Tenants Information

1. PRE TENANCY HOLDING DEPOSIT

A holding deposit equivalent to one weeks rent is required to reserve a property whilst referencing checks are carried out. If successful, this will be used to form part of the main deposit. Where rent is not advertised as weekly, the holding deposit will be calculated as such: (Monthly rent) x 12 Months / 52 Weeks.

The general rule of thumb is your annual income should be 30 times the monthly rent.

Tenancy_Fees_Act_-_Statutory_guidance_for_enforcement_authorities.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk):

A landlord or agent can ask a tenant to pay a holding deposit to demonstrate their commitment to rent the property whilst they undertake relevant reference checks. A landlord or agent must refund the holding deposit if the tenant signs a tenancy agreement with them or if they decide to pull out of the arrangement with the tenant or fail to enter a tenancy agreement before the agreed deadline.

A landlord or agent can retain the holding deposit if the tenant fails a Right to Rent check, withdraws from the application process or if the landlord and agent take all reasonable steps to enter the tenancy but the tenant does not. N.B. The deadline for agreement is the date by which agents/landlords and tenants should enter into a tenancy agreement after payment of the holding deposit. The default deadline for agreement is 15 days following the receipt of the holding deposit, but the landlord or agent may agree in writing a longer deadline with the

tenant. A landlord or agent is also entitled to retain a holding deposit if the information provided is false or misleading information. However, they can only take this information into account where the difference between the information provided and the correct information, or the conduct of the tenant in providing it, reasonably affects the landlord’s decision to grant the tenancy. This is likely to be the case only where the mistake casts doubt on the tenant’s financial suitability or honesty, for example:

• the income declaration was significantly too high because of a typo — even if the typo was an unknown error;
• a clear lie about income or employment—even if the landlord would have been satisfied with the correct information;
• failure to disclose (provided that the tenant has been directly asked) any relevant information which later comes to the landlord or agent’s attention, such as a valid County Court Judgment. A landlord or agent cannot retain a holding deposit if the false or misleading information provided, or conduct in providing it, is not relevant to the individual’s suitability as a tenant, for example:

• where a tenant has misspelled their name, the name of their employer or a previous address;
• the tenant omitted to declare a previous address and the omission had no bearing on their credit worthiness or other assessment of suitability;
• the tenant slightly misjudged their income but not in anyway that affects their ability to afford the rent.