Hi a bit of a long one so apologies in advance. Seen a house I liked so had a viewing with landlord. House was still being renovated while I was there (new flooring being layers kitchen done etc). Anyway landlord said his agent handles all the money/paperwork side of things and would be in contact with me. So when he didn’t contact me landlord message again saying I would have to put deposit down ASAP as other people are interested. His agent did not contact me I did not even have a missed call. Then agent starts WhatsApp me at 8.15 pm making a few spelling mistakes also. The Landlord wants a full months rent for a holding deposit which I know isn’t right and when I asked to see id he said I can see everything after money is sent and papers are signed. I haven’t even had any paper work what so ever.
I hope you have not sent any money
It’s a week holding deposit
Start looking elsewhere. it will only get worse from this point on
Check he is the landlord on the land registry
No haven’t sent anything. Have checked land Registry and name is the same as on open rent but I haven’t seen any I’d to confirm he is actually this person.
You are being pressured into this and his asking for a month is illegal
My advice is to walk away especially if he is pressurising you
That’s a red flag
Report this to the Police.
Hi Shona,
Thanks for sharing your concerns here.
As @A_A mentioned, all holding deposits in England and Wales are capped at the equivalent of one week’s rent.
If you have found a property on OpenRent that is asking for a holding deposit that exceeds the cap please let us know by using the “Report Listing” button or by sending us a message. Our compliance team will then be able to fully investigate.
Remember that tenants in England and Wales can always ask landlords to use our Rent Now service to set up new tenancies. Rent Now is free to all tenants and means that OpenRent collects and holds all payments until you’ve moved in. You can read more about Rent Now, and how it protects tenants, here: Rent Now: Better Tenancy Creation | OpenRent
If you choose to set up a private tenancy, out side our Rent Now service, we offer a full guide on what to check and what to look out for in our Help Centre: A guide to setting up a tenancy with a private landlord – Help Centre.
For tenants in Scotland, holding deposits have been banned since 2017.
I hope this helps, and if you have any further questions you are welcome to contact our support team using the email address above.