Durden & Hunt is registered with and supervised by HM Revenue & Customs for anti-money laundering purposes. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, estate agents are legally required to carry out customer due diligence and risk assessments on the people involved in property transactions.
These checks help us confirm:
The identity and address of the people involved
That a seller is legally entitled to sell the property
The source and legitimacy of money being used to purchase a property
Whether any additional risks or further checks need to be considered
These requirements apply to both sellers and buyers and are not optional.
To make the process quicker, safer and easier, Durden & Hunt uses Coadjute’s Assured Compliance service. Coadjute is a specialist UK property compliance platform backed by Rightmove, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and NatWest.
Coadjute provides a fully managed service. Its compliance team works directly with clients to complete identity verification, financial checks, risk assessments and any necessary follow-up enquiries.
What must be completed?
Before Durden & Hunt can act for you and begin marketing your property, every individual seller and legal owner must successfully complete the required anti-money laundering and compliance checks.
If the property is owned by more than one person, each seller must complete their own separate check.
Additional information or checks may be required where a property is owned through a company or trust, forms part of an estate, or where somebody is acting under a Power of Attorney or on behalf of another person.
This is £30 plus £6 VAT for each individual seller.
For example, where a property has two sellers, the total cost will be £72 including VAT.
The fee is separate from Durden & Hunt’s estate agency commission and is payable through the secure payment link provided during the Coadjute onboarding process.
The fee covers the compliance service and work carried out, rather than the eventual sale of the property. Once the compliance check has been completed, the fee is not refundable if the property is later withdrawn, another estate agent is instructed or the transaction does not proceed. This does not affect any statutory cancellation or consumer rights.
If additional checks are required for another individual, company, trust or representative, any further fee will be explained before the additional check is ordered.
The Coadjute service includes:
Digital identity and address verification
Verification of your legal ownership of the property
Checks on relevant individuals, representatives and beneficial owners
Assessment of the customer, property, transaction and geographical risk factors
Screening and further due diligence where required
Direct review by Coadjute’s UK-based compliance team
A structured compliance report and secure audit trail
Support with unusual or more complex ownership arrangements
The ability for relevant compliance information to be shared securely with your conveyancer where appropriate
You will normally need:
Your own individual email address
Access to a smartphone or computer
Valid photographic identification, such as a passport or driving licence
Proof of your current residential address
Information or documents confirming your ownership of the property
Details of anyone acting for you or holding a beneficial interest in the property
Depending on your circumstances, Coadjute may request further documents or information. This is a normal part of the risk-based compliance process and does not necessarily mean there is a problem.
Durden & Hunt orders the seller checks through Coadjute.
Each seller receives their own email or text message containing a secure link.
You pay the seller compliance fee and follow the guided digital process.
Your identification and supporting documents are uploaded securely for verification and assessment.
If anything further is needed, a member of Coadjute’s compliance team will contact you directly and explain what is required.
Durden & Hunt is notified once the checks have been satisfactorily completed.
Most straightforward checks are completed within 24 hours, although checks involving companies, trusts, overseas clients, representatives or unusual ownership arrangements may take longer.
Using Coadjute means you can normally complete the process remotely without emailing sensitive identification documents or bringing copies into one of our offices.
The guided process is designed to reduce paperwork and identify potential issues at the beginning of the transaction. You also have access to Coadjute’s support team if you need help completing the checks.
Where permitted, the completed compliance information can be shared securely with your conveyancer. This may reduce duplicated requests later in the transaction, although your conveyancer remains responsible for meeting its own legal obligations and may still need to carry out further checks.
What if I do not complete the checks?
Durden & Hunt cannot begin or continue acting for a seller until the required checks have been satisfactorily completed.
If you are experiencing difficulty with the digital process, please tell us. Coadjute’s support team can provide assistance and, where reasonably possible, adjustments can be made for clients who need additional help.
What must be completed?
Estate agents are legally required to carry out anti-money laundering checks on buyers as well as sellers.
Durden & Hunt will continue to submit offers to sellers as required. However, any agreement will remain subject to satisfactory anti-money laundering checks and verification of your funding position.
Every individual buyer must complete their own separate check before an offer can be progressed as fully qualified and before the Memorandum of Sale can be issued.
These requirements apply whether you are purchasing with a mortgage or entirely using cash.
This is £60 plus £12 VAT for each individual buyer.
For example, where two people are purchasing together, the total cost will be £144 including VAT.
The fee is payable through the secure payment link provided during the Coadjute onboarding process. It is separate from the purchase price, deposit and any fees charged by your mortgage adviser or conveyancer.
Payment of the fee does not itself mean that an offer has been accepted or guarantee that a transaction will proceed.
The fee covers the compliance service and work carried out rather than the eventual purchase of the property. Once the compliance check has been completed, the fee is not refundable if your offer is unsuccessful, you withdraw or the transaction subsequently falls through. This does not affect any statutory cancellation or consumer rights.
Where further checks are required for a giftor, company, trust, beneficial owner or another person contributing funds, any additional fee will be explained before that check is ordered.
The Coadjute service includes:
Digital identity and address verification
Verification of your available funds
Assessment of the source of funds being used for the purchase
Assessment of source of wealth where required
Checks on mortgage funding, cash contributions and gifted funds
Assessment of relevant customer, transaction and geographical risk factors
Further or enhanced due diligence where required
Direct review by Coadjute’s UK-based compliance team
A structured compliance report and secure audit trail
Support with complex funding arrangements, overseas funds, companies and trusts
The ability for relevant compliance information to be shared securely with your conveyancer where appropriate
Demonstrates that sufficient money or mortgage funding is available to complete the proposed purchase.
Explains where the specific money being used for the purchase has come from.
Explains how the buyer accumulated their overall wealth where this needs to be established.
A bank statement showing a sufficient balance may therefore not be enough on its own. You may also need to demonstrate how the money was earned, saved, inherited, invested, borrowed, gifted or received from another property sale.
Your own individual email address
Access to a smartphone or computer
Valid photographic identification, such as a passport or driving licence
Proof of your current residential address
Evidence of any mortgage or other lending
Bank statements or other evidence showing the funds available
Documents explaining where the deposit and purchase money have come from
Details of anyone providing money towards the purchase
Depending on how your purchase is being funded, Coadjute may request evidence such as savings records, payslips, investment statements, inheritance documents, property sale statements, loan documents or evidence of another legitimate source.
If any part of the purchase money is being provided as a gift, the person giving the money is known as the giftor.
The giftor will normally need to complete a separate identity and anti-money laundering check. They will also need to provide evidence showing where the gifted money has come from.
This applies even where the giftor is a close family member.
Durden & Hunt orders the buyer checks through Coadjute.
Each buyer receives their own email or text message containing a secure link.
You pay the buyer compliance fee and follow the guided digital process.
Your identification, funding information and supporting documents are uploaded securely.
Coadjute assesses your identity, source of funds, source of wealth where applicable, and the relevant risk factors.
If further evidence is needed, a member of Coadjute’s compliance team will contact you directly and explain what is required.
Durden & Hunt is notified once the checks have been satisfactorily completed.
Most straightforward checks are completed within 24 hours. More complex funding arrangements, gifted deposits, overseas funds, companies, trusts or unusual transactions may take longer.
Coadjute provides a secure, guided process for completing checks remotely. This avoids the need to send passports, bank statements and other sensitive financial documents by ordinary email.
The service provides more than a basic ID check. Your information is reviewed and assessed by a specialist compliance team, helping identify funding or documentation issues earlier and reducing avoidable delays once solicitors become involved.
Where appropriate, your completed compliance information can be securely shared with your conveyancer. This may reduce repeated requests, although your conveyancer and mortgage lender remain responsible for their own legal and regulatory requirements and may still ask you to complete additional checks.
What if I do not complete the checks?
Durden & Hunt cannot issue the Memorandum of Sale or progress a purchase until every buyer has satisfactorily completed the required checks.
If you refuse to complete the checks, cannot provide the required evidence or the information cannot be satisfactorily verified, the transaction may be unable to proceed.
If you are experiencing difficulty with the digital process, please tell us. Coadjute’s support team can provide assistance and, where reasonably possible, adjustments can be made for clients who need additional help.
Coadjute uses specialist identity providers including Yoti and Credas, both of which are listed on the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework register.
Personal information and documents are encrypted when uploaded and while stored. Access is restricted to authorised personnel and Coadjute’s service delivery compliance team is based in the UK.
Customer data is stored using private cloud infrastructure hosted in UK data centres. The information is collected for anti-money laundering and compliance purposes and is not used for unrelated marketing or commercial profiling.
Information is only shared with parties who legitimately require it for the transaction, such as Durden & Hunt and where appropriate, your conveyancer.
Anti-money laundering records must be retained for the period required by law and applicable retention policies, including the minimum five-year AML record-keeping period.
For further information, please read Coadjute’s privacy statement or contact your local Durden & Hunt office. We will be happy to explain the process and help you get started.
