Commercial agents

After the invasion of Ukraine, the UK Government took steps to address growing concerns of money laundering and other economic crime from Russian and foreign entities operating in the UK or with UK companies. This led to the introduction of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act in March 2022.

The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992 apply to Wales and some aspects of the regulations were updated by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2017.

The Building Safety Act 2022 aims to provide more rights, powers and protections for residents of high-risk buildings and reduce the chance of death in the event a fire breaks out. The Act establishes specific duties for individuals within high-risk buildings to manage building safety risks.

The levy was announced at Budget 2020 and the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations 2022 were published on 11 March 2022. The Regulations came into force on 1 April 2022.

The Fire Safety Order was introduced in October 2006 and covers the ongoing fire safety management of a building while occupied.

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The regulations set out the rules for advertising boards, including property sales and lettings boards. They came into force on 6 April 2007 and apply in relation to the display of advertisements on sites in England only.

Following the implementation of the Fire Safety Act 2021, additional measures have been passed for England that introduces new responsibilities under the Fire Safety Order and expand upon the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Since 1 April 2018 all new tenancies of non-domestic (commercial), properties must reach the minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) standard of E or above. The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 make clear that as of 1 April 2023, the regulations will apply to all tenancies, including existing and ongoing tenancies.

This Act is part of a series of proposed powers to combat illicit finance and reduce economic crime. While the Act is necessary to impose sanctions as part of a wider set of actions the UK has taken against Russia, measures set out in the Act aim to tackle economic crime from all overseas entities.

The Heat and Buildings Strategy sets out the UK Government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050. Learn more about the scheme and the implications for estate, letting and commercial agents.

The General Data Protection Regulations (EU GDPR) were rolled out across the EU on 25 May 2018. The Regulations brought consistency in data handling to EU member states and granted individuals additional rights on when and how their personal data is used.

An amendment has been made to the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, to make significant changes to the Use Classes system in England.