New Financial Sanctions Rules: What Landlords Need to Know (May 2025 Update)

From 14 May 2025, strict new financial sanctions rules come into force — and if you’re a landlord, especially one working with a letting agent, it’s important to understand how they affect you.

What’s Changing?

The UK government maintains a financial sanctions list – essentially a list of individuals and organisations who are not allowed to do business in the UK due to links with criminal activity, terrorism, corruption, or certain foreign regimes. These individuals can have their assets frozen and are prohibited from accessing services like banking or property rental.

While estate agents have already been required to check clients against this list, letting agents are now officially being brought into the fold. This means anyone letting out residential property through an agent will be subject to these same checks – whether you’re a landlord or tenant.

What Does This Mean for Landlords?

In practice, letting agents must now check whether you (as a landlord) or your prospective tenants appear on the sanctions list before proceeding with a tenancy agreement. This applies to any rental of a month or longer, regardless of rent value.

The checks are mandatory and apply across the UK – including to landlords with properties in Manchester, Greater London, Somerset, and beyond. In total, it’s estimated that around 2.9 million rental properties will be affected.

Do Landlords Need to Do Anything?

If you’re working with a professional letting agent – not really. Your agent will take care of all the background checks, including verifying IDs and screening names against the government’s official sanctions list.

However, you may be asked to provide additional personal information or documentation to assist with these checks. This is completely normal and doesn’t mean there’s anything untoward – it’s simply part of agents complying with the law.

Agents who don’t carry out these checks could face serious penalties, including fines or even criminal charges.

What About Tenants?

The same rules apply to tenants. If you’re accepting a new tenant, your letting agent will need to screen them too. Again, this is just a precaution required by law, not a reflection on the tenant personally.

The Bottom Line

This is yet another reminder of the importance of working with a professional letting agent who stays on top of legal compliance. From Right to Rent checks to anti-money laundering and now sanctions compliance, the legislation around property letting continues to evolve – and fast.

At Normie, we make it our job to stay ahead of the curve, so you don’t have to worry about falling foul of new rules. If you’re a landlord and want a letting service that’s as thorough as it is proactive, get in touch with us today.