Landlords can incur a number of costs when they accept a holding deposit, which means that they are no longer able to continue advertising their property to other prospective tenants. So, landlords may look to claim a tenant's holding deposit to help cover any costs that they've incurred. For the duration of the holding deposit claim, the landlord will not be able to accept another holding deposit for the property as per the Tenant Fees Act 2019. We've got a full guide to when a landlord is entitled to make a claim on a holding deposit here.
If a landlord makes a claim on a holding deposit then we'll let all the tenants know right away, by email. We'll also send a text to the lead tenant.
If the tenant accepts the landlord's claim
If the tenant(s) agree to the landlord's claim then the lead tenant can complete the forfeit through their OpenRent account.
If the tenant wants to challenge the landlord's claim
If the tenant doesn't accept the landlord's claim then the lead tenant can challenge the landlord's claim and upload any evidence they have to support their dispute. Tenants have at least 48 hours to respond to any claim from the landlord.
If the tenant chooses to dispute the claim then all of the information from both the landlord and the tenant will be reviewed by our disputes team.
We'll look to resolve any dispute as quickly as possible, within one working day where possible. However, we may occasionally need to contact you for more information which means it might take a bit longer to complete our review.
Once all of the information has been reviewed, we'll let everyone know the outcome of the review and explain why that decision has been made.
If you've got any questions then you are welcome to contact our support team here.
Information on this site is by way of general guidance only and may not apply in your particular circumstances. You should not act or refrain from acting upon information on this site without seeking independent legal advice.