Scottish Letting Agent Registration figures update

Posted by Votta Sales & Lettings on 3rd July 2019 -

The number of letting agents in Scotland who have now been issued with a Letting Agent Registration Number (LARN) now stands at 687 from the 938 applications received by the Scottish Government.

Those which remain outstanding are currently having their applications processed and have been asked to deliver the required documentation to the registration team.

Approximately 100 of the outstanding applications relate to agents having issues in obtaining a client account and the Scottish Government are focussing their attention on these applications to ensure everything possible is being done to obtain a client account and a CMP policy.

ARLA Propertymark have highlighted to the Scottish Government on many occasions that agents operating without a client account and/or a CMP policy are currently in breach of the Letting Agent Code of Practice and enough pressure must be applied to ensure they comply with regulations.

The agents that have been flagged to the Scottish Government as not applying for registration and are carrying out lettings work will have received a compliance letter and so far, 126 of these have been issued.

Proactive enforcement

The Scottish Government intend to carry out spot checks on agents to ensure they remain compliant with the legislation and ensure all CMP polices are still in place.

Agents will also be checked to make sure that they have sufficient policies and procedures, such as complaints handling, dealing with repairs and maintenance and handling client money.