I found a property on OpenRent. The landlord asked me to pay deposit and rent directly to a company account before sending me a tenancy agreement. Is this allowed?
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The contract should be signed for deposit is taken
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Have you viewed the property, and met the Landlord? Not everyone will use Rent Now via Openrent, so they may do their own thing, but you are right to check you are not being scammed before making any payment.
It’s common practice to ask for the first months rent and deposit before move-in day and thats when I sign the tenancy agreement. You can ask for a draft of the agreement to make sure you’re happy with it and you should definitely check the landlord owns the property before handing over money. Start by checking the ownership on HMLR.
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Did they ask for a holding deposit of a week or the full five weeks deposit
I viewed the property, everything was okay
I just don’t get why they are asking for money both the rent and deposit before sending any drafts. I don’t know what I should do now
Don’t hand over any money until you get all certs contract etc
You need a signed contract for them to take deposit
Rent should not be handed over until you are in the property signing contracts and getting keys etc
Sounds like a scam
Ask to see deeds of property as proof of ownership
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Qouting what they said :
That’s not how it works unfortunately. We need the rent and deposit before we issue the tenancy agreement to make sure the rent and deposit is paid in full.
And then they attached a copy of a tenancy agreement which was related to some other flat and another person, saying this is how our contract looks!
You can ask for deeds to see if they own the property
Do your due diligence ask for passport for identity
Open rent don’t verify landlords advertising on their own platform only if they go through rightmove
I send my applicant a standard email detailing rents etc with a blank contract , certificates for the house ( all in my name gas electric EPC and how to rent ) so they can see that they are dealing with the right person
If they are moving in then I meet them at the house ( students sign contract in advance of moving in and then we take deposit but they don’t get keys till rent is paid and inventory is signed on day of move in )
They will have been sent an inventory in advance
They then pay rent and sign the contract
Deposit is taken
Keys handed over once inventory is signed
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It seems to me Open Rent is badly designed (which also extends to its interface). It asks tenants money to make them “verified”, but there does not seem any verification regarding landlords. What do we know about deeds and verifying the property belongs to the person saying they are the landlord?
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This is not correct. A contract can be signed in advance & first rent / deposit paid in advance.
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Prohibited Payments:
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 restricts what landlords can charge before a tenancy agreement is signed. Apart from the holding deposit, any other payments, including rent, are considered prohibited payments
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I appreciate that but and our students do that but I am replying to the OP who is being asked for rent and deposit with nothing in return. This is a red flag . To protect herself she should do it in the day when she collects keys
Since when has a tenant paid rent and deposit before signing a contract
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when i get a tenant i want the cash at the same time as I give the contract and keys. If I use an agent I do not know their method , but always worked for me
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I repeat, you can ask for a draft of the agreement to make sure you’re happy with it and you should definitely check the landlord owns the property before handing over money. Start by checking the ownership on HMLR.