The PSRA
Every licensed agent in Ireland answers to one body.
The Property Services Regulatory Authority is the statutory regulator for property services in Ireland. It licenses estate agents, auctioneers, letting agents and management agents, keeps the public register of who holds a licence, sets the CPD you must complete, and investigates complaints. If you do agency work for reward, the PSRA is the authority that lets you do it, and can stop you.
The Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011
This is the Act that stands the whole system up. It makes licensing mandatory, sets minimum qualifications, and builds in protections for the public: rules on how client money is held, a requirement for professional indemnity insurance, a Compensation Fund, the Codes of Practice, record-keeping duties, and the PSRA's power to discipline. One line matters above all the others.
The four licence classes
Your class decides what you are allowed to do. Most residential agents hold Class A, and many hold Class B as well.
| Class | Who it is for | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| A | Auctioneer / estate agent | Residential and commercial sales, auctions, valuations, and agency work. |
| B | Letting agent | Residential and commercial lettings, and rent collection. |
| C | Management agent | Property, block and multi-unit management. |
| D | Management agent for owners' management companies | Managing property on behalf of owners' management companies. |
Who needs one
Anyone negotiating sales, purchases or lettings, doing agency work, handling client money, or marketing property for reward. Being someone's employee is not an exemption. If the work is licensable, you need the licence.
What the PSRA asks of you
A licence is not a one-off form. It is a standard you meet to get in, and keep meeting to stay in. Applications go through the PSRA's online portal.
Qualification
Meet the minimum qualification the PSRA sets for your class of licence.
Tax clearance
Hold current tax clearance to show you are square with Revenue.
Good standing
Show good financial standing and good character — the regulator is letting you handle the public's money.
Professional indemnity insurance
Carry the required cover so clients are protected if something goes wrong.
Compensation Fund
Contribute to the Compensation Fund. Every licence holder pays in.
Fees and AML
Pay the licence and Compensation Fund fees, and meet your anti-money-laundering duties.
Client money and anti-money-laundering
Client-money rules
Client money sits in designated client accounts, kept separate from your business money, with detailed records, regular reconciliation, and records retained for inspection. Fail here and you can be suspended or prosecuted.
Anti-money-laundering
As a designated person you verify identity, run customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence where needed, monitor transactions, keep records, and report suspicious activity.
Both of these are covered as step-by-step modules on the training page.
Codes of Practice and the professional bodies
The Codes of Practice
The PSRA's Codes set the conduct expected of you: ethics and fair dealing, client care with written terms and clear fees, accurate advertising, and a proper complaints procedure. They are enforceable, not just guidance.
The professional bodies
IPAV — the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers: training, qualifications, CPD and lobbying for estate agents, auctioneers and valuers. SCSI — the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland: chartered surveyors and agents across residential and commercial, with PSRA-approved CPD. RICS — the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which many commercial agents hold.
How to walk away cleanly
A move to a new way of working is governed first by your franchise contract, and then by the law that sits over it. Do it the right way and you protect your licence, your clients and your name. Do it carelessly and you can walk into a dispute you did not need. Here is what to look at before you give notice.
The contract governs the exit
Notice period. Your agreement will set how much notice you must give and how. Read it before you say anything.
Restrictive covenants. Expect clauses on non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality. Whether they hold depends on Irish law and how they are worded, so take advice rather than assume either way.
Brand and clients stay put
Branding must cease. All use of the franchisor's branding and intellectual property stops when you leave. Boards, stationery, signage, digital, all of it.
Client files and instructions. These generally remain with the franchised business unless you agree otherwise. Do not assume live instructions come with you.
Client data is protected, and it is not yours to copy
Your client data is personal data under GDPR. You cannot simply copy the database into a new business because it is convenient. Handle it lawfully, and take advice on what, if anything, you are entitled to keep and use.
Stand up your own licensed business before you trade
Once you leave, you trade in your own right, which means the compliance framework has to be in place on day one, not bolted on later.
- Your own licensed entity, with the correct PSRA licence class for the work you do.
- Professional indemnity insurance in your own name.
- Your own designated client accounts, set up and separate from any personal or business money.
- Your anti-money-laundering framework, complaints procedure and record-keeping ready to go.
- Tax clearance, good-standing evidence and Compensation Fund contribution sorted.
Plan the move before you make it
Register your interest and we will help you line up the licensing, the client accounts and the timing, so that when eXp Ireland opens you can move without a compliance gap.
Register your interest