SRA Handbook

Transactions in which you have a personal interest

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Version 2 of the Handbook was published on 23/12/2011. For more information, please click 'History' Above

Rule 5: Transactions in which you have a personal interest

5.1

When selling property you must comply with the following requirements:

(a)

If you have, or, to your knowledge, any connected person has, or is seeking to acquire, a beneficial interest in the property or in the proceeds of sale of any interest in the property, you must promptly inform your client in writing.

(b)

If you have, or to your knowledge any connected person has, a beneficial interest in a property or in the proceeds of sale of any interest in it, you must promptly inform in writing any person negotiating to acquire or dispose of any interest in that property. You must make this disclosure before entering into any negotiations with that person, whether or not you are negotiating on your own behalf or on that of a client.

5.2

In paragraph (1) above:

connected person

means:

(i)

any associated firm;

(ii)

anyone with whom you are related by blood, marriage or adoption, or with whom you are living together in a civil or domestic partnership;

(iii)

any owner or employee of your firm or of an associated firm, or anyone with whom that owner or employee is related by blood, marriage or adoption, or with whom they are living together in a civil or domestic partnership;

(iv)

any company of which you are a director or employee, or any LLP of which you are a member or employee, or any company in which you, either alone or with any other connected person or persons, are entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, one-third or more of the voting power at any general meeting;

(v)

any company of which any of the persons mentioned in (i) and (ii) above is a director or employee, or any LLP of which any of them is a member or employee, or any company in which any of them, either alone or with any other connected person or persons, is entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, one-third or more of the voting power at any general meeting; and

(vi)

any other "associate" as defined in section 32 of the Estate Agents Act 1979; and

knowledge

of any matter, includes any matter of which you may reasonably be expected to have knowledge.

Note

(i)

The requirements in rule 5 are in addition to the need to comply with the requirements in the SRA Code of Conduct in Chapter 3 about conflicts. The requirements in rule 5 are similar to those imposed on estate agents by the Estate Agents (Undesirable Practices) (No.2) Order 1991 (SI 1991/1032).