Frequently Asked Questions

Upad is the UK’s largest online letting agent. We save tenants and landlords money by making renting a more efficient and transparent process without the usual middleman.

As a tenant you will get to deal with the landlord directly from day one. When you enquire about a property we will send you the landlord’s details and send your details to them. You can then contact the landlord directly to discuss the property and arrange a viewing.

The only fee Upad charges tenants is for our comprehensive referencing service. The fee for referencing is £75 (£62.50 + VAT) per individual tenant and guarantor. We don’t charge any other “admin” fees or any renewal fees.

For some properties the landlord may charge additional fees to cover other services such as inventories. These fees are clearly stated in the property advertising, but it’s always worth confirming them with the landlord when you enquire about a property.

If you have seen a property you’re interested in via a lettings site such as Rightmove or Zoopla, you can enquire directly on the advert by clicking ‘Request Details’ and filling in your contact information or calling the number in the ad. In order for us to send your details on to the landlord, please remember to click the link in the email we send you to confirm you are happy for us to pass on this information.

We encourage our landlords to act professionally and contact every enquiring tenant even if the property has been let. Our landlords may receive many enquiries for their property and it may take some time for them to get back to you.

As we are a national online letting agent unfortunately we can’t help with property searches for a specific area. You can search the properties we currently have available here.

You can set up a viewing with the landlord directly, Upad do not arrange or carry out viewings on behalf of landlords.

Unless stated on the advert (usually written in the Full Description of the property), you will need to contact the landlord directly to find out if they will accept applicants in receipt of benefits.

There are 4 parts to our referencing service:

1. Affordability: where your salary or, if there are multiple tenants, combined salaries need to cover 2.5 times the annual rent. You can check this yourself by calculating your annual salary (after tax) plus savings, bonuses or commission to see if covers the monthly rent x 12 (annual rent) x 2.5. For example;
   
   Monthly rent:£1200pcm
   £1200 x 12= £14400 x 2.5
   = £36,000
   
   Your salary £25,000
   Your partner's salary £20,000
   Savings: £1000
   Annual bonuses: £2000
   = £48,000
2. Credit check: We will need to run a credit check on your file which will highlight bad credit history. If you know you have bad credit history you should disclose this to the landlord before referencing begins
3. Current employer reference: We need to double check the salary and contract information you’ve given us is accurate so we will contact your employer for a written reference
4. Previous landlord / agent reference: We will need to speak to your previous landlord or the managing agent to ensure there was no adverse behaviour (i.e. extensive damage to the property) or unpaid rent

It’s difficult to put a timeframe on the referencing process as there are many different factors to consider but the average is 3-5 working days. Ensure you make payment and fill out the forms sent to you by L4L as quickly as possible so we can start carrying out checks. If possible, notify your employer and previous landlord/ agent that they will be contacted for a reference as this can delay the process.

We will send you a link by email to make the payment of £75 (£62.50 + VAT) for referencing online. There is no need to make the payment over the phone as it can be processed online much quicker.

If your landlord is using Upad to draw up the tenancy paperwork, you will make payment of the first month’s rent and deposit only once you have viewed a copy of the tenancy agreement and are happy with the terms. A member of our team will call you to confirm your details and will then send you a payment link.

You sign the agreement once your payment of the first month’s rent and deposit has cleared into our account. You will see a copy of the agreement before you make payment and will speak to a member of the team if you have any questions.

EchoSign (Adobe Document Cloud) is service that allows users to review and sign documents electronically. Landlords and tenants are able to view their tenancy agreement and suggest changes – or sign the document – from anywhere, using any device, including tablets and smartphones.

By using EchoSign to manage the signature process, we significantly decrease the amount of time required for the involved parties to sign a tenancy agreement, ensuring a smooth and efficient administration process.

You can find more information here: https://www.echosign.adobe.com/en/about-e-signatures.html

Your deposit will be returned to you within 10 days from the date of agreement with the landlord. The landlord may propose deductions to the deposit for cleaning, damages or unpaid rent (this is assessed by comparing the inventory check-in to the check-out) and provided you agree with this, the money will be in your account within 10 days.

If you disagree with the proposed deductions, you should try and come to an agreement with the landlord. If this cannot be done, you will need to raise a dispute with the deposit protection service where an independent adjudicator will assess the evidence and decide how much of the deposit will go to your and/ or the landlord.