Does OpenRent verify landlords?

Tenant Discussion
1

Hi,
How does OpenRent verify landlords ? How can tenants be sure the landlords are verified?

1 Like
2

Its a good question and one that another current thread touches upon. I cant recall any validation being carried out on me, although it was a long time ago. Perhaps something that Openrent would care to respond to.

3

I don’t recall having to provide verification other than for getting my listing onto Rightmove. This was several years ago though.

4

Why would Openrent do this, they are just a platform between the landlord and tenant, and taking on this kind of legal responsibility would be risky for them. Tenants need to verify landlords. That’s why the Land Registry exists.

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5

Hi @Deborah9 - thanks for your question.

We do have a large number of security and safety mechanisms to keep fraudulent, unsafe, discriminatory and generally illegal behaviour off OpenRent. This applies to both landlords and tenants.

When you enquire about a property on OpenRent we do provide safety guidance and this is to ensure tenant safety both in terms of going on viewings as well as the potential for financial fraud.

In order to provide guarantees of safety, we have always offered our Rent Now tenancy creation service. This is the green “Rent Now” button on adverts. It allows us to help take some of the admin away from landlords, ensure tenancies are set up legally and correctly, and also means we process funds to ensure money is protected for tenants. You can learn more about Rent Now here:

For Tenants:

https://www.openrent.co.uk/find-property-to-rent-from-private-landlords

For Landlords:

If you are handling funds outside of Rent Now, then of course OpenRent can’t make any guarantees and we’d advise caution. However, if using Rent Now we can ensure funds are escrowed before move in and all correct procedures have taken place. Rent Now is free for tenants, and comes included with advertising for landlords on our £49 package.

Answers to this question, and similar questions, are all available on our FAQ here:

Good luck in your search!

6

So, question for you @Daz

Anti money laundering… I know Openrent don’t have to do the ‘know your client’ ID checks if they are just providing an advertising service, but if they are doing rent now, and certainly if they are doing rent collection, don’t they have to check ID under the anti money laundering regs because they are then providing letting agent services??

7

don’t they have to check ID under the anti money laundering regs because they are then providing letting agent services

I’m not sure what your level of detail / knowledge on AML regulations is, and there are instances where we need to step in with additional level of checks later in the flow, but for the most part the majority of tenancies in the UK aren’t required to undergo AML checks. You can see government guidance here if you’re interested:

8

So, do you only have to register and check ID if the rent on an individual property is more than 10,000 Euros a month?

(I’m an accountant, so I have to ID all my clients)

9

Yep - the regulations are carved out for estate agents and letting agents, so do differ from other industries. There are a few other quirks to do with, for example, residency - so I’d have to point you to the government guidance again. We rely on our legal team to make sure everything is compliant / done correctly, so I wouldn’t want to give out guidance or mislead anyone! :slight_smile: