Receiving an offer

You will get an email and notification once you receive an offer. You 24 hours to respond to offers, otherwise, they will expire. Offers are customisable so terms like rent price, move-in date etc. may be negotiated by the renter. They also have details about themselves – their income, any special requests they have, and a short blurb about them. Basically, key things you would need to know in order to make an informed decision on whether or not to accept the tenant. The tenant may send their offer with or without deposit.

Offer with deposit: The tenant has sent the offer with the holding deposit pre-authorised. If you accept an offer with deposit, you will not have to wait for them to pay the holding deposit. It will be automated as the tenant has given their payment details in advance. Your property will be taken off the market and you will move to the next step in the process immediately.

Offers with deposit speed up the process and show financial commitment to the property.

Offer without deposit: The tenant has sent the offer without the holding deposit pre-authorised. If you accept an offer without deposit, the tenant will have 24 hours to pay the holding deposit. Without the deposit paid there isn't a guarantee that they will continue in the process. Until then, the listing will stay on the market and open to other renters. You may receive and accept other offers during this time.

Accepting offers

You can technically accept multiple offers, as long as they are offers without deposit. Remember – your property is not officially secured until the tenant pays a holding deposit. During this time, your listing will still stay on the market, and you can receive and accept other offers.

If you accept multiple offers, the property will go to the tenant who pays the holding deposit first. You may want to give tenants a head-up if this happens.

Note: You cannot accept multiple offers with deposit. Offers with deposit have the deposit ready upon acceptance. Your property gets taken off the market and tenants move to referencing immediately. As a result, there isn't time for another renter to steal the property.

Responding to offers

Once an offer is received, you have 24 hours to respond. You can either accept, reject, or counter (negotiate) the offer. We ask owners to respond within 24 hours because we understand renting can be stressful or time-sensitive, so we want the process to go as smoothly as possible. If you do not respond in 24 hours, the offer will expire. Offers may also be cancelled, should the sender wish to do so.

Throughout the offer process, you will still be able to communicate freely with renters through the platform, as well as respond to other properties. However, please prepare to commit if you accept an offer.

If you counter the offer

You can negotiate back and forth as many times as you’d like until both parties reach an agreement or someone decides to walk away.

If you reject an offer

If you'd like to turn down an offer, consider countering instead if it's something negotiable. Otherwise, you can of course reject the offer. You will still be able to communicate with the renter and vice versa. Sometimes, a renter may ask the reason why their offer was turned down. It's completely up to you how'd you like to respond, however, we do encourage being courteous and helpful.

If your offer gets cancelled

An offer can only be cancelled by its sender, whether it be a renter or an owner. Offers may be cancelled if was an accident, there was a mistake, they changed their mind, etc. If your offer was cancelled, feel free to reach out to the renter and follow up to ask why.

You may also cancel any counteroffers you send, but just keep in mind that cancelled offers cannot be undone. Renters – and only renters – can initiate offers, so to restart the process you would have to ask the renter to do so.

If your offer expires

Your offer may expire if you or the renter fails to respond within 24 hours. We set a limit of 24 hours to encourage punctual responses and a smooth renting process. If your offer expires, you can always message the renter to reinitiate the offer process.

If you accept an offer

Congratulations! When you accept an offer, the prospective tenant will be directed to submit payment as a show of good faith and financial commitment to the property. This is called the holding deposit, which will be 1 week's rent. For example, a property that costs £1,700 / month will cost £393 / week. The holding deposit would be 1 week's rent so, £393. For convenience, all listings show both monthly and weekly rent prices. If the tenant backs out after this point, some or all of the deposit will be refunded to you as compensation.

Once they put down the holding deposit, the listing will be officially taken off the market and reserved for them. Renters are asked to pay the holding deposit within 24 hours, otherwise, they risk losing the property. For example, if the renter does not pay the holding deposit, you as the owner may feel free to accept other offers.

The renter will then continue in the next step of the tenancy process, referencing.

Tenant Referencing

Once a renter has paid the holding deposit, within 24 hours they'll receive an email from our referencing partner, Goodlord, requesting documents and personal information for verification.

Tenant referencing assesses renters' tenant suitability by verifying key information:

ID
Credit Check
Income
Residential Status

Our partners assess the information gathered for these sections to produce a report showing their findings and a recommendation of tenant suitability. Referencing typically takes 3-5 days on average. If they pass referencing, a tenancy agreement will be drawn up for you and the renter to sign. Occasionally, renters may be a conditional pass, in which they will be able to move to the next step provided they meet certain requirements. Learn more about the referencing process here.

During this time, owners should prepare the necessary legal documents and certificates for the home.

Necessary Documents and Certificates

Before letting a property, an owner must legally show certain documents and certificates to the tenant to prove the home is safe and habitable. These documents may take a while to prepare or find, so we encourage you to start putting this together as soon as possible. For example, if your certificate is expired, you will need to obtain a new, valid one.

In compliance with housing regulation and laws, the required certificates and documents for the tenancy are as follows:

Tenancy Agreement

The tenancy agreement is a legally binding document that shall include the date of the contract, contact information for both you and the renter, as well as property details (e.g., address, parking spaces, amenities, etc.) The document also contains specifics about the tenancy, such as the type and length of the tenancy. You can view a sample agreement here.

A standard agreement will include the rental rights and obligations of each party, legal and safety regulations, rent details (e.g., the amount due, payment frequency, late fees, etc.) and any special conditions or terms agreed upon by both parties.

If everything looks good, sign on the dotted line to finalise the deal. As a part of the agreement, the renter will have to pay move-in monies like the security deposit and first month's rent, less the holding deposit, before moving in. We encourage tenants to pay move-in monies within 24 hours, however if their tenancy doesn't begin until months later, they may take longer.

Prepare the home

Arrange a move-in date and time with the tenant. Use our move-in checklist to prepare and remember important things for move-in, such as the inventory report or Right to Rent (RTR) Check. Make sure the property is clean, up to standards and ready for the tenant.

Move-in

It's official! Handover the keys to the tenant and give them a tour of the place. It's important to leave a good first impression. You want your landlord-tenant relationship off to a great start. It'll make the tenancy easier and increase their chances of renewing. It'll also make their move-in day less stressful. Learn more about help your tenants out during move-in.