Tenant hasn't got a UK phone number and can't pay his deposit

[Daz]

Hi @Fabrice -

I recently responded to a similar query from a tenant from India here, which might be helpful:

Pay holding deposit / deposit from India

Hi @Rohit5 - I’m afraid as per our guidance on site, we do currently require a UK phone number to request a viewing with OpenRent, and a UK debit card to place a holding deposit with us. This is both for the security of our systems and landlords (reduced fraud), but also because when requesting to place a holding deposit, you are committing to the property, and we want to ensure you’ve visited it. Renting a property having not visited, or evening being in the country, is not advisable. If you …

Ultimately, yes, we do have some security features to reduce fraud in the rental process, and verifying tenants are in the UK with a UK bank account is one of the lines of defence.

If your prospective tenant is in the UK, they should be able to pick up a UK phone number and bank account trivially, but worth noting the other obstacles I allude to in my previous post (like passing referencing) which may or may not be a concern for you if they are new to the UK.

If your prospective tenant isn’t in the UK, and hasn’t viewed the property, then we’d urge caution to both parties due to the elevated risks involved. Sadly, our systems can’t set up the tenancy for you in this case due to the financial risks involved.

Thanks,
Daz.