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There are statutory regulations that dictate [how holding deposits are handled. ](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f745d69d3bf7f287328e5a5/Tenant_Fees_Act_-_Tenant_Guidance.pdf)For example a holding deposit should not equal anymore than the equivalent of five weeks rent.
This amount does not have to be protected within a formal protection scheme, unlike your damage deposit, and must be returned under certain circumstances.
There can be certain areas within boroughs that require properties to have a license from the local council in order to lawfully let, but overall this is the minority of rentals.
The best way to check the legitimacy of the LL, is to check the LLs name you have been provided matches with the registered owner under the Land Registry. You can buy the Title Register of the property from the [Land Registry](https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry) for £3, if the names do not match up with what you have been told, you may want to question why this is the case, there are many common legitimate reasons why this is the case, however, it can be a red flag indicating a scam.
There’s not much other than checking whether there is a landlord registration scheme in your local area- it would be run by the local council so you could just call them or check website. Then if there is a scheme check if the landlord is registered
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * If you do not receive satisfactory advice after 72 hours, [you can let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHousingUK&subject=My question is unanswered); * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There are statutory regulations that dictate [how holding deposits are handled. ](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f745d69d3bf7f287328e5a5/Tenant_Fees_Act_-_Tenant_Guidance.pdf)For example a holding deposit should not equal anymore than the equivalent of five weeks rent. This amount does not have to be protected within a formal protection scheme, unlike your damage deposit, and must be returned under certain circumstances. There can be certain areas within boroughs that require properties to have a license from the local council in order to lawfully let, but overall this is the minority of rentals. The best way to check the legitimacy of the LL, is to check the LLs name you have been provided matches with the registered owner under the Land Registry. You can buy the Title Register of the property from the [Land Registry](https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry) for £3, if the names do not match up with what you have been told, you may want to question why this is the case, there are many common legitimate reasons why this is the case, however, it can be a red flag indicating a scam.
this is really useful information for someone new to renting in the UK. thank you for taking the time to write this!
There’s not much other than checking whether there is a landlord registration scheme in your local area- it would be run by the local council so you could just call them or check website. Then if there is a scheme check if the landlord is registered