How to Advertise One Asking Rent and File the Decline of Any Bid Above It

The let is live on three channels at three wordings, and an applicant emails a higher rent to secure it. Set one monthly figure before anything is written. Paste that same number on the portal, the email, the social post and the particulars, and keep a dated copy of each. If anyone offers more — even unsolicited — decline in writing at the advertised figure and pick on referencing and affordability.

Tuesday. Bea’s 2-bed in Leeds. Rightmove shows £1,150 pcm; Facebook says “from £1,100”. An applicant emails “I’ll pay £1,250 to secure it” and she replies “thanks — that helps”. In July the council asks for the original advertised rent and the signed agreement, but the portal has been edited, Facebook is gone, and the email thread is the only file.

The problem is that nobody kept one figure, or a dated copy of each channel. An unsolicited higher offer is still rental bidding if you accept it. GOV.UK’s local-authority guide: advertise £1,050, accept an uninvited £1,200, and bidding has taken place. Typical mistake: “thanks — I’ll take the £1,250”.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

When to set one monthly figure before anything is written?

Write the monthly figure on the asking-rent tab before any portal, email or social post goes live. The proposed rent — the specific amount you will state — has to exist as one number. Do not go live with a range, “from”, “offers over” or “best and final”.

Do set £1,150 pcm, or the weekly figure you will actually let at, on paper first. s.56(2), in force 1 May 2026 by SI 2026/421: do not advertise or offer in writing unless the rent is a specific amount and the advert states it.

In practice, Bea should have written £1,150 once, then copied that cell. Do not leave the figure blank because “we’ll see after the first viewing”. A relevant person — landlord or anyone acting for them — who puts a different number in any written advert can become the stated rent.

Where to put the same number on every written channel?

Paste the same monthly figure on every written advert and keep a dated screenshot or PDF of each one. Written advert covers an online listing, printed advert, social post, email, text and DM. A mismatch invites the question which figure was the stated rent.

Do paste £1,150 on Rightmove, the particulars, Facebook and the email you send a viewer. GOV.UK for landlords: written advert means online listing, printed advert, social post, email, text or DM. The local-authority guide also lists a handwritten advert.

A To Let board that merely says the dwelling is to let need not show the rent. If it prints a figure, match the portal. Do file each channel with a date. Bea’s Facebook “from £1,100” would have been the file the council opened.

Which listing phrases fail the one-rent test?

A price range is not allowed. Neither is “from”, “offers over”, “guide price”, “POA”, or “best and final” if you will consider above the advert. A WhatsApp group inviting bids starting at the advertised figure is also a breach.

Do write one number. GOV.UK: a price range is not allowed. The local-authority guide’s worked examples: “best and final” plus considering above advertised is a breach; telling a viewer you have other bids to push them up is a breach.

Do not use the advert to screen out people on benefits or with children. For example, “£1,150 pcm” is the asking rent; “offers over £1,100” is an auction in a listing box.

What to write when someone offers more than the advertised rent?

Decline in writing at the advertised figure, invited or volunteered. Save their offer and your “the rent stays £X” reply next to the dated listing copies. Do not hint that a higher figure would help, and do not tell them another applicant offered more.

Do write: the rent stays £1,150; you will choose on referencing and affordability. s.56(3): do not invite, encourage or accept a higher offer. The same guide: accepting an unsolicited £1,200 against a £1,050 advert is bidding; declining and choosing on pre-tenancy checks is not.

For example, Bea’s “thanks — that helps” is the accept. A holding deposit is not a bid above asking — keep that money on the holding-deposit record. GOV.UK for tenants: a landlord cannot accept a bid above the advertised rent.

How do you pick the applicant if you cannot take the extra money?

Pick on referencing and affordability, not on who paid more. You may refuse a lower offer, or accept one. You may not take the person who volunteered more. Do not tell remaining viewers that someone else offered more.

Do file the checks you actually ran. After declining the overbid, the local-authority guide’s next example is choosing on standard pre-tenancy checks. A former-tenant letter belongs on the former-tenant reference card — do not write that letter here.

The risk is picking “whoever pays most” because three people viewed. NRLA: you will not be allowed to accept offers over the asking price; agents acting for you are in scope.

What to clip on the asking-rent tab?

Clip one tab: the monthly figure, a dated copy of every written channel, every overbid, and every written decline. Label it asking-rent-YYYY-MM-DD. That is the file if the council asks for the original advertised rent.

Do file the clip next to the live agreement in the tenancy agreement folder. Workflow: set one figure → paste on every written channel → dated copy → decline any overbid in writing → pick on referencing and affordability → clip the tab. Success bar: every channel shows £1,150; the £1,250 offer has a written decline. Verify that checklist.

The asking rent is a listing ceiling, not who paid which period — that row lives on the rent schedule. A local housing authority may impose a financial penalty of up to £7,000. s.57. An IziRento workspace can hold the listing copies and the decline note on that lease.