Real estate sector turns to QES and IDV to address familiar issues

The real estate industry is experiencing rapid digitalization, rising compliance costs and adopting identity verification for fraud prevention. The UK’s land registry embracing QES, data from Credas showing agents are passing on the cost of AML to customers, and a new deal for tenant screening platform RentButter.

UK land registry introduces Qualified Electronic Signatures

His Majesty’s Land Registry (HMLR) will permit the use of Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) when submitting applications to register land and property ownership.

The introduction will remove the need for a third party to witness the execution of a deed, simplifying the process, the department announced last week.

“This marks another major step forward in our ongoing digital transformation, as we keep pace with – and meet the needs of – our most technologically advanced customers,” says Andy Roddy, HMLR deputy director for Digital Services.

In its three-year strategy published in 2022, the department announced it plans to allow a property to be bought and sold in a fully digital way. The agency started accepting electronic signatures in 2020. HMLR services are already embedded in the GOV.UK site, requiring biometric verification.

The department covers England and Wales.

Credas: AML checks costs are rising

Nearly 85 percent of real estate agents say they are already charging for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks or are planning to charge within the next year, according to a new survey published by UK-based ID check service Credas.

The change is largely driven by cost: A small, independent agency spends approximately  £16,000 a year (US$21,484) on compliance-related activities. The survey, which covered 250 estate agents and property professionals, also showed that 72 percent plan to increase the amount they charge for AML checks in the next 12 months.

Credas suggests that real estate professionals should consider new ID check tools to reduce expenses and alleviate administrative burdens. In June, the firm launched a digital wallet called Credas Compliance Wallet to carry out compliance checks with reusable credentials, starting in the real estate sector.

The company also said that its identity verifications are up 35 percent year-over-year, reaching 2.5 million individuals.

TurboTenant integrates RentButter for tenant screening

U.S. property management software platform TurboTenant has announced plans to integrate resident screening and identity verification provider RentButter.

Chicago-headquartered RentButter allows real estate operators to screen residents by validating for government-issued ID and verifying their identity with selfie biometrics. It also cross-checks renters through different databases to gain insight into applicants’ financial behavior and prevent fraud. The company says it specializes in screening tenants with credit scores below 700, who are often “thin-file” customers among the most difficult to assess.

The partnership will allow faster credit and background checks for landlords, the two firms say in a release.

TurboTenant processes over 20,000 background checks a month, according to the firm.

This post was updated at 11:23am Eastern on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 to correct the name of Credas’ new digital wallet.

Article Topics

AML  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  electronic-signature  |  ID verification  |  identity verification  |  Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES)  |  real estate  |  selfie biometrics