Your guide to source of funds and gifted deposits

We know these checks can sometimes feel personal, so this guide explains: 

• Why we are legally required to carry them out
• What we will need from you
• How we use technology to make the process smoother
• What happens if you are using a gifted deposit 

All conveyancers must confirm where purchase funds come from. UK anti-money laundering regulations require this, and we cannot proceed without it. We must confirm all funds we receive are from a legitimate, transparent source.

These checks help safeguard buyers from fraud and ensure no one uses your identity and it stops criminals from hiding illegal money in properties. These checks block funds from drug trade, human trafficking, and fraud.

Lenders and regulators may halt a transaction if there are gaps in the paperwork. Providing documents early keeps things moving smoothly. 

The exact money being used for this purchase and how you accumulated it. 

• Your current and savings accounts
• An ISA
• Proceeds of a recent asset sale
• A gifted deposit 
  

How you built up your net worth.

• Salary and regular saving
• Inheritance
• Sale of a property
• Business income
  

We often need both pieces of information to satisfy legal requirements. 

If your deposit is from personal savings, we may need: 

• 6-12 months of bank statements showing build-up of savings (both current account and savings accounts)
• Payslips or tax returns if needed to explain regular income 

If your funds came from a previous sale: 

• Completion statement from the sale
• Bank statement showing proceeds received 

If inherited funds are being used: 

• Grant of probate or executor’s letter
• Bank statement showing receipt of inheritance

Before you accept or use a personal loan, please tell us: 

• Some lenders do not allow this
• We must confirm whether it requires repayment
• We will need bank statements showing the transfer 

If your money originates abroad, we may request:

• Overseas bank statements
• Documents explaining the source (employment, asset sale, etc.)
• Evidence of the transfer into the UK
• These documents will need to be translated into English

If using money from a company, we may need:

• Company bank statements
• Business accounts showing available profits
• Evidence you are authorised to withdraw funds 

We use a third-party provider called Armalytix to check source of funds and source of wealth because:

• They use bank-level security to share your information
• You will be told what information we need to see based on how you have saved your deposit
• Only the information we need is shared with us

If some or all of your deposit is being gifted (usually by a family member), we must carry out checks on the giftor, not just you.

We must confirm: 

• The money is a true gift, not a loan
• The giftor’s identity
• Their Source of Funds and Source of Wealth
• That the funds are legally and safely obtained
• That the gift does not create future interest in the property 

1. Identification 

• This will be done electronically, via a third party called Thirdfort.

2. A Gifted Deposit Declaration 

Confirming: 

• No repayment is expected
• They understand the checks required
• It is a genuine gift with no stake in the property 

3. Evidence of their funds 

• This will also be done electronically, via a third party called Armalytix.

4. Transfer evidence 

Either:

• Funds transferred to you

or 

• Transfer directly to our client account once authorised 

Not if these checks are completely early and promptly. These checks are routine and completed for every homebuyer. 

If anything is unclear, we will always explain it - you’re never expected to know the regulations yourself.