Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the contemporary operating model used by letting agencies whereby potential tenants are not permitted to view the full terms of the draft tenancy agreement before paying a non-refundable deposit.

Landlords are entitled to require a holding deposit of up to a week's rent in order to reserve a property. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 sets out the circumstances in which a landlord can retain a holding deposit, depending on the facts of the case.

Where a local authority finds a landlord has retained a holding deposit outside of the circumstance permitted by the Act, they can issue a financial penalty of up to £5000.