The article says updated HMRC anti-money laundering guidance and changes to the Money Laundering Regulations are likely to impose significant operational and staffing costs on estate agency branches. It argues that compliance now requires a dedicated function, with risks of criminal penalties where firms fail to maintain and implement proper risk assessments, controls and procedures.
Awaab’s Law is set to expand from 30 November, extending existing response timeframes beyond damp and mould to a wider range of hazards in social housing, including excess cold and heat, falls, structural collapse, fire and explosion, electrical hazards, and domestic hygiene. The article also highlights that the new guidance places strong emphasis on the landlord’s initial triage judgment and on addressing root causes rather than temporary fixes.
The Supreme Court is set to hear Harker v Hubert, a case testing whether a Section 21 notice can be valid where a gas safety certificate was allegedly not provided at the start of the tenancy and may not have been available at all. The dispute turns on how the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations interact with the post-2015 Section 21 requirements under the Housing Act 1988 and the Deregulation Act 2015.
Conveyancers face an HMRC deadline to register as tax advisers by 18 August if they submit SDLT returns or otherwise interact with HMRC on clients’ property tax matters. While registration itself appears manageable for many firms, commentators warn that the requirement may mark the start of broader compliance expectations around identifying and escalating complex SDLT issues.
Propertymark says the Renters Rights Act will change rental marketing and onboarding by requiring active database entries for both landlord and property before a home can be advertised. It also expects written adverts to carry unique identifiers, with compliance checks becoming part of agents’ instruction and listing workflows.
The article reports that HMRC’s updated AML guidance has increased the operational burden on estate agencies, with one analysis suggesting an average branch may need a dedicated full-time compliance officer costing around £45,000 a year. It argues that AML can no longer be treated as an incidental task and now requires formal risk assessments, policies and ongoing checks.
Poplar HARCA is pursuing a £3.4m claim against Rydon Construction over alleged fire-safety and cladding defects at two east London residential buildings. The housing association says the buildings were not fit for habitation when completed and that remediation has already been carried out using public funding and its own resources.
A landlord was prosecuted after failing to comply with an Improvement Notice served by South Holland council following an inspection that identified serious hazards in a rental property in Long Sutton. The hazards included excess cold, stair-related fall risk, fire hazards, and damp and mould, and the landlord was fined after officers found the required works had not been completed.
The article examines financial fragility among private building control firms registered as registered building control approvers (RBCAs), highlighting recent collapses and signs of wider sector stress. It reports that liabilities are rising faster than assets across the group, despite Building Safety Regulator requirements for financial viability, and suggests the current system is under pressure when firms fail.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is consulting on a revised housing enforcement and financial penalty policy aimed at landlords, with tougher starting penalties for issues including electrical safety breaches and HMO fire standard failures. The update follows new duties and powers under the Renters Rights Act and includes the possibility of increasing penalties by 50% where aggravating factors are present.
The Environment Agency has announced four arrests linked to an ongoing investigation into large-scale illegal waste dumping at Bolton House Road in Wigan, with one suspect also connected to a separate site in Leicestershire. The article says the case involves environmental, fraud and money laundering offences and forms part of a wider government crackdown on waste crime.
HMRC says more than 400,000 sole traders, landlords and small business owners missed the first Making Tax Digital for Income Tax deadline. The article explains the current reporting requirements, the soft-landing period for late quarterly updates in 2026/27, and the planned expansion of the regime to lower income thresholds from next year.
