A PropTech firm is introducing a product which is claimed to help letting agents get through rule changes being introduced tomorrow, yet charges landlords.
Smart Compliance describes Landlord Advantage as “the UK’s only fully managed compliance service designed specifically for letting agents, combining compliance expertise with unique tax benefits for landlords.”
It works like this. Letting agents pay nothing; the compliance fee is charged directly to the landlord, while agents may choose to add an administration or review fee – a further cost to the landlord. Meanwhile Smart Compliance sends every landlord a “complimentary three-month Lifetime Legal membership” – but after the three months they would have to pay £8.99 per month to extend the membership.
A statement for the supplier says: “Our goal with Landlord Advantage was to let agents focus on what they do best: growing their business and securing tenancies, while we take care of compliance,” said Amy Shields, Commercial Director at Smart Compliance. “We recognised that tenant checks were already incorporated into referencing, but landlords, often with more complex ownership structures, had no existing solution. We wanted to create a bespoke product for letting agents that not only managed landlord compliance on their behalf but also gave landlords excellent service and meaningful added value.”
Features of the product include what the supplier calls “comprehensive landlord compliance packs” including Title Deeds, proof of address, facial recognition, PEP & sanctions checks, and any required enhanced due diligence. There is also free monthly monitoring of all checked clients, and white labelled marketing material and website copy.
From tomorrow all lettings agents will be required to comply with financial sanctions regulations.
Previously, agents dealing with rental agreements under €10,000 didn’t need to register with HMRC for AML supervision.
So the new regime is tougher, meaning all lettings agents have a legal obligation to:
- Identify Designated Persons (DPs): These are individuals or entities subject to financial sanctions.
- Report Breaches: If you know or have reasonable suspicion that a person (be it a landlord, tenant, or another party in the transaction) is a DP, or that a financial sanctions breach has occurred, you must report it directly to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). This includes stating the nature and value of any funds or economic resources held for that customer.
This is a new responsibility for many, especially those who haven’t previously been subject to AML supervisory requirements. It effectively means that even if your tenancies are below the AML registration threshold, you cannot ignore potential sanctions concerns.
Failure to comply could lead to fines of up to £1m and potential criminal prosecution with up to seven years in prison.
You can see more details of the regime and what it means for agents on a special feature here: https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/features/2025/05/navigating-the-new-maze-what-upcoming-aml-sanctions-changes-mean-for-uk-letting-agents/
