April 2018

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 require compliance from 1st April 2018.
 
Do you know what they are?
Have you complied with them?
Do you risk facing financial penalties for non-compliance?
 

The Regulations apply to:

  • Domestic PR property which is legally required to have an EPC and which is let on an assured tenancy, regulated tenancy, or an agricultural tenancy; and,
  • Non-domestic PR property that has not been granted for:
  • A term certain not exceeding 6 months (unless a provision exists for renewing the term or extending it beyond 6 months, or, at the time it is granted, the tenant has been in occupation for a continuous period of more than 12 months); or,
  • A term certain of 99 years or more.
 

Unless subject to an exemption, the landlord of a property with EPS rating of less than E must not:

 
  • Grant a new tenancy of the property on or after 1st April 2018 (including any lease renewals, extensions or new lettings); or,
  • Continue to let the property on or after 1st April 2020 (domestic PR property) and on or after 1st April 2023 (non-domestic PR property).
 

Exemptions that will last 5 years and should be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register include:

 
  • Third party consent is refused or granted subject to conditions (e.g. from the local authority, current tenant, freeholder, planning or listed building consent); and,
  • Property devaluation (where the landlord has obtained a report from an independent surveyor who is on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the measures would reduce the market value of the property, or the building it forms part of, by more than 5%).
 
There is also a temporary 6-month exemption when a landlord has only recently become a landlord. 

 

Enforcement authorities are:

 
  • The local authority for a domestic PR property; and,
  • A local weights and measures authority for non-domestic PR property.
 
They may serve a notice on the landlord imposing financial penalties. The authority may also publish details of the breach on the national PRS Exemptions Register.

 

Financial penalties (domestic):

  • Breach less than 3 months, <£2,000
  • Breach more than 3 months £2,000<
  • Registered false or misleading information on PRS Exemptions Register, <£1,000
  • Failed to comply with compliance notice <£2,000



Financial penalties (non-domestic):

  • Breach less than 3 months, <£5,000 or <10% of the rateable value of the property (whichever is greater) subject to a maximum of £50,000
  • Breach more than 3 months, <£10,000 or <20% of the rateable value of the property (whichever is greater) subject to a maximum of £150,000
  • Registered false or misleading information on PRS Exemptions Register, <£5,000
  • Failed to comply with compliance notice <£5,000
 
  2018 00 06 59
Money laundering is a huge concern for UK law firms who are required to handle large sums of money.

Ensuring compliance, the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 have transposed the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive into UK law. 

In an effort to further prevent money laundering, Law firms are now required to:

• Conduct money laundering and terrorist financing risk assessments;
• Implement systems, policies, controls and procedures to address money laundering and terrorist financing risks;
• Apply policies procedures and controls across the firm’s group structure;
• Adopt appropriate internal controls;
• Provide training to staff;
• Comply with new due diligence requirements;
• Comply with requirements relating to politically exposed persons; and
• Keep records of data protection systems, policies and procedures.

The Legal Sector Affinity Group have released Anti-Money Laundering Guidance for the Legal Sector in order to explain the new requirements and help law firms understand and comply with the regulations. 
 2018 25 03 159