Under new government regulations, from 14th May 2025, all letting agents must carry out mandatory financial sanctions checks on both Landlords and Tenants. This forms part of a wider effort to prevent individuals subject to UK sanctions from accessing the property market. Sanctions are restrictions placed on individuals or entities involved in criminal activity, terrorism, or human rights abuse. The UK maintains a list of these “designated persons.” Soon we will be legally required to screen all tenants before agreeing a tenancy and all Landlords before entering into or continuing our letting/management agreements.
Over the next few weeks, we may be getting into touch to reconfirm your identity or asking you to supply more documents. This is purely a compliance step and doesn’t suggest any concern—these checks involve checking the Governments sanctions register, and collecting ID and proof of ownership documents for all owners/company directors/beneficiaries. This will now be required across the entire industry and is what we must do to ensure everyone is protected; avoiding prison or hefty fines for not carrying out these checks or reporting to the OFSI (Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
If any body has any questions on this please reach out to Zoe – zoe@bankswilsonproperty.co.uk or call the office line.
