UK sanctions screening for lettings
Sanctions checks for letting agents. £1 a check, evidence included.
Screen a landlord, tenant or guarantor in seconds against the UK Sanctions List, the US OFAC SDN list and the EU consolidated list, and get a dated certificate you can hand to an inspector.
Every check runs against the UK Sanctions List, the US OFAC SDN list and the EU consolidated list. 5 free checks, no card.
The legal duty
Two dates changed what a letting agent has to do and where the list comes from. Both are stated here as facts about the regime, not as advice about your business.
14 May 2025
Screening became a duty at any rent level
Since 14 May 2025 UK letting agents must screen all landlords, tenants and guarantors against the UK sanctions list, at any rent level, and must report suspected designated persons to OFSI, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Financial sanctions bind every person in the UK, so there is no rent threshold to fall under and no exemption for a single tenancy or a private landlord.
28 January 2026
One UK list, and one only
On 28 January 2026 the OFSI consolidated list closed. The UK Sanctions List is now the single UK source of designations. Any process still reading the retired OFSI consolidated list file is reading a file that is no longer updated, which means the screening evidence behind it is stale.
How it works
Check, certificate, ongoing monitoring. Three steps, and the third one runs without you.
- 1
Run the check
Enter the name, and the date of birth and nationality if you hold them, and mark whether the person is a tenant, landlord or guarantor. SafeLet matches across spelling variants, transliterations and reversed name order, then scores every candidate and tells you plainly: no match, needs review, or potential match.
- 2
Keep the certificate
Every check produces a PDF certificate with the subject, the outcome, any matched names, the exact list versions screened, a UTC timestamp, who ran it and a verification id. Anyone can confirm from that id that the certificate is genuine. Certificates and the audit log are your evidence that you screened before the tenancy started.
- 3
Let monitoring watch it
Saved subjects are re-screened every time one of the three lists is updated — not on a monthly timer. If a re-screen comes back worse than the last result, SafeLet emails your team, flags the subject and issues a fresh certificate, so a mid-tenancy designation does not sit unnoticed. Re-screens do not use your monthly allowance.
Pricing
New accounts get 5 free checks, no card. All prices are in pounds sterling and exclude VAT. Monthly plans carry a fair use allowance rather than a hard meter; we contact you before anything changes.
Free check
£0 one check a day
For a one-off name you need to clear right now.
- One check per day, no account needed
- All three lists screened
- Result on screen with the list versions used
- No certificate and no saved history
Pay as you go
£1 per check, excl. VAT
For agents doing a handful of tenancies a month.
- 5 free checks, no card
- PDF certificate for every check
- Audit log and CSV export
- Ongoing monitoring on saved subjects
Branch
£29 per month, excl. VAT
One office, unlimited staff logins.
- Fair use of 500 checks a month
- Bulk CSV upload with a ZIP of certificates
- Your letterhead on every certificate
- Monitoring alerts by email
Multi-branch
£79 per month, excl. VAT
For groups running several offices from one account.
- Fair use of 2,000 checks a month
- Everything in Branch
- Per-branch references on checks and exports
- Priority support
Bulk CSV upload is included on Branch and Multi-branch and is not part of the free trial. Monitoring re-screens never count against a monthly allowance. Cancel from your billing page at any time; certificates already issued stay available for your organisation’s retention period.
Questions letting agents ask
The regime, the lists, the evidence and the price. If something here is unclear, email info@safelet.online and a person will answer.
What does the law require letting agents to do, and since when?
Since 14 May 2025 UK letting agents must screen all landlords, tenants and guarantors against the UK sanctions list, at any rent level, and must report suspected designated persons to OFSI. Financial sanctions apply to every person in the UK, so there is no rent threshold to fall under and no exemption for a single tenancy or a private landlord.
What is the UK Sanctions List and what changed on 28 January 2026?
The UK Sanctions List is published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and names every person, entity and ship designated under UK sanctions regulations. On 28 January 2026 the separate OFSI consolidated list closed, so the UK Sanctions List is now the single UK source. If your process still points at the old OFSI consolidated list file, it is no longer being updated and your screening evidence is out of date.
Which lists does SafeLet screen against?
Every check runs against the UK Sanctions List, the US OFAC SDN list and the EU consolidated list. The certificate records which version of each list was used, including the publication date and the time SafeLet ingested it, so you can prove what you screened against on the day you screened.
Does SafeLet check anything beyond sanctions?
No. SafeLet is sanctions-only in this version: the UK Sanctions List, the US OFAC SDN list and the EU consolidated list, and nothing else. If you need wider due diligence, SafeLet is not that tool and does not pretend to be.
What is on the certificate and how long do you keep it?
Each certificate is a PDF showing the subject as you entered them, their role in the tenancy, the outcome, the match score, any matched names with the list and regime they came from, the exact list versions screened, the UTC timestamp, who ran the check and a verification id such as SL-2026-7Q3XKD. Anyone can confirm the certificate is genuine from that id. Certificates are retained for your organisation’s configured retention period, six years by default, and then hard-deleted.
What should I do when a check comes back as a possible match?
Review it yourself: open the match, compare the name, date of birth, nationality and any alias detail against the documents you hold, and record your decision and reasoning against the check. A score is a prompt to look, never a conclusion. If after review you believe you are dealing with a designated person, do not make funds or economic resources available to them and report to OFSI as soon as practicable using OFSI’s reporting form on GOV.UK.
How does ongoing monitoring work?
Save a subject with monitoring switched on and SafeLet re-screens them every time one of the three lists is updated, not on a monthly timer. If a re-screen produces a worse outcome than the last one — a no match becoming a needs review or a potential match — SafeLet emails your team, flags the subject in your dashboard and generates a fresh certificate so the change is evidenced. Monitoring re-screens never count against your monthly check allowance.
How is the personal data in a check protected?
You are the controller of the subject data you enter and SafeLet is your processor. Data is stored in the London region, encrypted in transit and at rest, and every check is written to an immutable audit log. Your organisation sets the retention period, six years by default, after which subject records, checks and certificates are hard-deleted. Our sub-processors and your data-subject rights are set out in the privacy notice and the data processing agreement.
What does SafeLet cost?
One check costs £1 on pay as you go. Branch is £29 a month with fair use of 500 checks, multi-branch is £79 a month with fair use of 2,000 checks, and new accounts get 5 free checks with no card. All prices exclude VAT. There is also a free check you can run once a day without an account. Bulk CSV upload is included on every paid plan; it is not part of the free trial.
Is a SafeLet certificate proof that I have complied?
It is evidence of what you screened, when, against which list versions, and what you decided — which is what an inspection or an audit asks you to show. SafeLet is a screening aid and not legal advice, and it cannot make a judgement call for you. Deciding what a match means for a tenancy remains your responsibility.
Clear your next tenancy in under a minute
Run one check free, with no account and no card, and see the certificate you would be filing. Then read the guide to UK sanctions checks for letting agents if you want the detail behind the duty.