Agents: Is your marketing illegal?

Property professionals could be risking fines or prison by leaving legally mandated statements out of their advertising.

Under the terms of the Property Practitioners Act, it is well known that property practitioners must register with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and hold a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC).

That, of course, includes estate and rental agents, managing agents, and payment processing agents like PayProp.

But did you know that you must also publicise your FFC-registered status in your marketing materials?

Under Section 53(1)(b) of the Act, all property practitioners holding a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate must state that they are registered with the PPRA in their letterheads and all marketing material, using the following specified wording under the Code of Conduct for Property Practitioners: "Registered with the PPRA".

Agents who don’t comply are committing an offence under Section 53(2) of the Act, meaning they could face a fine or imprisonment for up to 10 years.

Where do you need to publicise your FFC?

According to the Act, it must be included in legible lettering in “any letter head or marketing material”. That covers places like your website and your marketing e-mails, where it can be placed in the footer.

It also has to be included in your social media marketing, according to Jan Davel, Head of Regulatory Compliance and Risk at PayProp.

“Since platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook are used to advertise and promote our services, as well as property practitioners' listings, they definitely fall under the definition of marketing materials,” says Davel. “Neither the Act nor the Code of Conduct (Regulations) exempt social media from this requirement."

How is PayProp helping?

At PayProp, we always aim to help agents avoid legal pitfalls and stay on the right side of the law.  

Any PayProp marketing collateral that you share with landlords or tenants (including the Tenant Portal, Landlord brochure and Property Account brochure) now includes the legally mandated wording wherever required. If you are still using an older version of any of our brochures, please download the latest version from the PayProp Knowledge Base. Please also ensure that your FFC is valid before using this material.