Holding deposits and what happens next

Once you've found a home you'd like, you may be asked for a holding deposit to reserve it while checks are done. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 sets clear rules about it.

How much, and for how long

• No more than one week's rent. That's the yearly rent divided by 52. For a home at £900 a month, the most is £207.69.
• Reserved for 15 days, counting the day the deposit is received, unless you and the landlord agree a different date in writing.
• Read first. The government suggests reading, and keeping a copy of, the tenancy agreement before you pay a holding deposit.

When you get it back

It must be repaid within 7 days if:

• you sign the tenancy (unless you agree it goes towards your first rent or your tenancy deposit),
• the landlord decides not to go ahead, or
• the deadline passes without a tenancy being agreed.

The only times it can be kept

• You give false or misleading information that matters to the decision.
• You fail a Right to Rent check, and the landlord couldn't reasonably have known that before taking the deposit.
• You tell the landlord you've decided not to go ahead.
• You don't take all reasonable steps to agree the tenancy by the deadline, while the landlord does.

If it's kept, you must be told why in writing within 7 days. If you aren't, it has to be repaid. And if a landlord asks for a banned fee, or behaves in a way that makes it unreasonable to expect you to sign, it must be repaid even if you then decide not to go ahead.

What happens next

1. The key terms in writing. Before you sign, you must be given written information about your tenancy's main terms.
2. Signing. No rent can be taken before you sign. After signing, the most you can be asked for before the tenancy starts is the first month's rent (28 days' if you pay weekly).
3. Your deposit is protected. A tenancy deposit must be placed in a government approved scheme within 30 days. See your deposit.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 left the holding deposit rules themselves unchanged. If you think a holding deposit has been kept unfairly, you can contact the local council or the First-tier Tribunal. See also what a landlord can charge.

Find out more

• Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (GOV.UK)
• Rent in advance and deposits (GOV.UK)
• Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 2 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Act 1988, section 16D: written terms (legislation.gov.uk)