Letting Agent Regulation

You can sign up for updates about the regulation of letting agents, or ask the Scottish Government a question.

You need to register as soon as possible, if you have not already.

It's a criminal offence to do letting agency work if you are not on the register. If you're convicted, you could face a fine of up to £50,000, up to 6 months imprisonment or both.

Letting agency work generally means you either:

• carry out work for a private landlord who wants to let their property out to a tenant
• manage a property (including collecting rent, inspecting the property and arranging for repairs and maintenance) which either is currently or is planned to be rented out to a tenant

There is a legal definition of letting agency work. You must consider this definition in deciding whether you need to register and comply with the Code. For a more detailed explanation, and to view the legal definition, see Section 61 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014.

It's up to every person and company involved in the process of letting out property to decide whether they think what they do counts as letting agency work.

If you're in doubt, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• is the work you do for a property owner a business arrangement?
• do you charge a fee or take another type of payment for the work you do? (Just because you do not take a fee for the work you do, does not automatically mean you are not a letting agent)
• are you regularly doing work related to letting and managing properties? (If you are regularly doing work for a private landlord, this may be considered a business arrangement)

If you answer 'yes' to all of these questions, you probably do need to join the register.

If you're still unsure, you should seek legal advice to find out whether you need to register.

You do not need to register if you only manage properties you own.

If you have established a company to own your properties, you are unlikely to need to register if:

• you carry out the letting and management of your company's properties in your role as a Director, officer or employee of the company, and
• you do not let or manage properties owned by another private landlord

Whether you need to register will depend on the exact circumstances of the arrangement you have in place.

If you're helping with the letting and management of a property that's owned by a family member, you will not usually be expected to register if:

• you're making no money from it - not charging a fee or being paid (no commercial gain)
• it is not part of your business
• you only occasionally help out

You would still need to register as an agent under landlord registration.

You do not need to register in this situation.

The definition of letting agency work must be considered within the context of the whole of Part 4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014.

The definition of letting agency work, which incorporates a definition of relevant instructions, does not capture the act of only preparing a lease. If, in your capacity as a solicitor, you only prepare a lease, you will not be expected to register.

If you carry out other actions which constitute "letting agency work", you will be required to register.

Where you only let out and manage holiday lets, you will not be expected to register.

You will not normally have to register if you're a contractor and the work you carry out on a property is purely part of your job.

If your business is outside Scotland and is doing letting agency work (as defined in the Act) in Scotland, you will need to apply to join the register and comply with the Code.