Letting agents must ensure that they are fully prepared for the new regulatory requirements introduced today.
Letting agents are now required to screen all landlords, tenants, and — where applicable — beneficial owners of corporate landlords or tenants against the UK Sanctions List. Any positive matches must be reported immediately to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).
While some agents will inevitably see the new rules as a burden, others view it as an opportunity to streamline their operations and enhance compliance processes.
Goodlord’s head of referencing, Nishma Parekh, commented: “New rules around sanctions checks represent a major shift for the industry and it would be very easy for letting agents to unwittingly fall foul of them. Every single landlord and tenant, no matter the rental value, must now go through sanctions checks.
Coadjute advises that agents consider four key areas to stay compliant:
1. Review screening processes: Ensure your agency has access to up-to-date screening tools and is following a consistent due diligence workflow.
2. Improve documentation and audit trails: Maintain clear, timestamped records of checks conducted, decisions made, and any reports filed.
3. Train your team: Ensure all staff understand what sanctions are, how to perform checks, what constitutes a match, and how to report.
4. Stay compliant beyond onboarding: Sanctions checks must be performed not just at the start of a tenancy but monitored throughout the tenancy term.
OFSI will have to simplify the reporting regime. I have just downloaded the 17-page – yes SEVENTEEN pages – reporting form, full of bureaucratic gobbledygook. Not very user-friendly, especially for us simple letting agents.
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For anyone reading this and panicking – checks are due on all landlords on instruction and tenants once an offer has been negotiated and agreed. The article doesn’t make that clear. Training in connection with Sanctions is similar to those that estate agents already do. We have updated our course to include lettings sanctions and links to ofsi. Once you get the hang of competing them it will feel more straightforward.
Keeping records of all training is essential – which can be hard when you have training from a range of different sources. These records are your defence and so important. This also applies to the changes in material information – keep your team up to date as we are in complicated times for team members. Not to mention regulation and renters rights! Training seems to be quite important!!
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