All letting agents are required to be registered with, and regulated by, the Scottish Government. It has been a criminal (not civil) offence to trade as a letting agent after 1 October 2018 if you are not registered with, and regulated by, the Scottish Government.
Registered letting agents require to adhere to the Scottish Government Letting Agent Code of Practice which means that, amongst other things, they have to have suitable policies and procedures in place, there staff need to be appropriately qualified, and they have to control their clients’ money sensibly and they have to have professional indemnity and client money insurances in place.
Call to action ..... landlords
If they use a letting agent, landlords now have a duty to only use a registered one to ensure that they are legally compliant. I keep hearing more and more practical reasons why this is the case, for example, did you know that you will be refused a mortgage on a buy-to-let property if you use an agent who is not registered?
Landlords please use a registered letting agent.
Call to action ..... letting agents
There is significant work in getting a letting agent into a good enough shape to be able to be come regulated. If letting agents who have not registered are looking to sell their business given the hassle involved, get in touch as I know people who are looking to buy such letting agents – they have the resource (both £££ and people) to complete a quick deal.
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