Provide deposit replacement with Zero Deposit

Alto has integrated with Zero Deposit, who offer a deposit-free alternative to make renting easier and fairer. With Zero Deposit, renters have the option of moving without putting down a cash deposit. Instead, they pay a smaller upfront payment of either 1 week’s rent or a monthly fee that ends at 12 months.

Plus, guarantee your landlords 6 weeks' protection on every tenancy, even when tenants pay a cash deposit. 

This article includes: 

• What are the benefits of using Zero Deposit?
• Setting up the integration
• How does the integration work?
• FAQs

• What are the benefits of using Zero Deposit?

  • Boost demand - Become a no-deposit letting agent and make your properties even more appealing and affordable for prospective tenants
  • Earn commission - Get additional revenue every time your customer selects Zero Deposit. A successful referral can result in you earning 10% of the weekly rental amount for the property
  • Built-in guarantees - Remove concerns for landlords with financial protection equalling 6 weeks rent - for both Zero Deposit and cash options
  • Protect your customers - Your tenants' deposit options are presented through an FCA-regulated process so your landlords and tenants are in safe hands
  • Save time - Zero Deposit will contact your tenants to arrange the deposit protection. You’ll avoid potential errors and save time on the admin
  • Empower your tenants - With over 70% of tenants borrowing to fund their deposit, Zero Deposit gives tenants more budget flexibility around their move

  Setting up the integration

  If you would like to request access, whether you're an existing Zero Deposit customer or if you want to get set up as a new customer:

  1. Click Tools on the main toolbar
  2. In the dropdown menu, click Integrations
  3. Click the Tenant Onboarding category
  4. Below Zero Deposit, click Tell me more
     1. If you're an existing Zero Deposit customer and want to integrate your account with Alto, click Integrate Zero Deposit. Slide the toggle indicating you have an account and click Integrate, at which point your request will be sent
     2. If you're a new customer wanting to get set up with Zero Deposit, click Register interest. Complete the short form and click Submit. Zero Deposit will then contact you to set up a no-obligation chat so you can find out more about them and how they integrate with Alto

  How does the integration work?

  Ensure your Landlords are opted into Zero Deposit

  Initially, you must speak to the landlord(s) to ensure they're happy to opt in to accept Zero Deposit tenants for their properties.

  Once the landlord(s) have opted in, and you've integrated your account, you can mark them as opted in to Zero Deposit within Alto.

  1. Click Contacts on the main toolbar
  2. Select the relevant landlord contact from Recent & Favourite Contacts
     1. Alternatively, find the landlord contact using the Search Contacts bar in the top right
  3. Click Overview on the side menu
  4. Click Make a referral
     1. If Zero Deposit is the only referral integration you have activated, you'll be taken to the Automation set-up page
     2. If you have multiple referral integrations activated, click Automated referral settings so that you're taken to the Automation set-up page
  5. Tick to opt the landlord in to accepting Zero Deposit tenants
  6. Click Update

  

  Update Alto when referencing has passed, for auto-referrals 

  When a tenancy has a Proposed status within Alto, if it's linked to an opted in landlord, a banner will always be visible at the top of the record where you can select if tenant Referencing has Passed or Failed.
  

  From the landlords Contacts record:

  1. Click Properties on the side menu and select the relevant property
  2. Click Tenancies on the side menu and select the relevant Proposed tenancy
  3. Within the banner
     1. if tenant Referencing has passed, click Passed. An entry will be recorded on the Timeline and a referral will automatically be sent to Zero Deposit
     2. if tenant Referencing has failed, click Failed. An entry will be recorded on the Timeline.
        Should details later change, you can reset the Referencing status from the banner or the Timeline entry

  

  Zero Deposit will then contact the tenant to sign them up and explain their deposit options. You'll then be informed of the tenants decision.

  • If they select Zero Deposit, they can purchase straight away and you’ll earn commission
  • If they opt for a Cash Deposit, Zero Deposit display your bank details for payment and top up the cover with an extra weeks’ protection – at no extra cost

  FAQs

  I haven't integrated with Zero Deposit - can I still record the Zero Deposit scheme for tenants?

  If you haven't integrated with Zero Deposit, you're still able to manually record if a tenant’s deposit is registered with the Zero Deposit Guarantee within Alto.

  1. Click Progressions on the main toolbar
  2. Within Lettings on the side menu, click All Lettings
  3. In the Status dropdown menu, click In Progress
  4. Click the relevant property in the list for the tenancy on the Zero Deposit scheme
     1. Alternatively, find the property using the Search Lettings bar in the top right
  5. Click Edit Tenancy
  6. You can now make changes to the deposit scheme
     1. Deposit Required - This can be set as 0
     2. Deposit Scheme - In the dropdown menu, click Zero Deposit
  7. Click Save

  

  Any information relating to this tenancy and their security with the Zero Deposit Guarantee scheme can be added to the comments on the tenancy.

  1. Click Tenancies on the main toolbar
  2. Select the relevant tenancy from Recent & Favourite Tenancies
     1.  Alternatively, find the tenancy using the Search Tenancies bar in the top right
  3. Click Tenancy on the side menu
  4. Click the Deposit top tab
  5. In General Notes, add additional details as required

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