What is an Advance Rent Payment?

An Advance Rent Payment (or ARP) is a payment you may be asked to make to secure your booking.

What’s the difference between a deposit and an Advance Rent Payment?

An ARP is like a deposit in that it’s required to secure your booking. However, instead of your ARP being refunded to you at the end of your tenancy like a deposit would be, it is deducted from your final rent instalment instead.

When do I need to pay the Advance Rent Payment?

A prompt to make the payment may appear during the final stage of the booking process, to ensure you secure your booking with your preferred property, room type, and tenancy length.

Do I have to pay a deposit and an Advance Rent Payment?

Nope! You’ll only be asked to make an ARP if you are booking at one of our properties in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you are booking at one of our Scottish properties, you may be required to pay a deposit, which will then be refunded to you at the end of your tenancy.

I want to rebook my room – do I need to make an Advance Rent Payment?

You don’t! If you are rebooking your room, no payments are required. You will only be asked to make an ARP if you are booking with us for the first time at one of our properties in England, Northern Ireland, or Wales. If you are rebooking your room at one of our Scottish properties, then your existing deposit will carry over to your new booking and will be refunded to you at the end of your tenancy. You will not need to pay an ARP, either.

Will my booking be cancelled if I don’t make the Advance Rent Payment?

If you are unable to make the ARP at the final stage of the booking process, then your booking won’t be confirmed, and you will need to start the process again. It’s important to note that if you decide to make a booking at a later date, the property, room type, and tenancy length you chose before may not be available.

Is my booking guaranteed once I make the Advance Rent Payment?

Once you have made the payment and confirmed that all details of your booking are correct, an account will be created for you and a confirmation email detailing your booking will be sent to you. However, your booking is not guaranteed just by making the Advance Rent Payment. You will need to accept the offer of accommodation emailed to you, as well as provide details for your guarantor and any documentation required, to secure your booking. It’s also important to note that any additional requests you make on your booking aren’t guaranteed by paying the ARP. Our property teams will try to accommodate additional requests as much as possible.

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What is an Advanced Rent Payment?

How to Book

You'll see a prompt to make an Advanced Rent Payment at the point of booking. Find out what this means here.

When making a booking with us, you may be asked to make an Advance Rent Payment towards the end of the booking journey. Wondering what an Advance Rent Payment is and why you need to pay it? We’ve got you covered.

Advance Rent Payments: your questions, answered

Which properties have Advance Rent Payment and which properties have deposits?

Advance Rent Payment

Bath (The Depot)
Belfast (Great Patrick Street, Little Patrick Street, Nelson Place, John Bell House, Swanston House)

Deposit

Aberdeen (Mealmarket Exchange and Pittodrie Street)
Edinburgh (Brewers Court, Lady Nicolson Court, Panmure Court, Portsburgh Court)

Exclusions

Bristol – bookings at our Zinc Works property will require an Advance Rent Payment of £250

*£0 deposits and Advance Rent Payments ends on 20 October 2025 at 23:59 BST.

More information on deposit and ARP Terms and Conditions can be found here

Will I need to pay a deposit?

Under certain circumstances, you may be required to pay a deposit. Find out more here.

How do I book a room?

So, you've selected a property and room and you're ready to make your booking. What next?