Is client money protection mandatory for letting agents?

Yes, for agents in England who hold client money, since 1 April 2019. The agent must display its scheme certificate, publish it on its website and tell clients within 14 days if membership ends or changes. The penalty for not belonging is up to £30,000.

Do letting agents have to publish their fees?

Yes. In England fees must be displayed in each office where the agent meets the public, published on its website and shown on the property portals it advertises on, with the redress scheme and any client money protection scheme it belongs to. In Wales the office and website rules apply too.

Do letting agents need to register with HMRC for money laundering?

Only if they let properties with a rent of 10,000 euros or more a month for a month or longer. Those agents must register with HMRC before doing that work and renew each year.

Does the Renters' Rights Act apply to letting agents?

Yes. In England agents may not discriminate against tenants with children or on benefits, ask for or accept offers above the advertised rent, or take more than one month's rent in advance. In Wales and Scotland the Act's ban on discriminating against tenants with children or on benefits binds agents too.

Do these duties apply to letting agents in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Partly. Money laundering supervision and the data protection fee apply UK-wide, and the office and website fee rules apply in Wales too. Wales adds a Rent Smart Wales licence and a redress scheme; Scotland, the Letting Agent Register and a statutory code. In Northern Ireland a landlord's registration names their agent.

Letting agent compliance checklist (England)

A letting agency in England carries legal duties of its own, on top of the landlord duties it carries out for its clients. Missing one of these is a penalty against the agency rather than the landlord, and most of them are checked from the outside, by looking at the agency’s website, office window and adverts. This checklist covers the agency’s own duties. The duties it performs for each landlord, from gas safety to deposits, are in the landlord compliance checklist. This checklist sets out the duties in England. Wales and Scotland license or register letting agents under their own law, and Northern Ireland’s rules differ again; each is summarised below.

1. Belong to a redress scheme

Every letting agent and property manager in England must belong to a government approved redress scheme, and has had to since 1 October 2014. The scheme is where landlords and tenants take complaints the agency cannot resolve. The council can fine an agent that is not a member up to £5,000.

Keep: the membership certificate, the renewal date, and the complaints procedure that points to the scheme.

2. Protect client money, and show that you do

Since 1 April 2019, an agent in England that holds client money, such as rent or deposits it holds for clients, must belong to an approved client money protection scheme, under the Client Money Protection Regulations 2019. Being a member is not the whole duty. The agent must also:

display the scheme certificate where people will see it, in every office where it deals with the public face to face;
publish a copy of the certificate on its website;
give a copy free of charge to anyone who reasonably asks;
tell every client in writing within 14 days if its membership is revoked or it moves to a different scheme, giving the new scheme’s name and address.

The council can impose a penalty of up to £30,000 for not belonging to a scheme, and up to £5,000 for breaking the display and notification rules.

Keep: the certificate and its renewal date, the scheme’s rules on client accounts, and copies of any notices sent to clients.

3. Publish your fees

Under section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 an agent must publicise its fees to landlords and tenants:

on a list displayed in each office where it deals with the public face to face;
on its own website;
on any property portal where it advertises, either as a list or as a link to the list on its own website.

Each fee needs a description clear enough for the person paying it to understand what it covers, and an indication of whether a tenant’s fee is charged per property or per tenant. The list must also state which redress scheme the agent belongs to and, where it must have one, its client money protection scheme. The council can fine an agent up to £5,000 for breaking these rules.

4. Charge tenants only what the law allows

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans letting agents, as well as landlords, from requiring payments from tenants beyond those it permits, such as rent, a capped deposit, a capped holding deposit and a short list of default fees. A first breach can bring a penalty of up to £5,000, and a repeat within five years up to £30,000 or prosecution. The deposit and holding deposit caps are in the deposit protection guide, and every figure is on the penalties page.

5. Register for money laundering supervision, if it applies

HMRC supervises letting agency businesses under the money laundering regulations, but only where the agency lets property with an individual rent of 10,000 euros or more a month, for a month or longer, residential or commercial. An agency that does that work must register with HMRC before it starts, and renew every year. Most agencies letting ordinary homes fall below the threshold; an agency with one high value let is in scope for it.

6. Follow the Renters’ Rights Act rules that bind agents

Since 1 May 2026 several rules apply to agents directly, not only to landlords:

advertise an asking rent, and do not ask for, encourage or accept offers above it;
take no more than one month’s rent in advance, and only once the tenancy agreement is signed;
do not refuse or discourage tenants because they have children or receive benefits.

The timeline and what changes in an agency’s process are in the Renters’ Rights Act guide.

7. Duties you take on in writing

Some landlord duties become the agency’s when it agrees to carry them out. The clearest is Right to Rent: where an agent accepts responsibility in writing for the checks, the Home Office code says a penalty falls on the agent, not the landlord. See the Right to Rent checks guide. The same care applies to protecting deposits and giving the prescribed information, arranging gas and electrical checks, and handling repairs. The management agreement should list which duties the agency carries out and which stay with the landlord.

8. Data protection

An agency holds tenants’ and landlords’ personal data, including identity documents. Under the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 a data controller must pay a yearly charge to the Information Commissioner unless all its processing is exempt. Keep identity documents only as long as the law asks, such as Right to Rent copies for the tenancy and one year after.

The agency’s own compliance file

Redress scheme certificate, with its renewal date.
Client money protection certificate, with its renewal date, and where it is displayed and published.
The current fee list, with the date it was last updated on the website, in the office and on each portal.
HMRC money laundering registration and renewal date, if in scope.
Information Commissioner registration and renewal date.
Professional indemnity and client money insurance, if held, with renewal dates.
Template management agreement showing which duties the agency carries out.

Most of these renew once a year on different dates, which is exactly how they get missed.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Most of the duties above are England’s. Money laundering supervision (section 5) and the data protection fee (section 8) apply across the UK, and the rule to display fees in each office and on the agency’s website (section 3) also applies in Wales. An agency working in the other nations also meets their own rules:

Wales: an agent must be licensed by Rent Smart Wales before carrying out lettings work, under section 9 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. The applicant, and anyone connected to the application who does letting and management work, must complete approved training before applying; a licence lasts five years, and following the Welsh Government’s Code of Practice is a condition of every licence. A landlord who does not manage their own property must appoint a licensed agent. Agents in Wales must also belong to one of the two approved redress schemes.
Scotland: an agent must be on the Scottish Letting Agent Register. Doing letting agency work without registering has been an offence since 2 October 2018, with up to six months in prison, a fine of up to £50,000, or both, under section 44 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014. Registration lasts three years, and registered agents must follow the statutory Letting Agent Code of Practice. A tenant, a landlord or the Scottish Ministers can apply to the First-tier Tribunal when an agent breaks the code, and the Tribunal can order the agent to put it right and to pay compensation for any loss.
Northern Ireland: a landlord’s registration with the Landlord Registration Scheme must give the name, address and contact number of any agent acting for them, and agents’ details appear on the public register. An agent acting for a landlord also carries the same deposit protection duties as the landlord.

Where this lives in Verixad

Verixad is built around the duties an agency carries out across its clients’ properties: certificates with live expiry status, the Right to Rent logbook, deposits on each tenancy and repairs from report to sign off. The agency’s own renewals, such as its redress scheme and client money protection certificates, can sit beside them as tasks with due dates and an owner, so the yearly dates are in the same place as everything else. See how it works for letting agents.

The checklist is specific to England, and general information rather than legal advice. Checked on 23 October 2026 against GOV.UK, HMRC guidance and legislation.gov.uk; the summary for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland checked on 27 October 2026.

Common questions

Do letting agents have to belong to a redress scheme?: Yes. Since 1 October 2014 every letting agent and property manager in England must belong to a government approved redress scheme. The council can fine an agent up to £5,000 for not belonging to one.
Is client money protection mandatory for letting agents?: Yes, for agents in England who hold client money, since 1 April 2019. The agent must display its scheme certificate, publish it on its website and tell clients within 14 days if membership ends or changes. The penalty for not belonging is up to £30,000.
Do letting agents have to publish their fees?: Yes. In England fees must be displayed in each office where the agent meets the public, published on its website and shown on the property portals it advertises on, with the redress scheme and any client money protection scheme it belongs to. In Wales the office and website rules apply too.
Do letting agents need to register with HMRC for money laundering?: Only if they let properties with a rent of 10,000 euros or more a month for a month or longer. Those agents must register with HMRC before doing that work and renew each year.
Does the Renters' Rights Act apply to letting agents?: Yes. In England agents may not discriminate against tenants with children or on benefits, ask for or accept offers above the advertised rent, or take more than one month's rent in advance. In Wales and Scotland the Act's ban on discriminating against tenants with children or on benefits binds agents too.
Do these duties apply to letting agents in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?: Partly. Money laundering supervision and the data protection fee apply UK-wide, and the office and website fee rules apply in Wales too. Wales adds a Rent Smart Wales licence and a redress scheme; Scotland, the Letting Agent Register and a statutory code. In Northern Ireland a landlord's registration names their agent.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Check current official guidance for your situation.