Archive

Financial crime within the property sector is on the rise and the stats are alarming. According to data from Apex Bridging,...

SPRING cleaning is an annual ritual for many households, but firms in the property sector would do well to spend some...

As you begin the process of property transactions in the UK, it's important to understand potential pitfalls that may result in...

Digital compliance specialist SmartSearch can help estate agents comply quickly and efficiently Around one in five estate agents are not registered for...

As the world marches relentlessly forward to 2024, the government’s flagship legislation for the private rented sector (PRS) remains in limbo. This...

This week saw around 80 conveyancing firms across the UK paralysed by a service outage caused by a ‘cyber incident’ on...

Why professional indemnity claims are on the rise In today's volatile economic landscape, the uncertainty faced by landlords and tenants has reached...

A client account is essential to your lettings business, but the rules and regulations you need to follow to keep this...

As money laundering compliance marks its twentieth year, more and more estate agents are being fined for breaches of HMRC’s ID...

By Dawson Scott, CTO of Reapit. As the Chief Technology Officer of Reapit, I have always held the view that the privacy,...

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has warned it is receiving “too many complaints” about breaches of undertakings by solicitors. The regulator...

HMRC data showing more than £1m of anti-money laundering (AML) fines to estate and lettings agents should be a “wake-up call”...

A controversial change due to be brought about in the proposed Renters’ Reform Bill is the abolition of Section 21 ‘no...

Two of the biggest challenges facing the property industry right now are fraud and money laundering. The scale of these activities is...

AML experts SmartSearch warn estate agents that, with so many firms still hiding behind ‘opaque corporate structures,’ proper due diligence has...

Agency software provider Reapit has achieved ISO 27001 certification for information security management. The certification means that Reapit has implemented one of...

One million homes have lost all their pandemic gains amid the financial turmoil at the end of last year, Zoopla claims. Each...

HMRC fined 24 estate agency and property businesses for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches between April and June 2022, new figures show. The...

An internal review has found examples of non-compliance with regulations at Purplebricks, the online agent’s half-year results have revealed, which could...

HMRC has fined estate agents over £500,000 for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches in the past two months. Yet despite property managers...

With the reported increase in agency staff turnover we thought it would be a good idea to look at how you...

With the ever-persistent compliance hurdles materialising within the property market, Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, speaks about how the use of...

If recent headlines are anything to go by, estate agents and the wider property industry are not just feeling the heavy...

Trade body Propertymark has revealed that it has opened compliance cases against a small number of members following the latest HMRC...

In tougher times – as is the case now, post-Covid, post-Brexit, cost-of-living crisis, war in Ukraine, etc – reputation and consumer...

Property professionals have been pondering the impact of the sudden Bank Holiday scheduled next Monday for the Queen’s state funeral. It creates...

Purplebricks has recruited Helen Martin to the newly created role of group director of risk and compliance. It comes as the beleaguered...

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recently published a list of firms that have received penalty notices for failure to meet their...

A compliance expert has warned that even though most agents will have robust anti-money laundering (AML) checks and processes in place,...

For years now estate agents have been on a journey from digital infancy to digital maturity. But what does the future...

Buyers of new-build homes are being left exposed to the risk of Japanese knotweed due to difference in the conveyancing process...

Property firms are still failing to make basic anti-money laundering checks (AML), and some may even unwittingly be helping politically exposed...

Portals are aiming to boost consumer awareness of new material information rules rather than refusing non-compliant listings. Agency listings have been required...

As another round of property firms is fined, named and shamed for breaching anti-money laundering rules, it feels like the road...

In this latest ‘Women in Property’ edition of the Natter, I check in with Collette Allen, who was recently appointed as...

Many of the property firms recently fined for anti-money laundering (AML) breaches have previously turned down help, Credas claims. It was revealed...

More than 30 agents and property firms such as auction houses and valuers were reprimanded by HMRC for anti-money laundering breaches...

The number of areas where the average house sale price exceeded £500,000 has surpassed 15% of Great Britain for the first...

As amendments to smoke and carbon monoxide alarm legislation loom for rented properties later this year, we look at how inventory...

Technology developed for the estate agency industry has advanced and expanded seismically over the past decade as software vendors develop their...

Trading Standards has advised agents to update listings once they reach the "sold subject to contract" (SSTC) stage. It comes after legal...

In this weekend feature, inventory expert and chair of the AIIC, Daniel Evans, sets out why rental reform changes will make...

One of the most valuable assets to any company is the data it stores. According to a recent study completed by...

LonRes has teamed up with compliance consultancy iCompli to launch a  range of services which they say will keep estate agents...

A legal expert has warned that everyone is theoretically at risk of committing a breach of sanctions against Russia - but...

The international reviews service Trustpilot has batted away criticism from a property website that it ignores breaches of its guidelines. Last week,...

Estate agents and other property businesses need to ensure their customer screening processes are robust and up to date following extensive...

I’m sure most readers would agree with me that cyber-security is vitally important for almost any business, particularly those businesses like...

Was Purplebricks right to delist a property from its website when it discovered the vendors - a Christian couple - were opposed...

A warning has gone out to estate agents that “more and more” reports are being filed about cyber attacks on agencies...

A conveyancer has contacted Estate Agent Today suggesting that the Simplify Group IT data crisis could be the death knell for the company...

A consultancy specialising in data protection issues has sharply criticised the Simplify Group for its ongoing lack of communications over its...

A petition is being started, urging the government to ban the payment of referral fees to estate agents. It’s reported to have...

The class action taken by former self-employed workers against two online agencies should be a warning to other firms breaking the...

In this thought leadership article, Videosign CEO Steven Tallant looks at electronic signatures and conveyancing and whether the time is nigh for the...

The work of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team is “vital” it claims - and the case of the...

A banned West Midlands estate agent has today been sentenced to a custodial sentence of six weeks, suspended for two years, and fined £4,000 at Wolverhampton Crown Court after pleading guilty...

Propertymark has issued a warning to agents following the fines imposed on three property agencies by HM Revenue & Customs for...

Three property agents feature on the latest list of businesses in trouble for failing to comply with money laundering regulations. The list...

If you were hoping for a summer lull during August, think again. That’s the messages from Nicky Stevenson, managing director of Fine...

The UK government will not achieve its pledge of delivering 300,000 new homes a year until 2028, according to analysis from...

In the world of football – very topical at the moment, as we all enjoy the Euros – there is an...

As estate agencies are covered by Money Laundering Regulations, agents are legally obliged to take customer due diligence measures to limit...

After a recent incident involving an Estate Agent based in Devon in which a property virtual tour they published revealed a...

With property fraud on the rise and an ever-increasing number of transactions taking place in the lettings sector, having strict anti-money laundering...

The man behind the free-to-list portal Residential People says security across all portals should be tightened, with so-called Two Factor Authentication...

A leading industry trade body is warning that remote-working agents and smaller independent agencies are particularly vulnerable to the growing threat...

Rightmove is to roll-out two-factor authentication within Rightmove Plus to try to protect agents against attempts by fraudsters to steal leads and...

A market analysis by Fine & Country suggests that annual house price inflation could hit 10 per cent next month. Nicky Stevenson,...

We have more regulations controlling the sector than ever before and we have more ‘regulators’ involved in controlling the sector than...

If someone broke into your house and took a video of lots of personal information, like photos of family and pets,...

From 4 May 2021, your agency could be blocked from charging late fees, compounding interest on missing rent and taking any...

The Competition and Markets Authority has written to two top house builders ordering them to change their leasehold terms. In September the...

Fixflo’s webinar on February 9 saw an industry panel debate 2021’s threats and opportunities for letting agents. The panel discussed a range...

Knowing adjudication terms and phrases can make all the difference in a deposit dispute. The DPS has been helping landlords and letting...

It’s now more than a year since the government offered an additional £4 million to councils to combat rogue landlords. At the...

A newspaper claims that thousands of customers’ financial details held by Foxtons Group are being freely accessed on the so-called dark...

A trade body is warning that increased home working triggered by Coronavirus makes the agency industry more vulnerable than ever to...

Estate agencies have been named by HM Revenue & Customs for breaching anti-money laundering regulations. The list of those breaching the rules...

Start-up letting agents looking to enter the market are finding it increasingly difficult to set up in business as banks point...

Tenancy deposit disputes are messy and often frustrating for all involved. While the number of formal disputes remains low, the pandemic...

The announcement of the Renters’ Reform Bill in the Queen’s speech last December caused a collective groan across the country from...

In recent years, the extent and role of the private rented sector (PRS) in the housing market has seen significant changes. The...

Foxtons is alleged by a newspaper to have suffered a malware attack and data breach which closed its MyFoxtons client website. The...

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 have been in place for several months now. While letting...

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has encouraged people to complain if they are unhappy about working conditions and thousands of complaints...

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been criticised for its lack of enforcement of anti-money laundering (AML) legislation so far in...

Estate agents and small businesses are being warned to take greater care over passwords to stop hackers breaking into their systems. David...

Since June 1, under The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords in England have been...

If anyone thought the days of Purplebricks bosses making millions were in the past,  think again. The chief executive and chief finance...

The proportion of the asking price achieved on average in the past year is 95.8 per cent according to a new survey. Comparison...

There’s been a very large rise in the number of complaints submitted by consumers to the Property Redress Scheme. This is partly...

The hunt is on for a new boss of Countrywide according to news reports. Sky News says the company has recruited professional...

Agents now have a chance to say what they think should be in a new Code of Conduct being discussed following...

The estate agency industry has been sharply criticised for its record on protecting staff and customers during the Coronavirus crisis. The compliance...

The devolved government in Wales - where the housing market is still officially closed - has urged agents to report rivals...

Dominic Cummings has been at worst a cause of huge anger to a nation that’s already extremely anxious. At best, he’s been...

** This Bank Holiday Monday both Estate Agent Today and Letting Agent Today look at how agencies have modified offices and...

There has been much speculation about when agents will be allowed back to work, and what the new office working environment...

There’s been a furious response to the agent who appears to have breached government rules by opening his branch to the...