Mandatory Licensing Is Coming for Property Agents: What It Actually Covers (and What It Doesn’t)
The government has confirmed plans to introduce independent regulation of property agents, including licensing and qualification requirements, alongside a Code of Practice expected this year. If you run an estate or letting agency, this is genuinely significant news, and it’s easy to assume it means your compliance obligations are about to be handled by one new, overarching system. They aren’t. Licensing is about professional conduct and consumer protection. It does not replace your separate, existing duty to protect your own staff from harassment during solo viewings.
In Short: The government has confirmed plans for independent regulation of property agents, covering licensing, qualifications and a Code of Practice, building on recommendations first made back in 2019. Early detail centres on leasehold and managing agent practices, with wider proposals still to be developed. This regulation addresses professional conduct towards clients and consumers. It does not replace an agency’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 and Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect its own staff, a separate compliance track that still needs its own evidence.
Key Facts
- The government said on 29 September 2026 that it intends to introduce independent regulation of property agents, including licensing and qualification requirements, alongside a Code of Practice expected this year. The scope and timing of any final scheme remain to be confirmed.
- This builds on the 2019 Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) working group’s recommendations, chaired by Lord Best, which proposed a licensed regulator covering estate agents UK-wide and letting and managing agents in England.
- Early published detail focuses on leasehold and managing agent practices, including fee transparency for leaseholders; wider licensing proposals for estate and letting agents still require further detail.
- The RoPA blueprint’s proposed “reserved activities” include conducting viewings and responsibility for a property’s health and safety compliance, meaning the building’s condition, not an employer’s duty to protect its own staff. These remain proposals, not current licensing requirements.
What the Government Has Actually Confirmed
On 29 September 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government indicated it intends to introduce independent regulation of property agents. The announcement sits within a broader statement on leasehold reform, and the earliest published detail concerns fee transparency for leaseholders and oversight of managing agents specifically, rather than a fully detailed licensing scheme for every estate and letting agent immediately.
This isn’t a decision made overnight. It builds on the 2019 Regulation of Property Agents working group, chaired by Lord Best, which recommended a single independent regulator, a legally enforceable Code of Practice and mandatory qualifications covering estate agents across the UK and letting and managing agents in England. Propertymark, the industry body, has long campaigned for such measures and welcomed the commitment while noting that unqualified operators can undercut agencies already investing in training and compliance.
What Licensing Is Designed to Fix, and What It Isn’t
The RoPA blueprint sets out proposals for a Code of Practice, minimum entry qualifications and continuing professional development, aimed at raising consumer confidence and addressing poor practice towards clients. Its proposed “reserved activities”, tasks only a licensed individual could perform under that blueprint, include conducting viewings, negotiating on behalf of clients, handling client money and responsibility for a property’s health and safety compliance.
That last point is worth reading carefully. “A property’s health and safety compliance” means things like gas safety, fire safety and the physical condition of the building. It is different from an employer’s duty to protect the negotiator conducting the viewing from harassment by the person they’re showing round. Licensing proposals address how agents are qualified to deal with clients and property, not the whole of an agency’s obligations to its own staff.
The Gap: Staff Safety Compliance Sits Outside This
An agency’s duty to protect its staff comes from a different part of the law. Under the Equality Act 2010, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees, including by third parties such as viewers or tenants. Other Equality Act liability depends on the facts and legal basis of the claim; the current preventative duty is not a blanket duty covering all third-party aggression. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers must address foreseeable risks to staff; directors can face prosecution in specified circumstances where a company offence involved their consent, connivance or neglect. See the wider UK compliance framework for more on these separate obligations.
From 30 October 2026 (anticipated), the standard for preventing sexual harassment is expected to strengthen to “all reasonable steps”, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 is expected to introduce a broader third-party harassment obligation, subject to its statutory conditions. Read our guide to the upcoming harassment law changes for estate agents.
None of this is replaced by licensing reform, however far it eventually extends. An agency could meet future licensing and Code of Practice requirements and still have no documented system protecting a negotiator conducting a solo evening viewing. Becoming licensed answers the question “can this person practise?” It does not, on its own, answer “did this employer protect its own staff?”
Why This Matters More as Regulation Tightens Generally
There’s a risk worth naming directly: as licensing reform is developed, agencies may reasonably feel they’ve done “the compliance thing” once they’re licensed and Code of Practice-compliant. That feeling is understandable, and it could leave a separate gap if staff safety is not addressed. Professional licensing and staff-safety compliance are different regulatory tracks, with different timelines, and satisfying one does not establish that the other has been met.
With the “all reasonable steps” duty anticipated for 30 October, agencies that conflate the two could discover the gap during a complaint or tribunal claim rather than in advance. The implications also matter to social housing employers conducting solo visits, even though property agent licensing is a different regulatory question for them.
As licensing reform dominates the conversation this autumn, has your agency’s staff safety compliance kept pace, or has it quietly been assumed to be “sorted” alongside everything else? Book a free demo to see how The Sentry’s Compliance Portal can help document measures that licensing alone doesn’t cover.
Where The Sentry Fits
The Sentry has no bearing on your agency’s licensing status, its qualifications or its Code of Practice compliance: that’s a separate process. What The Sentry can support is the track licensing doesn’t replace: a documented record of lone-working safety activity through check-ins, alarm activation and incident reporting. As professional regulation tightens around how agents deal with clients, this is part of the parallel record that shows what steps were taken for staff. Appropriate risk assessment, policies, training and follow-through are still required; no software alone guarantees compliance. See also our article on director liability under the Equality Act.
FAQ
Does the new licensing announcement mean estate and letting agents need a licence right now? Not yet under a new scheme. The government has confirmed its intention to introduce independent regulation, with early published detail focused on leasehold and managing agent practices. The scope and timeline for wider licensing have not yet been finalised.
If our agency becomes licensed and follows the new Code of Practice, does that cover our staff safety obligations too? No. The proposals are aimed at professional conduct towards clients and consumers, including things like handling client money and property health and safety. They do not replace an employer’s separate duties under the Equality Act 2010 and Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect its own staff.
What does “reserved activities” mean in the original RoPA proposals? Reserved activities are tasks the RoPA working group proposed should only be carried out by a licensed individual, including conducting viewings, negotiating with clients, handling client money and holding responsibility for a property’s health and safety compliance, meaning the physical condition and safety of the building itself. These are proposals, not yet implemented requirements.
Why has this taken so long to become government policy? The original RoPA report was published in 2019. Momentum has built gradually since then, with Propertymark and other industry bodies campaigning for action. The September 2026 announcement indicates an intention to legislate; implementation detail and timing remain to be confirmed.
Should we wait until licensing details are finalised before addressing staff safety compliance separately? No. The existing duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment already applies, and the “all reasonable steps” standard is anticipated from 30 October 2026 regardless of when licensing reform is implemented. These are separate compliance tracks and waiting for one does nothing to discharge the other.
Rebecca Evans is COO of The Sentry, specialising in staff safety in the property sector.
Ready to cover the compliance gap licensing reform doesn’t? Book a free demo → | See pricing →