Fact 2. Conveyancers carry out ID verification to comply with anti-money laundering regulations, protecting buyers and sellers from property fraud risks.

Conveyancing is one of the most highly regulated areas of legal services in the UK. When buying or selling property, the people involved place enormous trust in conveyancers to handle large amounts of money and to ensure ownership transfers safely from seller to buyer. One of the most important responsibilities for conveyancers is identity verification, which forms part of wider compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
This process is not a formality—it is essential to protect both buyers and sellers from property fraud risks, including false identity, money laundering, and other criminal activities linked to property transactions. With the average UK home costing several hundred thousand pounds, property is an attractive target for organised crime. Ensuring that each client is who they claim to be has become a crucial safeguard.

Why Identity Verification Matters in Conveyancing
Property transactions involve the movement of large sums of money, often the single largest financial transaction a person will make in their life. Criminals have identified real estate as a way to launder dirty money or to commit fraud. For example:
• Fraudsters may attempt to impersonate property owners and sell homes they do not own.
• Buyers can be targeted by fraudulent sellers using stolen or forged identities.
• Criminals may try to use genuine transactions to disguise illegal funds.
Without thorough identity checks carried out by conveyancers, both parties remain exposed to extremely costly risks. A failed identity check or weak process could allow fraudsters to deceive genuine buyers or sellers, leading to loss of deposits, mortgages, or entire property ownership.

The Legal Obligations on Conveyancers
Under UK law, conveyancers are classed as regulated professionals for the purposes of anti-money laundering compliance. This means they have direct obligations to carry out due diligence on every client. These obligations come from:
• The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 (commonly called the Money Laundering Regulations).
• Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which makes it an offence to handle criminal property.
• Guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
Failure to comply can result in severe penalties, including regulatory sanctions, reputational damage, and even criminal liability. For clients, this legal framework provides reassurance that their transaction carries robust checks against fraud.

How Conveyancers Verify Identity
When instructing a conveyancer, clients are required to undergo strict identification and verification procedures. These checks must be completed before the conveyancer can legally proceed with handling funds or advancing the transaction.
Conveyancers apply Client Due Diligence (CDD), which generally involves:
• Photo ID checks: Valid documents such as a passport or UK driving licence must be provided.
• Proof of address: Utility bills, council tax bills, or bank statements are usually required, dated within the last three months.
• Source of funds checks: Conveyancers may ask for evidence of where the purchase money has originated, such as savings accounts, gifted deposits, inheritance paperwork, or loan agreements.
• Electronic verification tools: Increasingly, conveyancers use digital platforms to cross-check client details against credit databases, electoral rolls, and fraud prevention systems.
• Face-to-face or video verification: Some transactions might involve confirmation via direct video call or biometric technology to ensure the person matches their documents.
If the client is a business or trust rather than an individual, extended checks apply. These include verifying directors, shareholders, beneficial owners, and the businesses' incorporation documents.

Protecting Buyers from Property Fraud
For buyers, the main risk is losing thousands of pounds by paying deposits or purchase monies into fraudulent schemes. Identity verification shields buyers by:
• Ensuring that the seller is the true property owner, preventing the buyer from depositing money with an impersonator.
• Checking the financial status of the transaction, safeguarding against sham sales.
• Preventing criminals from recycling illicit funds through mortgage or cash purchases that could later be seized, leaving the buyer entangled.
By confirming every party in the chain, conveyancers create a secure transaction environment, vastly reducing the chances that buyers will suffer fraud.

Protecting Sellers from Property Fraud
Sellers are not immune to risk. Fraudsters have been known to impersonate genuine buyers or even to hijack entire transactions. Conveyancers protect sellers by:
• Verifying that incoming buyers are genuine individuals or entities.
• Ensuring the buyer’s funds come from acceptable and legal sources.
• Reducing the chance that a fraudulent buyer will pull out at a late stage, wasting time and costs.
• Safeguarding against mortgage fraud, where false buyer identities are used to obtain loans.
Importantly, if a crime is detected during the conveyancer’s checks, the transaction can be securely halted before the seller suffers loss.
Recent Trends in Property Fraud
The property sector has seen a notable increase in identity-based fraud attempts. Key trends include:
• Impersonation fraud: Criminals registering forged documents at HM Land Registry to claim ownership of a property they do not own.
• Targeting empty or unmortgaged properties: Fraudsters focus on homes without mortgages or absentee landlords because fewer checks exist once a property is mortgage-free.
• Use of digital identities: With more transactions moving online, identity theft using hacked or forged IDs has increased.
This evolving landscape places more pressure on conveyancers to continually update their verification procedures using both traditional and electronic tools.

The Role of Electronic Verification and Technology
Modern conveyancers rely heavily on digital checks to support identity verification. These systems:
• Cross-reference client information against national fraud prevention databases.
• Confirm whether documents provided have been reported lost, stolen, or forged.
• Conduct “liveness” checks using smartphone cameras to ensure a real person is present.
• Screen individuals against sanctions lists, politically exposed person (PEP) registers, and high-risk jurisdictions.
Using technology not only speeds up the process but also meets regulatory expectations of a risk-based approach to AML compliance.

How ID Verification Contributes to a Safer Property Market
Identity verification provides much more than a tick-box compliance exercise. Its wider value lies in:
• Building trust: Buyers and sellers gain confidence knowing their money and property are shielded by regulated checks.
• Reducing delays: Early verification prevents last-minute problems, ensuring transactions move forward smoothly.
• Deterring crime: Strong verification systems make property conveyancing less attractive to organised crime groups.
• Protecting lenders: Mortgage providers are confident their funds are entering legitimate hands.
• Maintaining integrity of the UK property market: By closing loopholes exploited by launderers and fraudsters, ID verification safeguards the national housing system.

What Happens if Clients Refuse to Provide ID?
A key point clients must understand is that conveyancers simply cannot proceed without full ID verification. If information is missing or documents are not provided, the conveyancer is legally required to stop acting. This directly protects all involved:
• Ensures the conveyancer is not facilitating financial crime.
• Prevents fraudulent buyers or sellers from sneaking through unverified.
• Keeps professional indemnity insurance and compliance obligations intact.
Clients may sometimes find ID requests frustrating, but these steps are non-negotiable under law and exist purely for protection.

Key Facts about Conveyancing ID Verification
• Identity checks are a legal requirement, not optional.
• Both buyer and seller must complete checks before the process can begin.
• Fraud losses avoided by ID checks can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds per case.
• Modern conveyancers use both paper-based and electronic verification tools.
• Properties without mortgages or long-standing owner occupation are at particular fraud risk.
• Strict ID processes deter money laundering, fraud, and mortgage crime.
• Effective verification protects not only clients but also lenders, regulators, and the broader property market.

Conveyancers are central in enforcing the UK’s anti-money laundering framework and preventing property fraud. By carrying out strict identity verification on buyers and sellers alike, they protect individuals from devastating losses and uphold the integrity of the housing market.
Clients may find these checks time-consuming, but they are among the most important steps in ensuring a safe and secure property transaction. Conveyancing ID verification is not only about compliance—it is about building trust and confidence in one of the most significant financial decisions anyone will ever make: buying or selling a home.