A Poem for International Women's Day
A Celebration for International Women’s Day
There is so much to say about the role of a woman in society but instead we chose this poem by Ms Moem.
Soul Of A Storm
She has the soul of a storm and the freedom of the wind.
She has eyes like the stars with moonshine within.
With the strength of the sea and lightning in her toes
She dances on the breeze of change wherever she goes.
Hotter than a volcano and deeper than the oceans
A whirling, swirling myriad of feelings & emotions.
She is daughter of the earth, primordially inspired.
She is water, she is wood. She is earth. She is fire!
Celebrate the strength, detrmination, tenacity and power of all the women across the world.
Government announces Legislation to tackle Economic Crime following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
GOVERNMENT NEWS
Following the commitments announced by the Prime Minister last week, the government has brought forward the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The new legislation will help the National Crime Agency prevent foreign owners from laundering their money in UK property and ensure more corrupt oligarchs can be handed an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO).
The new register will require anonymous foreign owners of UK property to reveal their real identities to ensure criminals cannot hide behind secretive chains of shell companies, setting a new global standard for transparency. Entities who do not declare their ‘beneficial owner’ will face restrictions over selling their property, and those who break the rules could face up to 5 years in prison.
Under the reforms being brought in on UWOs, those who hold property in the UK in a trust will be brought within scope and the definition of an asset’s ‘holder’ will also be expanded to ensure individuals can’t hide behind opaque shell companies and foundations.
Temporary Adjustments for Right to Rent Checks remain in place until 30 September 2022
COMPLIANCE UPDATE
The Home Office has announced that the changes made to Right to Rent checks as a result of the Coronavirus Act 2020 have been extended to the 30 September 2022. This allows letting agents and landlords time to adjust their processes in preparation for the introduction of Identification Document Validation Technology (IDVT).
Deferring the end date of the adjusted checks to 30 September 2022 ensures landlords have sufficient time to develop commercial relationships with identity service providers, make the necessary changes to their pre-tenancy checking processes and carry out responsible on-boarding of their chosen provider.
The decision also provides opportunity for landlords to put measures in place to enable face to face document checks if they do not wish to adopt digital checks for British and Irish citizens with a valid passport (or Irish passport card).
Improving the Disclosure of Material Information for Property Listings
Project summary and list of material information for Part A
Overview
For many years the regulation of property advertisements was controlled by the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (PMA). The PMA was repealed in 2013 on the basis that the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 20081 (CPRs) provided similar protection for consumers in their dealings with property agents. Further information on how the CPRs apply to property sales and lettings can be found in the National Trading Standards ‘Guidance on Property Sales and Lettings’ .
To support businesses in the advertising and marketing of property, the National Trading Standards Estate & Letting Agency Team established a steering group made up of various industry stakeholders – redress schemes, property portals, government, and professional bodies representing agents. The group aims to improve the provision of material information in property listings, and part of this process involves creating a framework of information disclosure to help agents, software providers and property portals to comply with the legal requirements of the CPRs.