Canopy, the rental platform, has signed up to new partnership with Zero Deposit to provide deposit replacement to its agent community.

The new partnership includes access to its new product Flex which allows tenants to move at a monthly cost starting at £3.75.

With Zero Deposit, renters are able to move without putting down a cash deposit and is the category’s only fully regulated insurance-backed Guarantee. Instead, they pay a small upfront payment of either one week’s rent or a monthly fee that ends at 12 months.

The Zero Deposit Guarantee will be offered to Canopy’s letting agent partners as part of an integrated experience.

Chris Hutchinson, CEO of Canopy, said: “Traditional deposits are one of the key pain points while looking for a first rental property or moving to a new one. We have first hand knowledge of this market and of the traditional schemes. We strongly believe Zero Deposit is the stand out option.

“The launch of Flex is a significant innovation within deposit replacement and solves the Lifetime Deposit challenge which we’re strongly advocating for our agent partners. We’re delighted to add them to our ecosystem.”

Sam Reynolds, CEO of Zero Deposit, added: “We see a natural synergy with our product and Canopy’s mission to improve the financial health of the nation’s tenants; and are delighted to make an immediate impact with our new partnership with Rettie & Co. We’re focussed on radically improving renting which is exemplified through these partnerships.”

The new collaboration launches with 17-branch agency Rettie & Co who already use Canopy’s RentPassport, and will be adding Zero Deposit’s deposit replacement alternative.

Gillian McLees, director of Build to Rent at Rettie & Co, commented; “We are committed to the financial health of our tenants and working with Zero Deposit provides a fair and innovative alternative to a cash deposit. As landlords ourselves, we highly value the security and additional protection of an insurance-backed alternative.”