About this form
Form U1 is the unrepresented counterparty equivalent of Form A1. An unrepresented counterparty is the party on the other side of a transaction who has no salesperson acting for them, which puts a due-diligence obligation on you even though they are not your client.
When you need it
- The other side of the transaction is an individual with no agent of their own.
- The deal is likely to proceed — counterparty due diligence is done at that point, not at first contact.
- A private treaty sale or letting where only one side is represented.
How to complete it
- Establish first that the counterparty really is unrepresented. In a co-broke transaction where each side has its own salesperson, no counterparty due diligence is needed at all.
- Collect and verify the counterparty’s particulars.
- Complete Form U5 — the screening and risk determination checklist — for every person screened on that side.
- Where the counterparty is acting for someone else, add Form U3 or U4.
Common mistakes
- Running counterparty due diligence in a co-broke transaction where it is not required, and in the process exchanging due-diligence documents between co-broking salespersons, which should not happen.
- Leaving it until after the Option to Purchase has been issued.
- Completing U1 but not U5.
- Assuming an unrepresented counterparty’s cooperation is optional to the file — if due diligence cannot be completed, the transaction should not proceed.
Legal basis
Published by CEA as an annex to the Guide on the Estate Agents (Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism) Regulations 2021. Read the issuer’s guidance.
Questions
- Is counterparty due diligence needed in a co-broke?
- No. Where each side has its own salesperson, there is no unrepresented counterparty, and due-diligence documents are not exchanged between co-broking salespersons.
- When is it done?
- Once the deal is likely to proceed, and in any event before the Option to Purchase is issued or exercised or the Tenancy Agreement is signed.
- Which version should I use?
- Use the 30 June 2025 versions. Forms from the superseded guide must no longer be used.