It has been over three years since HMLR introduced Safe Harbour, which provided conveyancers and landlords with a digital identity standard to protect them from property fraud. Many conveyancers have widely adopted the standard, but why have we yet to see a similar scheme for the entire homebuying chain? Despite the Government’s efforts to drive compliance within the market, including the publication of Good Practice Guide 45 (GPG 45), which sets out how to verify someone’s identity confidently, many still need clarification on what they should be doing. For already overstretched property pro ..read more

The latest figures published by the UK Government* have shown a surge in fines to landlords and letting agents for non-compliance with the Right to Rent rules. There was a 405% increase in fines issued to Letting agents and landlords for a lack of compliance when it came to checking a tenants legal right to rent in the UK, with the total fines issued in 2023 totalling £151,480 compared with just £29,960 in 2022. The number of penalties issued also spiralled, up from the 32 recorded in 2022, to 155 penalties in 2023. Landlords and letting agents need to stay vigilant when checking the Right to ..read more

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Our latest research has identified that ID checks significantly outstrip Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and Sanctions checks, despite the stringent Money Laundering Regulations. The study which analyses the number of checks performed on the Credas platform, which surpassed 2.2 million registration in 2023, show that PEPs and Sanctions checks significant lagged behind ID checks by a ratio of 2:1. Only 50% of IDV checks conducted, were accompanied by a PEPs and Sanctions check despite this being a standard requirement. In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, businesses are mandated ..read more

Introducing Credas+, our new fully managed IDV / AML compliance service To help regulated firms meet their money laundering obligations we have our new managed compliance service, Credas+, which removes the burden of having to manually remediate AML & IDV results. The new service offers a single comprehensive solution that delivers a pass or fail result, together with comprehensive compliance reports, including all the remediation evidence. Working closely with our existing clients we have built this new service to help reduce the risks and operational expenses associated manually remediat ..read more

WHAT IS MATERIAL INFORMATION? Material Information (MI) is information which the average consumer needs, according to the context, to take an informed transactional decision. This means any information which would impact the decision that a consumer makes in relation to a property, such as arranging a viewing, putting in an offer to purchase, and proceeding with any other aspect of the process.  The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibits material information from being omitted, however due to inconsistencies with how the Regulations are interpreted, the Nation ..read more

In this webinar we discuss the essential compliance and regulatory updates all Estate and Letting Agents should be aware of heading into 2024 What’s covered? Changes to the treatment of domestic PEPs HMRC notices and alerts Updated Right to Rent penalities New sanctions High risk third countries Additional resources: NCA Russian trade sanctions HMRC Lack of Risk Assessment notice HMRC advice on creating and documenting a Risk Assessment HM Treasury Advisory Notice: High Risk Third Countries Treatment of Politically Exposed Persons under the Money Laundering Regulations Companies House Advan ..read more

From material information to right-to-rent penalties, the regulatory landscape for property professionals is constantly evolving. Keeping up with the latest compliance changes can be time consuming and costly, with the average AML fine issued by HMRC rising to £6,200. To help you stay compliant in 2024, our Head of Governance Louis Lancaster will be hosting a live webinar on Wednesday 20th December at 1.00 pm. If you want to learn more about: Material Information requirements Right-to-Rent penalties IDV / AML trends New high-risk territories Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill And ..read more

The long-anticipated Parts B and C of The National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) material information rules were released last week. The latest Material Information update follows the release of Part A in 2022, which covered requirements on council tax bands and rates, property price or rent, and tenure information, key financial information that must form part of the listing. Parts B & C are a more in-depth examination of the property itself, such as building materials, utilities information, and parking, as well as any restrictive covenants or known risks. E ..read more

In an exciting move, Credas has partnered with Coastr, the online car rental and shared mobility software company, to help reshape the car rental industry.  This strategic new initiative aims to streamline the process of renting a car by integrating our biometric facial recognition technology and identity document verification into Coastr, enabling users of its car rental platform to request ID verification ahead of collection.  Coastr’s Founder, Biswajit Kundu Roy, expressed his enthusiasm about the unique collaboration, stating, “We are excited to introduce our partnership with Cr ..read more