The Guild of Property Professionals says its webinar series on upcoming Financial Sanctions legislation saw what it calls “impressive engagement” with over 450 members participating.

The webinars addressed the significant changes impacting the lettings sector, specifically the new requirement effective from May 14 – that’s a week today – for all lettings agents to conduct UK Financial Sanctions checks and report suspected breaches to HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).

“The introduction of these new regulations is a significant change for the lettings sector, and it was vital that our members were fully prepared” says Guild compliance chief Paul Offley. 

“The high attendance across the April webinars, with over 450 Members joining us, demonstrates the importance of this topic and our Members’ commitment to upholding the highest standards of compliance. We are delighted with the positive engagement and feedback, reinforcing The Guild’s role in providing timely and essential support.”

From May 14 the new system will place stricter obligations on letting agents who must ensure that neither tenants, nor landlords are listed on government sanctions lists. 

Under the new rules, letting agents will be classified as ‘Relevant Firms’ under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. As such they must conduct sanction checks on clients while ensuring they report any breaches to the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). 

Failure to comply could lead to fines of up to £1m and potential criminal prosecution with up to seven years in prison.

The Guild says that recent fines issued by HMRC in relation to other money laundering breaches have served as a stark reminder of the critical importance of compliance. Notably, several fines were related to agents failing to maintain their AML supervision status with HMRC, a requirement that necessitates annual renewal.

The Guild says key areas critical for estate and letting agency compliance under the Money Laundering Regulations include:

• HMRC Registration: Mandatory registration for AML supervision which should be maintained at all times – agents often miss a renewal date!
• Having appropriate governance documents in place and reviewed annually.
• Customer Due Diligence (CDD): from assessing risks, verification of ID, plus PEP and financial sanction checks.
• Record Keeping: Maintaining accurate, accessible records of CDD checks and transactions.
• Suspicious Activity Reporting (SARs): Having procedures to identify and report suspected money laundering or terrorist financing to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
• Financial Sanctions: (For Letting Agents from May 14) Implementing procedures to check for and report suspected breaches of financial sanctions to the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI).

Failure to comply with these regulations can result in severe penalties, including substantial fines, reputational damage, and potential criminal prosecution.