26th Jun 2026 (2 days ago)
I had an extremely disappointing experience with this letting agency.<br><br>After viewing the property, I paid the holding deposit and completed all of the required checks. Everything was ready to proceed except for one issue: I could not provide my physical passport because it was being retained by the Home Office. This was completely outside of my control.<br><br>I provided every alternative document that the Home Office had issued to me, including my Right to Rent share code and my digital immigration status (eVisa). When I was asked for proof of my immigration status, I provided my eVisa exactly as requested. Despite this, I was still told that I needed to produce a physical passport.<br><br>The UK immigration system has moved to digital immigration status, and many people no longer receive physical immigration documents. The documents I provided were genuine Home Office documents and were the only documents available to me.<br><br>I genuinely have to ask: what is someone supposed to do in this situation? If the Home Office is retaining a person’s passport, does that mean they are not allowed to rent a property? I provided every form of evidence that the Home Office made available to me, yet I was still expected to produce a document that I simply could not access.<br><br>If my Right to Rent share code could not be verified, the correct procedure would have been to contact the Home Office using the Landlord Checking Service. Instead, I was repeatedly asked for a physical passport.<br><br>What made the situation even more upsetting was that, while I was still waiting for a response and only one week away from my planned move-in date, the property was advertised again for new viewings. I had already paid the holding deposit, completed everything requested of me and sent a detailed email explaining my circumstances. I received no reply, no explanation and no attempt to resolve the issue before the property was put back on the market.<br><br>To make matters worse, my holding deposit was retained. From my perspective, I did everything that was asked of me and provided every document that was available. The only thing I could not provide was a physical passport because it was being retained by the Home Office, which was entirely outside of my control.<br><br>This experience caused an enormous amount of unnecessary stress. I expected professionalism, communication and an understanding of the Home Office’s digital immigration system. Instead, I was ignored and left without answers.<br><br>I hope no one else has to go through the same experience.... Read more