Getting started

How do I register without booking a valuation

Registering with 321ics only take a few minutes.You will be asked to enter some basic information about yourself (including your title, name, address, e-mail address and contact numbers) and also if you are looking to sell, let, buy or rent a property. You can then set-up a password and you are ready to go! Just to confirm there is no charge at all to register and we will never spam you.

When do I pay my fees and how do I make payment?

Your contract with us will set out terms and conditions when you take our our services. You will need to pay for our services when any of the following occurs, whichever happens first:

When the property sells and the legal process is complete;
If you withdraw your instructions for us to market the property;

Instructing 321ics is easy. Just click the “INSTRUCT 321ics ” button either on your email, in your Valuation Report or in account and follow the onscreen instructions.

You will be sent details to access your iTool or iManage application on our website (www.321ics.com) to view your E-Contract and this can be signed electronically. Our systems will track your ip address and other key details to ensure that the contract is signed/valid.

Under s7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 an electronic signature is anything in electronic form which:

is incorporated into or otherwise logically associated with any electronic communication or electronic data, and

is certified as such by the signatory

Such a signature is admissible in evidence for the purpose of establishing the authenticity, the integrity, or both, of the electronic communication or data. Certification of the signature requires the signatory to make a statement that the signature, its production, communication or verification, or a procedure applied to it, is a valid means of establishing the authenticity, integrity or both of the electronic communication or data.

How do I review my advert?

When your Local Property Expert has uploaded the photographs, measurements, descriptions and floor plan - you will receive a message telling you that your advert is ready to approve. Simply press the “REVIEW ADVERT” button and go through the straightforward process. Once approved your advert will go live instantly on Rightmove.

How do I upgrade my browser

We support the following browsers:

For Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 and above.
Mozilla Firefox 3.5 (with 128-bit encryption) and above.
For Apple Mac OS X

Safari 3.21 and above
For all users in addition your browser must also:

Be upgraded to 128-bit encryption to access your accounts. You can check your browser version and encryption level by clicking on 'About' under 'Help'.
Have cookies enabled.
Have JavaScript enabled.
Have SSL enabled.
If you have an earlier version of a browser, it's easy to download an updated version:

For Internet Explorer click on the free downloads link on the Microsoft site at www.microsoft.com/ie.
For Firefox click on the free downloads link on the Mozilla site at www.mozilla.com/firefox.
For Safari on Mac OS click on the free downloads link on the Apple site at www.apple.com/safari.
The 321ics website is designed for display resolutions of 800x600 and above. For the best viewing experience, the recommended minimum screen resolution is 1024x768.

General questions

Do you ever release my personal contact details or information

Answer: No. We will not share any of your personal details and they will not be visible to the other party when you are communicating through our iTool or iManage application platform.

We do however provide your name and contact number to the opposing party when a viewing is arranged, just in case you need to communicate on the day, before the viewing takes place (unless you are selling/letting and have chosen for www.321to take care of your viewings. In these instances, we provide the name and number of the Local Property Expert).

How do I arrange a viewing

Once you have registered with 321ics.com, you will be able to arrange a viewing 24/7, with a click of a button. Click the ‘BOOK VIEWING” button on the property advert, you will then be prompted to fill in some basic information about your property search (this is sent direct to the homeowner). Then simply select a convenient date and time for your viewing and our interactive diary will show:

Which dates / times are instantly available.
You can also request a different date / time even if it’s shown in white. This means that the homeowner will just need to confirm the appointment is ok first.
Your viewing is now arranged, you will receive an email confirmation with the viewing details. We will send you another email if the homeowner needs to approve your viewing first. You can edit or cancel your appointment by logging into your account at any time, day or night.

How do I know when my viewing is confirmed

You will receive an email confirmation with the viewing details. We will send you another email if the homeowner needs to approve your viewing first. You can edit or cancel your appointment by logging into your account at any time, day or night.

Can I contact the homeowner / tenant / buyer directly?

Yes, you can. You have the facility to message the other party securely via the iManage or iTool platform at any time.

How do I cancel or change the date / time of a viewing?

You can edit or cancel your appointment by logging into your account at any time, day or night and selecting either your “DIARY” or “VIEWINGS” from the main menu.

How do I leave feedback

This is done via our platform. Simply click on “FEEDBACK” from the main menu. You will then be given the opportunity to leave feedback on your viewing by rating (1 to 5) the location, presentation and suitability of the property. Please note that you will need to confirm whether you attended the viewing first by clicking “VIEWINGS” from the main menu.

Instructing us and creating your property advert

How do I arrange a valuation

You can arrange a valuation direct with one of our Local Property Experts within a few seconds, direct on our website. Simply clicking here and follow the onscreen instructions.

My property is already on the market. Can I use 321ICS.COM

Yes, you can still use 321ics. You can choose to instruct us straight away and set the date for your marketing to start as the day your current agreement comes to an end. You could also instruct us as an additional agent, subject to the terms of your existing agency agreement.

Do you hold my credit card or debit card details?

The information you provide to make a purchase will not be stored by us. This information will be stored by Barclaycard (our payment provider) and only when you take advantage of a further product or service will you get the choice to use the same card details. We will then securely obtain this information back from Barclaycard.

Do you verify those who are coming to view or who make an offer on a property

We have the safest and most secure method of arranging a viewing in the estate agency industry. Unlike most agents who take a phone call, get a person’s name and address and arrange the viewing with anyone who wants to view; with 321ICS all potential viewers will need to register, go through a verification process and will receive a call from us.

In relation to offers, every time that an offer is made we take key information from the proposed buyer/tenant and then an offer check process is conducted by a third party to ensure they are able to proceed with the purchase.

Our terms and condition including privacy policy

Reliance on information posted

Commentary, user generated content, uploads and comments from the public and other materials posted on our website are not intended to amount to advice on which reliance should be placed. We therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by any visitor to our website, or by anyone who may be informed of the contents of these materials.

While we make every effort to ensure that information placed on this web site or is accurate (which for the avoidance of doubt does not include material provided by other members of the public on the chat room, the bulletin boards or material on third party web sites which are accessible by the use of certain links in this web site but over which we have no control), it does not give any warranty or representations, express or implied, about its accuracy, completeness, or appropriateness for a particular purpose.

It is a condition of us allowing you, access to this web site that you assume full responsibility for using the information provided, and that you accept that we will not be liable for any action you take in reliance on such information.

Our liability

The material displayed on our website is provided without any guarantees, conditions or warranties as to its accuracy. To the extent permitted by law, we, other members of our group of companies and third parties connected to us hereby expressly exclude:

All conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute, common law or the law of equity.

Any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage incurred by any user in connection with our website or in connection with the use, inability to use, or results of the use of our website, any websites linked to it and any materials posted on it, including, without limitation any liability for:

loss of anticipated savings;
loss of data;
loss of goodwill;
loss of income or revenue;
loss of business;
loss of profits or contracts
wasted management or office time; and

For any other loss or damage of any kind, however arising and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, even if foreseeable.

This does not affect our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter, or any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Property Details Displayed

Details held by us about a property do not comprise personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998. 321ICS may use the data which we hold about properties advertised to provide professional valuation services and other data services to third parties.

Information about you and your visits to our website

We process information about you in accordance with our privacy policy. By using our website, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.

Uploading material to our website

Whenever you make use of a feature that allows you to upload material to our website or to make contact with other users of our website, you must comply with the content standards set out in our in this document You warrant that any such contribution does comply with those standards, and you indemnify us for any breach of that warranty.

Any material you upload will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, and we have the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose. We also have the right to disclose your identity to any third party who is claiming that any material posted or uploaded by you constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights, or of their right to privacy.

We will not be responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials posted by you or any other user of our website.

We have the right to remove any material or posting you make on our website if, in our opinion, such material does not comply with the content standards set out in this document.

Viruses, hacking and other offences

You must not misuse our website by knowingly introducing viruses, Trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our website, the server on which our website is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our website. You must not attack our website with the intent to disable or impair its use at anytime.

By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our website will cease immediately.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a distributed denial-of-service attack, viruses or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our website, our services or to your downloading of any material posted on it, or on any website linked to it.

Linking to our website

You may link to our home page, only with our written approval and provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.

You must not establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.

Our website must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of our website other than the home page. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. If you wish to make any use of material on our website other than that set out above, please address your request to our head office.

Jurisdiction and applicable law

The English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, a visit to our website or use of our services. These terms of use are governed by English law.

What does our Privacy Policy cover?

Our website may, from time to time, contain links to and from websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies and websites. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

What information do we gather?

We may collect and process the personal data that you:

Volunteer on forms you submit to us (including but not limited to registration, order, survey, and competition forms), and in emails you send to us.
Upload, post, comment or submit to a discussion board, story blog, wiki, forum, chat room or similar discussion or opinion group;
Submit when you report a problem with our website contact us; and
Leave as a result of your visits to our website including but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, whether this is required for our own billing purposes or otherwise

The personal data we collect (as described above) is used to:

Allow us to develop our websites in a way that will enhance the online experience of the greatest number of users;
Ensure that content from our website is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer, PDA, mobile phone or other device;
To provide you with information, that you request from us or which we may feel may interest you, where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes;
To carry out our obligations arising from any contents entered into between you and us;
To allow you to participate in interactive features of our website, when you choose to do so; and
To notify you about changes to our website
You agree that we and other 321ICS companies may obtain, hold, correlate, merge and use your information (including personal information) for the purpose of providing you with ancillary services and for our internal business purposes.

This will include communication (and personalising such communication) with you from other 321ICS companies, and from other companies (if you have agreed to such).

Our web websites enable you to communicate with other visitors or to post information to be accessed by others. When you use these services, other visitors could collect your data. We have no control over this and accept no liability for any consequences of this.

Registered users posting comments via any facility on our websites will also have their submitted details stored along with their IP address. Your IP address will not be disclosed to anyone accept in cases of any facility being abused or unless we are required to do so by law.

Viewings, feedback and offers

How do I arrange a valuation?

You can arrange a valuation direct with us or you can choose an agent to complete this.

What is included in my lettings fees?

We offer a comprehensive service including professional advice and support from a Local Property Expert who will visit your property and do everything to get your property live to the market. We a range of comprehensive lettings packages.

What happens if I do not sell or let my property

Answer: Should your property be on the market longer than expected, we will help you review your options and conduct a full marketing review of your property every 28 days. We look at everything such as all of your previous viewings and feedback, offering tailored Extras to boost your viewings and we will re-evaluate the local market including details of what is selling or letting in the area.

Would I get more money for my property with a high street Estate Agent

No. We will help you achieve the best possible price. We will help with negotiations. We judge our success on the basis of achieving the top price for our customers in a transparent way.

Technical questions

What is included in my selling fees

Everything is included other than the cost of an EPC (if you need one) and if you want us to conduct the viewings. There are no hidden fees or charges. Your Local Expert can confirm our latest price in respect of our viewings service and EPC.

What is the cost for a board?

If you are selling a property then our sale board is included in the price (including the delivery and erection of the board). If you require a replacement board or would like one for your rental property, the cost is £60 plus VAT.

Can I suggest/recommend an alternative date for a viewing that is marked as not available?

Yes. All you need to do is select an alternative date and time in the live diary and this will either be confirmed immediately as an instant booking or be subject to approval by the opposing party.

Accessing our website

Access to our website is permitted on a temporary basis, and we reserve the right to withdraw or amend the service we provide on our website without notice (see below). We will not be liable if for any reason our website is unavailable at any time or for any period.

From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of our website, or our entire site to users who have registered with us.

If you choose, or you are provided with, a user name, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any third party. We have the right to disable any user name or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use.

You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to our website you are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our website through your internet connection or using your hardware are aware of these terms, and that they comply with them.

Intellectual property rights

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our website, the material published on it and the services. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved. You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our website for your personal reference and you may draw the attention of others to material posted on our website or contained within our services.

Our iTool and iManage Tool applications are trademarked and licence applications, owned by 321ICS. You must not copy of any of our scripts, design or functions.

You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of material from our website or services must always be acknowledged. You must not use any part of the materials on our website for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors. If you print off, copy or download any part of our website in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

Our website changes regularly

We aim to update our website regularly, and may change the content at any time. If the need arises, we may suspend access to our website indefinitely. Any of the material on our website may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.

What steps have been taken and what security is in place to keep my personal data secure?

All of our employees who have access to your personal data and/or are associated with the processing of that data are contractually obliged to respect the confidentiality of your personal data.

To protect the integrity and security of your personal data we will take steps to verify your identity before granting access to your data or making corrections to it.

We have put in place appropriate technology measures and security policies and procedures to protect the personal data that we have under our control from unauthorised access, improper use, alteration, unlawful or accidental destruction or accidental loss.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our website; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

Planning & Change of use

Use of classes

The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) puts uses of land and buildings into various categories known as 'Use Classes'. This Order is periodically amended, view details of the amendments.

It is generally the case that you will need planning permission to change from one use class to another, although there are exceptions where the legislation does allow some changes between uses.

For example, A3 uses can change to A1 uses without the need for planning permission. However, if you are proposing to change the use of a premises or land, you should always seek advice from the local planning authority to confirm whether planning permission is required or not.

The following list gives an indication of the types of use which may fall within each use class. Please note that this is a guide only and it is for local planning authorities to determine, in the first instance, depending on the individual circumstances of each case, which use class a particular use falls into.

What covers Part A of the planning?

A1 Shops - Shops, retail warehouses, hairdressers, undertakers, travel and ticket agencies, post offices, pet shops, sandwich bars, showrooms, domestic hire shops, dry cleaners, funeral directors and internet cafes.

A2 Financial and professional services - Financial services such as banks and building societies, professional services (other than health and medical services) and including estate and employment agencies. It does not include betting offices or pay day loan shops - these are now classed as “sui generis” uses (see below).

A3 Restaurants and cafés - For the sale of food and drink for consumption on the premises - restaurants, snack bars and cafes.

A4 Drinking establishments - Public houses, wine bars or other drinking establishments (but not night clubs).

A5 Hot food takeaways - For the sale of hot food for consumption off the premises.

What covers Part B of the planning?

B1 Business - Offices (other than those that fall within A2), research and development of products and processes, light industry appropriate in a residential area.

B2 General industrial - Use for industrial process other than one falling within class B1 (excluding incineration purposes, chemical treatment or landfill or hazardous waste).

B8 Storage or distribution - This class includes open air storage.

What covers Part C of the planning?

C1 Hotels - Hotels, boarding and guest houses where no significant element of care is provided (excludes hostels).

C2 Residential institutions - Residential care homes, hospitals, nursing homes, boarding schools, residential colleges and training centres.

C2A Secure Residential Institution - Use for a provision of secure residential accommodation, including use as a prison, young offenders institution, detention centre, secure training centre, custody centre, short term holding centre, secure hospital, secure local authority accommodation or use as a military barracks.

C3 Dwellinghouses - this class is formed of 3 parts:

C3(a) covers use by a single person or a family (a couple whether married or not, a person related to one another with members of the family of one of the couple to be treated as members of the family of the other), an employer and certain domestic employees (such as an au pair, nanny, nurse, governess, servant, chauffeur, gardener, secretary and personal assistant), a carer and the person receiving the care and a foster parent and foster child.
C3(b): up to six people living together as a single household and receiving care e.g. supported housing schemes such as those for people with learning disabilities or mental health problems.
C3(c) allows for groups of people (up to six) living together as a single household. This allows for those groupings that do not fall within the C4 HMO definition, but which fell within the previous C3 use class, to be provided for i.e. a small religious community may fall into this section as could a homeowner who is living with a lodger.

C4 Houses in multiple occupation - small shared houses occupied by between three and six unrelated individuals, as their only or main residence, who share basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom.

What covers Part D of the planning?

D1 Non-residential institutions - Clinics, health centres, crèches, day nurseries, day centres, schools, art galleries (other than for sale or hire), museums, libraries, halls, places of worship, church halls, law court. Non residential education and training centres.
D2 Assembly and leisure - Cinemas, music and concert halls, bingo and dance halls (but not night clubs), swimming baths, skating rinks, gymnasiums or area for indoor or outdoor sports and recreations (except for motor sports, or where firearms are used).

Sui Generis

Certain uses do not fall within any use class and are considered 'sui generis'. Such uses include: betting offices/shops, pay day loan shops, theatres, larger houses in multiple occupation, hostels providing no significant element of care, scrap yards. Petrol filling stations and shops selling and/or displaying motor vehicles. Retail warehouse clubs, nightclubs, launderettes, taxi businesses, amusement centres and casinos.

Changes of use not requiring planning permission

Planning permission is not needed when the existing and the proposed uses fall within the same 'use class', or if The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) (GPDO) says that a change of use is permitted to another specified 'use class'.

For example, a greengrocer’s shop could be changed to a shoe shop without the need for planning permission as these uses fall within the same 'use class', and a restaurant could be changed to a shop or a estate agency as the GPDO allows this type of change to occur without requiring planning permission.

Whilst a change of use might not need permission, any external building work associated with a change of use may still require planning permission.

Prior approval

Some changes of use are subject to a prior approval procedure with the Local Planning Authority. This seeks approval of various matters, dependent on the nature of the use, but might typically include matters relating to parking and highways, flooding, and contaminated land. In the case of A3 uses, prior approval is required in respect of matters relating to noise, odour, waste collection, impact of the hours of opening, transport and highways impact, impact on existing shopping provision, the design of any external changes and a statement specifying the net increase in dwellinghouses proposed by the development.

All prior approval applications require a fee to be paid to the Local Planning Authority.

Community assets

There are some restrictions on the change of use of public houses (A4) where they have been designated or could be nominated as a “community asset”. If a public house has already been defined by the Council as a community asset then there are no permitted development rights, and a planning application is required for any change of use or demolition. If the building is not a community asset, developers are required to give notice to the Local Planning Authority at least 56 days in advance of the commencement of any works. If community groups are then interested in buying the property to retain it as a community asset, then permitted development rights are temporarily removed, and the community group must be given the opportunity to purchase the property. See Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012.

Office to Residential

Temporary permitted development rights currently apply in respect of the change of use of premises from a B1(a) office use to C3 residential use. This is subject to Prior Approval being sought in respect of flooding, contamination, highways and transport issues and impacts of noise from commercial premises on the intended occupiers of the development. For a property to benefit from C3 use, the use must begin by 30th May 2016 (See GPDO Schedule 2, Part 3, Class O) or for developments assessed against the post-6th April 2016 amendments (see SI 332 amendments in relation to change of use of offices to dwellinghouses), development must be completed within three years starting with the prior approval date.

Storage / Distribution to Residential

Temporary permitted development rights also apply in respect of the change of use of premises from a B8 storage and distribution use under 500m2 to C3 residential use. This is subject to a number of criteria being met and subject to Prior Approval being sought in respect of air quality, transport and highways impacts, contamination risks, flooding risks, noise impact, and impact on the sustainability of adjoining uses. For a property to benefit from C3 use, the use must begin by 15th April 2018 (See GPDO Schedule 2, Part 3, Class P).

Agricultural buildings

Agricultural buildings under 450m2 are permitted to change to C3 use (dwellinghouses), together with some building operations necessary to facilitate the conversion. This is subject to meeting certain criteria, including no more than 3 dwellings within an agricultural unit.

It is also subject to Prior Approval being sought in respect of transport and highways impacts, noise impact, contamination risks, flooding risks, whether the building is suitable for a residential use, and the design or external appearance of the building (See GPDO Schedule 2, Part 3, Class Q).

Agricultural buildings under 500m2 are permitted to change to a flexible commercial use, comprising A1, A2, A3, B1, B8, C1 or D2 uses. This is subject to meeting certain criteria, and Prior Approval being sought in relation to uses over 150m2 in respect of transport and highways impacts, noise impact, contamination risks and flooding risks (See GPDO Schedule 2, Part 3, Class R).

Agricultural buildings within land under 500m2 are permitted to change to a state funded school or a registered nursery. This is subject to meeting certain criteria, and Prior Approval being sought in respect of transport and highways impacts, noise impact, contamination risks, flooding risks and whether the building is suitable for the proposed use (See GPDO Schedule 2, Part 3, Class S).