Can tenants book a viewing online without phoning me?

The short answer

Yes. The back and forth that used to happen on the phone can happen by link instead. The applicant asks to view from your advert, you offer a time, and they say yes or tell you when they could come. Nobody has to ring anybody, and every answer is in writing.

There are two ways to set it up. A booking diary lets applicants pick from slots you have opened in advance. An invitation, which is how LetCompliance works, has you choose the time and the applicant confirm it. A diary saves you a step. An invitation lets you see who is asking before you give out a time, and lets you put viewings next to each other.

Why landlords take viewings off the phone

Calls come when you cannot answer them. A missed call is often an applicant who rings the next listing instead
A call leaves no record. A time agreed on the phone is easy to forget, and you cannot look back to see who you showed round and when
Most calls ask what the advert should have said. Whether it is still available, when it is free from, whether pets are considered. Answer those in the advert and fewer people need to ask

Every question the advert answers is a message you do not have to send. Before you share the link, check it gives the rent as a single figure, the date the home is available, what is included, whether it is furnished, the EPC rating, and photos of every room. Say how viewings are booked, for example “Request a viewing from this page and you will be offered a time”, so people do not go looking for a phone number.

Screening before you offer a time

A short message before the viewing saves an evening: when they want to move, who would live there, and whether the rent works for them. Ask everyone the same things.

GOV.UK’s “Rental discrimination under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025” (updated 6 May 2026, read 20 October 2026) says landlords and anyone acting for them must not take steps intended to make a person less likely to enter a tenancy because they have children or receive benefits, and that this includes stopping them from viewing a property. It also says you can take income into account when considering whether the rent is affordable, but should set the same income requirement for all prospective tenants and treat all forms of income equally.

How to cut no-shows

Offer a time within a day or two of the request. The longer the gap, the more likely the applicant has found somewhere else
Ask for a confirmation, not just a time. An applicant who has pressed confirm has made a small promise; one who said “maybe Saturday” has not
Send a reminder on the morning, with an easy way to say they cannot come
Book viewings back to back. Four viewings fifteen minutes apart on one evening mean a no-show costs fifteen minutes, not a wasted trip
Keep a note of who did not turn up, so the next time they ask you know to confirm the day before

How it works in LetCompliance

The request. Your advert’s public page has Request a viewing beside Apply. The form asks for a name, an email address, which is required so you can reply, a phone number and a message. You are emailed, and a reply goes straight to the applicant. When you post the advert elsewhere, the copied text ends with the link to that page
The invitation. From the request in Applications, propose a date and time. The applicant is emailed in your name with a link to confirm it or to say they cannot make it, and a calendar file for their diary
When the time does not suit. Instead of a dead end, the applicant taps when they are usually free (weekday mornings, weekday afternoons, weekday evenings after 5pm, Saturdays, Sundays, or fairly flexible) and can add a note. You are emailed their answer, so the next time you offer already fits
On the day. You and the applicant each get an email reminder on the morning of the viewing. If they are running late, their reply reaches you
Your diary. The Viewings screen shows every viewing on a calendar with each answer, and afterwards you mark who attended and who did not. The private calendar feed puts viewings in your Google, Apple or Outlook calendar with your other dates
What comes next. The same applicant record moves on: ask for a holding deposit, order a reference at £24.99 for a full one, and turn the applicant into the tenant with their details carried across

Adverts and viewings come with the 3-day trial and every paid plan, from £7.99 a month. Applications come with every plan, the free plan included.

When you cannot be there yourself

Someone still has to open the door. A friend or neighbour you trust can do it, a local agent may show a property for a fee, or LetCompliance’s accompanied viewings service attends for you at £49 a viewing in Crewe, Nantwich, Sandbach, Congleton, Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Chester, Warrington, Manchester, Liverpool, Northwich, Winsford and Macclesfield. Its order form takes the listing link, whether that is on Rightmove, Zoopla, OpenRent or your own advert.

Common mistakes

Putting a mobile number in the advert “for viewings” and then not answering it
Offering a viewing a week away, when the applicant wanted to move this month
Spreading viewings across several evenings rather than grouping them
Choosing on the viewing alone. A good impression at the door is not a reference
Turning someone away from a viewing because they have children or receive benefits

Should I do block viewings?

Often, yes, when a home draws a lot of interest. Back-to-back slots on one evening or a Saturday morning save your time and let applicants see the demand. Give each person their own slot rather than one crowded open house, so each can ask questions.

Can applicants view without me there?

Not safely on their own. Leaving keys out or sending a door code to someone you have never met puts the home and its contents at risk. Use someone you trust or a viewing service instead.

What should I ask before offering a viewing?

When they want to move, who will live there, whether the rent is affordable for them on the same test you use for everyone, and any pets. Keep the answers with the request so you are not asking twice.

Can I see what time suits them before I offer one?

In LetCompliance, only after they turn down the first time you offer: that is when they choose the windows they are usually free. Their request message is the place to ask sooner.

What LetCompliance does not do here

There is no public diary where applicants pick a slot themselves; you propose each time
Invitations and reminders go by email, not by text message
It does not answer the phone, and an enquiry left on a portal stays there until you send the person your listing link
Accompanied viewings cover a limited area, not the whole country
The Viewings screen is not on the free plan