal and the title search. Flood: council flood information. Sales: the recorded event. Rent: current listings. Works: the approval register and the inspector. Station: the agency’s current stage page. If a claim sets your price and you cannot verify it, treat it as unknown.

How Districts derives it

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Sources

Official material this page used. Dates are when Districts checked the page, not the life of the instrument.

NSW Planning Portal
Planning certificates
Official planning attachments differ by state. A listing “STCA” is not a certificate.
Checked 11 September 2026

Related guides

Research purposes only. Not personal financial advice, a valuation, or a planning certificate. Always speak to a licensed financial adviser before you act.