The last thing you want to deal with is paperwork and technicalities when you’re so excited about your new office space! After the launch of our booking feature we’ve been continuing to work on ensuring that moving office is as seamless as possible. We want to reduce your stress and the number of things you need to worry about, so we now collect, hold and protect your deposit for you — one more little thing to make your life easier when you’re looking for an office.
Psst. If you are primarily a host – check out our post on what deposits mean for you.
Your deposit is protected
Unlike when you move into a new flat, office space deposits are not covered by the tenancy deposit scheme. Most of the time they sit in the operating bank accounts of your host. Generally this is fine (our hosts are very trustworthy people) but we understand that this can make you feel uneasy. Mistakes happen, chairs get broken, desks pick up coffee stains, and the last thing anyone wants is a fight over the deposit. If your deposit is in your landlord’s operating bank account, they can spend it (accidentally or otherwise) on normal business costs, which means it is not safe. So we’ve added a layer of protection for your money.
A simple, seamless system
It’s so simple that you will barely notice the change. If your host requires a deposit, you will be notified and it will be deducted immediately following a successful booking. The deposit will always be for the amount of one month of rent. We then hold this in our secure dedicated deposit account (completely separate from our operational account). When you move out of the space, your host will decide whether to release all, none or a partial amount of your deposit. You’ll need to resolve any disputes directly with your host, but of course we’re on hand to offer help and advise if you need it. You can read more about this process in the Deposit Fee section of our License Rules.
Trust via partners
To protect your deposits we use specialist third parties for each part of the process:
GoCardless for collecting. Transferring your deposit has to be simple and secure. We do this via DirectDebit; the exact same way you make a rental payment each month. GoCardless collect millions of pounds each day and use military-grade security.
Metro Bank for holding. They provide our secure dedicated deposit account. As Britain’s first new High Street Bank in over 100 years, they have unparalleled levels of service, convenience and security.
Taylor Wessing for protecting. We want to keep your deposit protected in any scenario and so our license rules have been reviewed by top industry lawyers.
Your feedback matters
Holding, collecting and protecting your deposit is just a small part of moving into a new office. We want to continue to make finding and moving into your new office simpler and easier. If you have any ideas about what would help you, please get in touch with your feedback, suggestions or questions to tom@hubblehq.com.
