RPS offers unauthorised firms leads scheme

The FSA said in recent weeks it received just 27 applications from firms holding interim SRB authorisation and expected to authorise approximately 10 of those firms.

Residential Property Solutions is one of 8 firms by the end of last week to have received FSA authorisation for sale and rent back business.

Pete Thomson, managing director of RPS, said: "I suspect more SRB firms will be authorised in due course and I can only assume that a number of them must have been late submitting their applications to the FSA. Unfortunately, the problem they now face is that they cannot legally trade without FSA authorisation.

"However, these firms can continue to lead generate, provided they do not give clients any advice or a recommendation and that all they do is refer them to an authorised firm."