(1)In this Act “letting agent” means a person who engages in letting agency work (whether or not that person engages in other work).
(2)In this Act “letting agency work” means things done by a person in the course of a business in response to instructions received from—
(a)a landlord who is seeking to find another person to whom to let housing, or
(b)a tenant who is seeking to find housing to rent.
(3)A person is not a letting agent for the purposes of this Act if the person engages in letting agency work in the course of that person’s employment under a contract of employment.
(4)A person who is an authorised person in relation to a reserved legal activity is not a letting agent when carrying on legal activity in response to instructions from a landlord or tenant who does not instruct that person to do other things within subsection (2).
(5)In subsection (4)—
(a)“legal activity” and “reserved legal activity” have the meanings given by section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007;
(b)“authorised person” has the meaning given by section 18 of that Act.