We strongly recommend the use of our Rent Now service to tenants when setting up a tenancy. When you use Rent Now, OpenRent can guarantee the safety of your funds.
If the landlord asks for a Holding Deposit directly, you are right to approach the situation with caution. You should take a receipt for the Holding Deposit (which should not be more than the equivalent of one week's rent) and ask the Landlord to confirm in writing what terms the Holding Deposit will be governed by. You will also want to be sure of their identity, for instance, by asking to see some proof of ID like a driving licence or passport.
Please note that, even if you follow these guidelines, we cannot guarantee the safety of tenant money unless our Rent Now process is used.
With that said, many landlords do prefer to create tenancies themselves and this needn't necessarily be a cause for concern. Please feel free to tell the landlord that you would be more comfortable if we were to arrange the tenancy on their behalf using the Rent Now process, but bear in mind they might not be willing to change their mind on this.
If you are proceeding outside of Rent Now, you may find our full guide on setting up a tenancy with a private landlord useful.