Press Release
07/10/2025
For Immediate Release
British homebuyers with overseas roots are increasingly struggling to access the property market due to harsh compliance measures and banking restrictions, according to specialist London firm RSL LAW.
The Pall Mall firm has reported a rise in lenders and solicitors turning away legitimate UK-based clients because of overseas sources of funds and other perceived regulatory risks.
The trend has been blamed on increasingly hostile attitudes towards immigration, coupled with global economic and geopolitical uncertainty affecting financial decision making.
Tatiana Sharposhnikova, founder and CEO of RSL LAW, said: “We are working with rising numbers of buyers who are ready to purchase homes in the UK, only to be rejected at the last minute.
“These people are professionals, young couples, families and working British taxpayers who are simply trying to make a home for themselves.
“They are facing critical compliance issues not because they are doing anything wrong, but because they don’t meet arbitrary criteria set by lenders.”
Standard background checks by banks regularly trigger unwarranted alarm over anti-money laundering (AML) or cross-border sanctions for buyers with funds overseas, resulting in them being blacklisted as ‘high-risk’ clients – solely because of their country of origin.
Tatiana, who was born in Russia, has first-hand experience of such discrimination as a property investor as well as in her role with clients at RSL LAW.
She fears that many are leaving the UK altogether because of the barriers they face buying a home.
“It is bad news for the property market”, she added. “Skilled workers are taking their experience, their money and their tax contributions elsewhere, because we consider them to be a risk.”
“The real risk is that we lose these individuals’ economic contributions altogether.”
Recent figures highlight the trend.
The number of overseas buyers seeking to purchase property in the UK fell to a record low in 2025, down from 1.2% the previous year – the lowest level on record.
Specialising in complex property transactions, RSL LAW has worked with buyers from a vast range of international backgrounds, ensuring funds are verified and compliance and regulatory hurdles are met.
This includes clients whose purchases were blocked by high street firms, often rescuing transactions at the final stage.
RSL LAW is campaigning for greater understanding and fairness in the UK property market, challenging misconceptions that can unfairly penalise international buyers.
Tatiana added: "More and more, we are seeing working people caught out by a system that hasn’t caught up with their needs in a globalised property market."
"Reforming the system is about understanding buyers’ individual circumstances and applying the rules robustly, but fairly."
RSL LAW continues to work with clients from many nationalities, ensuring access to property ownership is accessible and transparent.
The Pall Mall firm has reported a rise in lenders and solicitors turning away legitimate UK-based clients because of overseas sources of funds and other perceived regulatory risks.
The trend has been blamed on increasingly hostile attitudes towards immigration, coupled with global economic and geopolitical uncertainty affecting financial decision making.
Tatiana Sharposhnikova, founder and CEO of RSL LAW, said: “We are working with rising numbers of buyers who are ready to purchase homes in the UK, only to be rejected at the last minute.
“These people are professionals, young couples, families and working British taxpayers who are simply trying to make a home for themselves.
“They are facing critical compliance issues not because they are doing anything wrong, but because they don’t meet arbitrary criteria set by lenders.”
Standard background checks by banks regularly trigger unwarranted alarm over anti-money laundering (AML) or cross-border sanctions for buyers with funds overseas, resulting in them being blacklisted as ‘high-risk’ clients – solely because of their country of origin.
Tatiana, who was born in Russia, has first-hand experience of such discrimination as a property investor as well as in her role with clients at RSL LAW.
She fears that many are leaving the UK altogether because of the barriers they face buying a home.
“It is bad news for the property market”, she added. “Skilled workers are taking their experience, their money and their tax contributions elsewhere, because we consider them to be a risk.”
“The real risk is that we lose these individuals’ economic contributions altogether.”
Recent figures highlight the trend.
The number of overseas buyers seeking to purchase property in the UK fell to a record low in 2025, down from 1.2% the previous year – the lowest level on record.
Specialising in complex property transactions, RSL LAW has worked with buyers from a vast range of international backgrounds, ensuring funds are verified and compliance and regulatory hurdles are met.
This includes clients whose purchases were blocked by high street firms, often rescuing transactions at the final stage.
RSL LAW is campaigning for greater understanding and fairness in the UK property market, challenging misconceptions that can unfairly penalise international buyers.
Tatiana added: "More and more, we are seeing working people caught out by a system that hasn’t caught up with their needs in a globalised property market."
"Reforming the system is about understanding buyers’ individual circumstances and applying the rules robustly, but fairly."
RSL LAW continues to work with clients from many nationalities, ensuring access to property ownership is accessible and transparent.
-ENDS-
About RSL LAW:
- rsl-law.co.uk
- Established in 2012
- Based at 78 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5ES
- Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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