Deposits firm offers landlords additional sixth week of cover for free
Unusual product from Zero Deposit comes as no cost to landlords, agent or tenant, says CEO Sam Reynolds.
Zero Deposit is to launch a product that will enable agents to offer landlords protection of up to six weeks’ worth of rent regardless of the deposit involved.
CEO Sam Reynolds (main picture) tells The Neg that his firm’s new product will officially launch at the end of next month but is the result of months of preparation and testing with existing customer agents.
Called Deposit+ it adds one week’s extra cover for landlords on top of the statutory five-week cash deposit. It is designed to provide an advantage to Zero Deposit agents in winning new instructions.
Property firms can offer landlords more cover across all properties, not just those let with a deposit replacement product, says Reynolds.
He claims this will give agents who use Deposit+ a unique selling point when persuading landlords to instruct them as the product comes at no extra cost to the landlord, agent or tenant.
Reynolds says recent industry research that the lifetime value of a landlord instruction is £17,000.
To access the policy, the property must be advertised on the portals with Zero Deposit, and the cash deposit and the Zero Deposit Guarantee options are offered as a ‘balanced choice to the tenant’.
Zero Deposit is able to achieve this zero-cost product via an insurance policy underwritten by Equitable Rental Insurance Limited, the insurer backed by many of the UK’s largest agents.
“Also, with the cost of living crisis, it’s clear that landlords are increasingly nervous about the amount of cover available to them at the end of tenancy,” says Reynolds.
“This product provides additional security and comfort with no cost to the landlord. Tenants equally benefit from having more deposit choices and improved financial flexibility when they move home. Everyone wins.”
Read more about ‘cash-less’ alternative deposits.
