Before you can source your first deal
Here is each registration a UK deal sourcer typically needs, what it costs and how long it usually takes, so you can plan when you can start.
What you need before you start
Set up your business
Pick the one that fits how you will trade:
Set up as a sole trader or partnership
You need to decide how you will trade. As a sole trader you must tell HMRC you are self-employed by 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you start. Doing it now means you have your details ready for the other applications.
HMRC lists no registration fee. · 5 to 21 days
Set up a limited company or LLP
This is a legal requirement. You need a business to register for supervision and redress. A company or LLP is registered with Companies House.
£100 to register online with Companies House. Every director must verify their identity. £50 a year for the online confirmation statement. · 1 to 7 days
Pay the data protection fee to the Information Commission
Most businesses that use personal information, including sole traders, must pay a data protection fee to the Information Commission (still known as the ICO) unless an exemption applies. A sourcer holding investor and seller details will usually need to pay. It gives you the registration number the declaration asks for.
£52 a year for micro businesses (up to £632,000 turnover or 10 staff), £78 for other small and medium ones. £5 off by Direct Debit. · 0 to 2 days
Write your risk assessment, policies and customer checks
This is a legal requirement under the Money Laundering Regulations for a supervised business. When you apply, HMRC asks you to declare that you have it, and can ask to see it.
No fee. Your time, or a professional's if you choose to use one. · 3 to 14 days
Apply to HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision
If your sourcing counts as estate agency work (HMRC says introducing buyers or investors to a property deal usually does), you must apply to HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision before you do any of that work. You must not trade until you have applied: doing so is a criminal offence (Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulations 26 and 56). You can trade once you have applied, while HMRC decides (AMLG2200, updated 13 October 2026), but if HMRC refuses your application you must stop.
HMRC fees from December 2025: £300 application (one-off), £400 a year for each premises, plus £40 for each responsible person checked. Very small businesses may get a refund; check the HMRC fees page. · 1 to 7 days
Join a property redress scheme
If you do estate agency work on residential property, which covers most deal sourcing, you must belong to a government-authorised redress scheme: The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme. This applies whether your investors are individuals or companies. Check that your membership covers sourcing. Neither scheme's joining page lists PI insurance as a condition of joining, but the Property Redress Scheme's guidance for sourcers expects PI insurance and AML registration, and The Property Ombudsman's code requires you to be registered for AML.
The Property Ombudsman: £74.26 to join plus £277.96 a year per branch (excluding VAT). Property Redress Scheme: from £190 a year (Entry) or £280 a year (Enhanced), excluding VAT. · 1 to 14 days
Prepare your terms of business for investors
If you do estate agency work, the law requires you to give each client, in writing, when they will have to pay you, how much (or how it is worked out), and any other payments they may have to make. You must do this when you first deal with them, or as soon as you reasonably can, and always before they are committed to paying you (Estate Agents Act 1979 s.18 and the Estate Agents (Provision of Information) Regulations 1991). If you don't, you may not be able to enforce your fee. This is a document, not a registration.
Varies. Solicitor fees are your own cost. · 7 to 21 days
How you must deal with investors
If you do estate agency work, these conduct rules apply from your first deal, and they are the ones sourcers most often break. This is a way of working, not a registration.
No fee. Solicitor fees are your own cost. · 1 to 7 days
What’s optional
HMRC decision on your application
HMRC checks each responsible person and may refuse an application. Many sourcers choose to wait for the decision before taking on clients. It is not a legal gate under HMRC's current guidance: you can trade once you have applied. If HMRC refuses your application, you must stop doing estate agency work.
No further fee. The fees are paid with your application. · 14 to 45 days
Arrange professional indemnity insurance
Not a legal requirement for joining either redress scheme, so it is optional. Many investors expect it, and it protects you if a claim is made about your service or the information you gave.
Varies by insurer and turnover. · 1 to 14 days
Consider trade body membership and training
This is not a legal requirement. Membership of a body such as NAPSA, the NRLA or The Property Investors' Association can help your credibility, but you can trade lawfully without it.
Varies by body. · 0 to 30 days
How Prop AI Deals helps
- Free: track every step and see an estimated start date, based on typical timings.
- With Max: an email before a registration is due to renew.
- With Max: your own website and deal rooms to share deals with investors.
