The EU 4th directive on money laundering is due to be brought into force by 24th June 2017. It was widely expected that the UK implementation of the directive would bring letting agents within the requirement to register and have money laundering reporting officers etc. The treasury have now announced that they do not intend to bring letting agents within these requirements. This is not to say letting agents don't have obligations to report suspicious activity etc but the strict requirement about registration and money laundering reporting officers and staff training are avoided. The other side of the coin is that the proposed changes to comply with the 4th directive make the requirements slightly more onerous on the estate agency side of any business.