FAQs: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

Regulations come into force on 2 December 2024 which will allow local authorities in England to auction off the leases of persistently empty high street shops. The UK Government states that the scheme will breathe life back into town centres and drive local growth and opportunities. Propertymark welcomes the move, but we would like to see more detail on which areas will benefit the most, how the powers will be funded, and how they will be used in practice by councils.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published in-depth advice for anti-money laundering (AML) regulated firms to explain the legal protections around sharing client data. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency (ECCT) Act 2023 introduced provisions that allow businesses to tackle AML by voluntarily sharing and receiving information, however, agents have raised concerns that they may be liable for breaches of confidentiality.

From 31 October 2024, Part 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022 will be updated to clarify landlords’ responsibilities for remediation, to make remediation orders more effective, and to provide more detail about who can be required to contribute to the cost of remediation works. The UK Government is committed to enacting the legislation and has indicated that work to formulate further regulations is in progress.