A booking request is how you apply for a listing on Uniplaces. You submit your details to the landlord, who accepts or declines — and you are only charged if they accept.
What is a booking request?
A booking request is the formal application to rent a specific listing on Uniplaces. Instead of contacting the landlord outside the platform, you submit the request through Uniplaces — with your dates, personal details and a short message — and the landlord decides whether to accept.
Some listings are confirmed instantly. With Instant Booking listings you still send a booking request, but it is accepted automatically — there’s no waiting for the landlord to review it. For every other listing, the landlord reviews your request before deciding.
What happens when you send a request?
As soon as you send the request, the landlord is notified by email. Three things can happen from there:
- The landlord accepts — your payment is processed automatically and the booking is confirmed. You receive an email with the landlord’s contact details and move-in instructions.
- The landlord declines — the request closes and you are not charged. You can search for another listing straight away.
- The landlord doesn’t respond — the request expires automatically and you are not charged.
You can follow the status of every request you’ve sent in your Personal Dashboard, including how long the landlord still has to reply.
What information does the landlord see?
When your request arrives, the landlord can see:
- Your name and bio from your Uniplaces profile
- Your intended move-in and move-out dates
- The message you wrote in the request
The landlord does not see your payment details — that information is held securely by Uniplaces and only processed if your request is accepted. A complete bio and a friendly message significantly increase your chances of being accepted — treat it like a first introduction.
Are you charged when you send a request?
No. Your card is only charged when the landlord accepts your request. You enter your payment details at the point of submission, but no payment is taken while your request is pending, if it is declined, or if it expires.
When you submit a request, your bank may place a temporary authorisation on the amount to confirm the card is valid. This is not a charge — the money stays in your account. If the request is declined or expires, the authorisation is released automatically, though it can take a few working days to disappear from your statement depending on your bank.
Once a booking is confirmed, Uniplaces processes the first month’s rent and the service fee. The amount is held by the platform and only transferred to the landlord 24 hours after you move in — this is the 24-hour safety period, which protects you if the property doesn’t match the listing.
What happens after the landlord accepts?
Once the landlord accepts, your booking is confirmed and there are no further required steps on your side. You receive by email:
- The booking confirmation with your reference number
- The landlord’s contact details (email and phone)
- The property address and any move-in instructions
- Your receipt for the Uniplaces service fee — the rent is paid to your landlord, so it is not covered by this receipt
From there, you can contact the landlord directly to arrange your arrival. For more on what to do after confirmation, see My Booking Is Confirmed — What Happens Next?
Frequently asked questions
Can I send requests to multiple listings at once?
Yes — you can have more than one request pending at the same time. As soon as one of them is confirmed, all your other pending requests are cancelled automatically, so you can’t end up with two bookings by mistake.
Can I cancel a request after sending it?
Yes — while the request is still pending, you can cancel it from your Personal Dashboard at no cost. Once the landlord has accepted, the listing’s cancellation policy applies.
Can the landlord contact me before accepting?
No — direct communication between tenant and landlord only becomes available once the booking is confirmed. Until then, the only information the landlord has about you is what’s on your profile and in the request message.
How will I know if the request was accepted?
You receive a confirmation email as soon as the landlord accepts. You can also check the status of all your requests in your Personal Dashboard at any time.
Can the landlord change the listing after I’ve sent the request?
Landlords can update their listings at any time. What matters for you is that your booking is bound by the conditions in place when the landlord accepts your request — any later change to the listing applies only to future bookings, not to yours.
Ready to book?
See the step-by-step guide to sending a request →