Tenants can offer a holding deposit at any point during the time your property is advertised.
Until you accept that holding deposit, your property will remain online. You will have 96 hours to respond to a proposed holding deposit before we'll automatically refund it.
When you accept the holding deposit we take your property offline and inform all previous enquiries that the property is no longer available.
You can find out more about why your property is taken offline here.
There's no need to get back in touch with tenants to cancel viewings - we do this for you by informing them the property is no longer available upon you accepting the holding deposit.
You can find out more about the next stages in Rent Now here
What if I have accepted a deposit but have not progressed?
Once you accept a holding deposit deposit, you have 96 hours to progress to the referencing stage on OpenRent or issue the contract. Most people will do this straight away.
We understand that some people may want more time, or wish to reference off-platform, but it is important that tenants holding deposits do not remain in limbo. When a holding deposit is accepted but you do not proceed to the referencing stage on OpenRent or issue the contract, the tenant is still awaiting the next steps of their application.
We therefore suggest returning the deposit to the tenants if you do not intend to progress within this time frame. The tenants can always place the deposit again later when you are ready. A landlord cannot claim the holding deposit when they have not progressed to the referencing stage on OpenRent or issued the contract, as they cannot be said to have taken all reasonable steps to enter the tenancy at this point.