Rent-back players must up their game

07 December 2009

 

It has been an important few weeks for the sale-and-rent-back sector. This period has seen the Financial Services Authority notify interim authorised firms whether or not their permissions have been confirmed.

One of the first companies to announce its interim authorisation was Residential Property Solutions. But for RPS and other firms looking to this sector this is not the final barrier as they now have to work towards full authorisation which comes into force on June 30 2010.

Applications for full authorisation are due to be issued in December, with a policy statement on the final rules coming out in January.

The FSA says firms should apply for full authorisation as soon as possible and not leave it until a couple of months before the June deadline, so it has time to assess applications.

Obviously, firms must have everything sorted so they can trade after June. If they have not received their full authorisation by then their interim permission ends.

We are already working with a number of specialist rent-back companies to ensure they have robust procedures in place as a number of changes have to be made in key areas. Many of these can be implemented before the final rules come out.

It is vital for firms to maintain momentum to ensure standards are raised in the industry so they can operate on a level playing field with other financial services providers.

 

If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Mortgage Strategy and Follow @mortgagestrat