Is OpenRent safe? A 2026 review for landlords and tenants

Yes, OpenRent is a safe and legitimate service for both landlords and tenants when you keep every payment inside its platform. OpenRent Ltd is an active UK company, registered at Companies House as number 07749632 since August 2011. It belongs to The Property Ombudsman redress scheme and holds tenant money in a segregated client account covered by Propertymark Client Money Protection, according to OpenRent's own FAQ. Through its Rent Now service, no money reaches the landlord until the tenant has moved in. The real risk on OpenRent, as on any listing site, comes from fraudsters who copy adverts or push people to pay outside the platform. This review covers OpenRent's safety record, its fees as at 20 October 2026, what reviewers say, and where its service stops.

Is OpenRent legit?

OpenRent is a genuine online letting agent, not a classifieds board, and it carries the same core protections a high street agent must hold. We checked each of the following on 20 October 2026.

Company registration
OpenRent Ltd (company number 07749632) is active, was incorporated on 23 August 2011 under the name Techbeard Ltd and took its current name in April 2013. Its registered office is in Altrincham, Cheshire, while its website lists a London correspondence address.

Redress scheme
OpenRent's terms confirm it is a member of The Property Ombudsman, which means landlords and tenants can escalate an unresolved complaint to an independent body. Letting agents in England must belong to a government-approved redress scheme, so this membership is a legal requirement rather than a bonus.

Client money protection
OpenRent states that holding deposits, rent and deposits sit in a segregated client account protected by the government-authorised Propertymark Client Money Protection scheme. It also lists membership of ARLA Propertymark.

Scotland and Wales
OpenRent publishes a Scottish letting agent registration number (LARN1809026) and a Rent Smart Wales licence (LR-75033-48352) on its FAQ page, so it can legally let property in all three nations of Great Britain.

Scale
OpenRent says more than nine million people have used it and that it has created over 1.78 million tenancies. Those are the company's own figures; we have not independently audited them.

We could not find an OpenRent membership number for either the redress or client money scheme on its website, and we did not confirm its entry on the ICO data protection register. Anyone who wants certainty can check membership directly with The Property Ombudsman and Propertymark.

Is OpenRent safe for tenants?

OpenRent is safe for tenants who pay through Rent Now, because OpenRent holds the money and only passes it to the landlord once the tenant has moved in. OpenRent's help centre explains that it collects the holding deposit, registers the security deposit and collects the first month's rent on the tenant's behalf. The holding deposit counts towards the first month's rent once the contract is signed, and the tenant receives a refund if the landlord declines. OpenRent describes a ten-day waiting period before releasing rent as one of its defences against rogue landlords.

Security deposits paid through OpenRent are protected with mydeposits, one of the government-approved schemes. Tenants also pay no admin fees, which matches the ban on most letting fees under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

The protection has a clear limit. If a tenant agrees to pay a landlord directly by bank transfer, OpenRent cannot hold or refund that money. Most tenant complaints about losing money on OpenRent involve payments made outside the platform.

Is OpenRent safe for landlords?

OpenRent is safe for landlords in the sense that it is a regulated agent that passes on rent it collects, and it gives landlords tools to screen applicants before handing over keys. Landlords take two main risks on the platform: fake or misleading applicants, and the gap between what OpenRent does at the start of a tenancy and what the landlord must handle afterwards.

On applicants, OpenRent offers referencing at £30 per tenant or guarantor. Independent landlord bloggers also warn about rent-to-rent operators posing as ordinary tenants, and about applicants who ask to move the conversation off the platform. If you prefer to run checks yourself, our guide to credit checking a tenant sets out the process, and our comparison of tenant referencing services shows how OpenRent's referencing compares with specialist providers.

On the second risk, OpenRent finds the tenant and creates the tenancy, but the landlord stays responsible for compliance, rent arrears and repairs unless they pay for OpenRent's add-ons. In our work with self-managing landlords, the problems that surface after an OpenRent let are rarely about the letting itself; they are about a gas safety renewal nobody diarised or a late payment noticed weeks after the due date.

OpenRent scams: how they work and how to avoid them

Rental scams target every listing site, and OpenRent's popularity makes its brand a common disguise. Which? reported that people lost more than £4.2 million to rental fraud in 2023, citing Action Fraud data, with an average loss of £1,720 per victim. The patterns below recur in reports and on OpenRent's own forum.

Fake OpenRent websites
In September 2024, The Negotiator reported a scam in which a fraudster advertised a real house on Facebook and asked for £1,420 through a copycat site whose address differed slightly from openrent.co.uk. Always type the address yourself rather than following a link sent by a "landlord".

Copied listings
Scammers lift photos and descriptions from genuine adverts and repost them at a lower rent. A reverse image search, or a check against Google Street View, often exposes them.

Money before a viewing
OpenRent's own scam guidance advises extreme caution if anyone asks for money before you have seen the property, and it says off-platform deals are something it never recommends. Action Fraud gives the same advice: visit the property before you pay and refuse pressure to transfer large sums quickly.

Unusual payment methods
Get Safe Online warns against paying through money transfer services, and Which? adds cash, cryptocurrency and gift cards to the list. Paying by credit card can add a layer of protection.

Landlord-side scams
Landlords face fake tenant enquiries, phishing emails that imitate OpenRent, and identity fraud. Our entry on property fraud explains how fraudsters target owners directly.

If you suspect a scam, use the Report Listing button on the OpenRent advert and report the loss to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or to Police Scotland on 101.

OpenRent fees for landlords in 2026

OpenRent charges landlords a one-off fee for advertising and tenancy set-up, with optional monthly services on top. The prices below come from OpenRent's pricing page, checked on 20 October 2026; confirm them before you buy, because they change without notice.

OpenRent Advertising: free
A listing on OpenRent's own site only, with no obligation to upgrade.

Portal Advertising: £29 including VAT
Lists the property on OpenRent and more than 100 partner sites, including Zoopla. OpenRent's FAQ describes this as £29 for four months on the portals. Rightmove is an optional extra, and the pricing page does not show its price.

Advertising + Rent Now: £58 including VAT
Adds contract drafting, online signing, deposit registration, initial rent collection, document serving and a notice tool. OpenRent displays this against a £108 reference price.

Referencing: £30 per person
Charged for each tenant and each guarantor.

Rent Collection: £10 a month
Monthly collection of rent through OpenRent's client account.

Management Plus: £19 a month
Includes up to three fixes a year.

Rent Guarantee Insurance: £299 for 12 months
Only available after successful OpenRent referencing.

Certificates and services
Gas safety certificate from £55, EPC from £69, electrical safety (EICR and PAT) from £95, inventory and check-in or check-out from £95, professional photos and floor plans from £79, accompanied viewings from £49, mid-tenancy inspections from £82. Section 8 notices are free in England.

For a couple renting a flat, a landlord who buys Advertising + Rent Now and references both tenants pays £118 up front (£58 plus 2 × £30), then £10 a month if they add rent collection. That is far below the typical tenant-find fee charged by a high street agent, which our property management fees calculator lets you estimate for your own rent.

OpenRent reviews: what landlords and tenants say

OpenRent holds a TrustScore of 4.4 out of 5 from 8,526 reviews on Trustpilot, as at 20 October 2026, with 80% of reviewers giving five stars and 11% giving one star. The profile is claimed, and OpenRent replies to 85% of negative reviews.

What reviewers praise
Low cost compared with high street agents, a clear step-by-step process, control over tenant selection, and fast letting.

What reviewers criticise
Slow or hard-to-reach customer service, particularly on referencing and account problems; rigid refund policies on unused Rent Now credits; variable quality from third-party inventory clerks; and disputes about rent timing and property condition.

The pattern is consistent: OpenRent scores well on the transaction and less well when something goes wrong and a landlord or tenant needs a person to resolve it.

What the Renters' Rights Act changed for OpenRent users in England

Since 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has changed how every landlord in England advertises and lets, including those using OpenRent. The government's Housing Hub summarises the main changes, verified on 20 October 2026.

A fixed advertised rent
Written adverts must state a specific rent, not a range, and landlords and agents cannot invite or accept offers above it. Councils can fine breaches up to £7,000, according to gov.uk's rental bidding guidance. Our dictionary entry on rental bidding covers the detail.

One month's rent in advance at most
Landlords cannot take rent before the tenancy agreement is signed, and between signing and the start date they can ask for no more than one month's rent (or 28 days' rent for weekly tenancies), as gov.uk's rent in advance guidance sets out. Holding deposits stay capped at one week's rent and tenancy deposits at five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000. See rent in advance for how this affects upfront payments.

Periodic tenancies and no Section 21
Most tenancies are now assured periodic tenancies with no fixed term, and landlords can only regain possession on a valid statutory ground. Any tenancy agreement OpenRent drafts for an English property must reflect this.

No blanket bans
Landlords and agents cannot refuse tenants because they have children or receive benefits.

Our Renters' Rights hub on the new tenancy landscape covers these rules in full. Scotland and Wales have their own tenancy regimes, and the Act does not apply there.

What OpenRent does not do

OpenRent is strongest at the letting stage: advertising, applications, referencing and tenancy creation. Once the tenant moves in, landlords who have not bought Rent Collection or Management Plus run the tenancy themselves. Common gaps include tracking whether rent arrived on time in the landlord's own bank account, renewing certificates before they expire, storing tenancy documents in one place, keeping a record of messages with tenants, and producing figures for Making Tax Digital.

OpenRent is not a full-service letting agent by default. Its core offer is closer to a tenant-find service delivered online.

Using OpenRent with August

August does not list properties, so it does not replace OpenRent for finding tenants. If advertising is your priority, OpenRent is a strong choice, and our list of websites to advertise your rental property oncompares it with the alternatives.

August picks up where the letting ends. Landlords who come to August after letting through OpenRent tend to tell us the same thing: finding the tenant was the easy part, and keeping on top of the tenancy for the next few years is where they wanted help.

Rent tracking
August connects to your bank through open banking and matches incoming payments to each tenancy, so you see a missed payment on the day it happens. August provides this service as an agent of Plaid Financial Ltd (FCA FRN 804718). See how rent tracking in August works.

Compliance reminders
August reminds you before gas safety, EICR, EPC and other certificates expire. Its compliance checklist for landlords includes separate guided journeys for England and Wales and for Scotland.

Documents
Store tenancy agreements, certificates and inventories against each property in August's document store.

Tenant messaging
Two-way tenant messaging keeps a written record of every conversation, which matters if a dispute reaches the deposit scheme or a court.

Making Tax Digital
August is HMRC-recognised software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and MTD is free on all plans.

If you are weighing August against other landlord platforms rather than against OpenRent, our comparison of property management software for UK landlords sets out the options. Tenants looking for their own tools can read our guide to the best tenant apps in the UK.

Who OpenRent suits, and who it does not

OpenRent suits self-managing landlords who are comfortable vetting tenants, want wide portal coverage for a low one-off fee, and plan to manage the tenancy themselves or with separate software. It suits tenants who want to deal directly with landlords without agency fees, provided they pay only through OpenRent.

It suits landlords less well if they want a named property manager to handle problems, live far from the property and cannot do viewings or inspections without paying for each one, or need a fast human response when something goes wrong.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to pay a deposit on OpenRent?

Yes, if you pay through OpenRent's Rent Now process. OpenRent holds the holding deposit, first month's rent and security deposit in a protected client account and protects the security deposit with mydeposits. Never pay a deposit by bank transfer directly to someone you met on OpenRent.

Can you trust landlords on OpenRent?

Most landlords on OpenRent are genuine private landlords, and OpenRent gives a verified badge to landlords who set up a tenancy through Rent Now. Treat any landlord who asks for money before a viewing, or who wants to deal off-platform, as a warning sign.

Is OpenRent a letting agent?

Yes. OpenRent is an online letting agent that belongs to The Property Ombudsman and Propertymark Client Money Protection. Unlike a traditional agent, it charges landlords fixed fees rather than a percentage of rent, and it does not manage the property unless the landlord pays for its add-ons.

Is OpenRent free for landlords?

A listing on OpenRent's own website is free. Portal advertising costs £29 and Advertising + Rent Now costs £58, both including VAT, with referencing at £30 per person, as at 20 October 2026.

What happens after OpenRent creates my tenancy?

You become responsible for collecting rent, keeping certificates current, handling repairs and keeping records for HMRC. August gives you a single place to do that, and you can start with August for free.