Monday 18 June 2018

Is your Letting Agent Registered?

We are pleased to announce that Douglas Dickson Property Management are among the first Letting Agents to have their Letting Agent Registration application approved by the Scottish Government.

Under the newly introduced Letting Agent Code of Conduct, from January 2018 all Letting Agents in Scotland must comply with the code and be approved by the Scottish Government.
The registration opened on 31st January 2018 and we are pleased to say, we have had our application approved.

At Douglas Dickson, we are fully compliant with the regulations that include:
·         meeting a minimum level of training for key managers. We are qualified through the Chartered Institute of Housing;
·         having Client Money and professional indemnity Insurance; and
·         our letting agent registration number with the Scottish Government is LARN1806015.

If you rent out a flat or house on behalf of a relative, close family member or friend in Scotland you too may need to register as a letting agent. 

If you do not and you manage the tenancy yourself, you could be committing a criminal offence. If convicted you could face a fine of up to £50,000, up to 6 month imprisonment or both.

All those who carry out ‘letting agency work’ will be governed by the new rules. This includes acting on behalf of a landlord entering into a tenancy agreement with a tenant, collecting rent or carrying out repairs. If you manage a property for a family member or friend you will likely come under the regulations.

If you are concerned you may be caught out by the new regulations or would like to discuss how we can help you manage your property, please contact Neil Livingstone on 0141 221 1827.