The UK government has implemented 16 financial sanctions rule changes since the start of 2025, averaging one every 2.5 days. This marks a significant increase from 2024’s total of 67 changes, which equates to a change every five days.

That’s according to The UK Sanctions List data, announced earlier this month. The rising frequency of updates underscores the growing complexity of compliance for UK businesses, particularly those in the property and lettings sector, which faces major new screening obligations from 14 May 2025.

Announced by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), the new guidelines will require letting agents to screen all tenants and landlords for potential sanction breaches. This regulation will impact an estimated 2.9 million rental properties, triggering millions of additional compliance checks annually. The changes are expected to disrupt the rental market, increasing workloads for agents and property professionals.

On top of this, the annual list by HMRC of businesses that have not met anti-money laundering obligations found that the property sector is the most fined industry for 2023/4 and 2024/5. Although fines are slightly down in the 2024/5 period – compared with the previous year – it shows that there is still work to be done to improve compliance.

To combat this, Credas Technologies, the leader in identity verification technology, has launched a suite of products under its new Credas Lettings offering.

Credas Lettings will support letting agents in conducting both tenant and landlord checks to ensure compliance by streamlining the IDV and sanctions screening process. Landlord checks will range from a standard sanctions-only solution to a more enhanced product that includes ID verification, sanctions-only checks, bank account verification, and checks to ensure the Landlord owns the property they are renting. Credas Lettings will also empower agents to easily verify a tenants right-to-rent and sanction status without needing to run any additional checks.

Tim Barnett, CEO at Credas, commented: “With financial sanctions rules changing at an unprecedented pace – and the property sector still struggling with fines – letting agents face an uphill battle to remain compliant. The new regulations coming into force in May will add significant pressure, requiring agents to carry out more checks than ever before. The industry has less than two months to prepare. At Credas, we recognise the strain this puts on the industry, and are dedicated to supporting letting agents across the UK”