Property creators quality checklist: eleven pre-release checks, from property facts to the FCA gate

What to take away

Use this property creators quality checklist on one fixed release candidate, not an editable folder, before each first publication or material republication.
Use a dated source card for every property claimclaim; source or register and record reference; date checked; geography; period; unit; limitation; approved wording.
Mortgage, credit or investment wording needs a qualified reviewer before release.
Record pass, fail or not applicable for each specialist gate, with a reason.
After publication, log the URL, time, live-render result, next source trigger and correction route.

What are the identity and source checks?

The checklist covers media about identifiable property in England. It does not decide a case-specific legal, financial or property question. Assign a named reviewer for property facts, planning, rights, advertising, financial promotions, data protection and accessibility, plus a release manager; one person may hold more than one responsibility.

Match the property.The address or approved identifier, English location and commissioning entity agree across the brief, access permission and release pack.
Trace every material statement.Each claim has a dated source card with geography, period, unit, limitation and approved wording. For recorded sale history, check HM Land Registry Price Paid Data: it records sales, not valuations. For energy-performance claims, check the Energy Performance of Buildings Register (EPC register).
Treat missing planning results cautiously.Check the relevant local planning authority's planning register. Planning Data coverage varies by area, and an absence of results does not mean no constraints exist. Escalate the uncertainty instead of converting it into a clean claim.

Match each source's geography, period and limitations to the claim before grading its evidence; reviews and comparison methods offers further guidance.

What are the permission and rights checks?

Assume photographs, illustrations and other images are protected by copyright as artistic works, and that the person who creates an image is its first owner. The checks below turn that into a file you can show a reviewer.

Reconcile access and appearance records.The authorised contact, rooms, dates, identifiable people and withdrawal route are documented. Blur or remove keys, alarms, family material and other security-sensitive detail unless approved.
Check each asset's rights path.Start from the copyright notice on digital images. Save the maker, licence, permitted channels, edits, territory, term and credit.

Name the person who checked and approved each asset in its rights record, and keep the supporting licence evidence with the release; the team roles article offers a wider allocation model.

What are the commercial and regulated checks?

Commercial relationships and regulated wording are separate gates. Neither substitutes for the other, and client approval is not independent evidence.

Classify the relationship.Record payment, gifts, affiliate benefit, client control and creator connection. Check the final caption and the first visible frame against the CAP Code, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA); see the advertising rules.
Substantiate promotional claims.The advertising reviewer checks that objective statements do not outrun the evidence and that qualifications stay visible. Record the exact disclosure wording and where it appears; the disclosure policy offers additional label guidance.
Run the FCA perimeter gate.Check the restriction in section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), including whether an exemption applies and whether the approver is permitted to approve the promotion. Before briefing a social media influencer on a regulated financial product, confirm that an appropriate authorised person has approved the promotion. Do not publish while the approval route is unresolved.

For the reasoning, see the FCA finalised guidance FG24/1 on financial promotions: unauthorised persons, such as social media influencers, who promote a regulated financial product or service without approval of an appropriate authorised person may be committing a criminal offence.

What are the audience, data and resilience checks?

Follow the enquiry data.Apply the UK GDPR and consult Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance. Confirm controller identity, notice, purpose, fields, recipients, retention and deletion. Later marketing is a separate decision: under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR), get consent for electronic mail marketing to individual subscribers unless the soft opt-in applies; record why you rely on it. See data protection.
Inspect the accessible journey.Check captions against speech and meaningful sound, provide a transcript or alternative, inspect contrast and reading order, and complete any form without a mouse.
Prove the recovery route.Identify who can pause distribution, remove a channel copy, disable a form, restore the approved master and reach the incident lead.

How do you record the decision?

The gate log should identify the candidate version, check number, reviewer, pass, fail or not applicable decision, evidence reference, date and reason. Each specialist signs against the candidate version, with a reason. The release manager records the release only when every applicable gate passes. Otherwise the package returns with an owner, the evidence required and a re-review condition.

After publication, log the URL, time, live-render result, next source trigger and correction route, then confirm the live copy matches the approved candidate. The launch review article offers further post-release guidance.

Before you act

Match the property address, location and commissioning entity across all documents.
Trace every material statement to a dated source card.
Reconcile access and appearance records and remove security-sensitive detail.
Classify the commercial relationship and check the caption and first frame.
Run the FCA gate on mortgage, credit or investment wording.
Prove who can pause distribution and restore the approved master.

Common questions

What does the checklist cover and when does it apply?

It covers media about identifiable property in England and applies before each initial publication or material republication. Use it on one fixed release candidate, not on an editable folder, so the version reviewed is the version published.

How should missing planning results be treated?

Coverage varies by area, and an empty response does not show that no constraint exists. Escalate the uncertainty to the competent primary source instead of converting it into a clean claim, and record the date of the check.

What happens if an applicable gate fails?

The package returns with an owner, the evidence required and a re-review condition. Each specialist signs pass, fail or not applicable against the candidate version, so a failed gate cannot be offset by a pass elsewhere.