Community Guidelines
What you can and cannot post on Belayat, and why. These guidelines are part of our Terms of Use.
The basics
Belayat works when people can trust what they read. So everything here comes back to a few things:
- Post only real things: a room you can let, a job you can fill, an item you have, an event that is happening.
- Be honest about the price, the place and yourself.
- Treat people the way you would want your family treated.
- Follow UK law. Where a rule applies only in England, we still apply it everywhere in the UK, so everyone gets the same protection.
Many of these rules are checked automatically when you post. If your post breaks one, we tell you what to change and why, and often suggest new wording.
Rooms and housing
Housing is where people lose the most money to scams, so the rules here are the strictest.
One rent figure
Say one rent. No ranges such as "£600 to £700", no "offers over", no "from £600", and no asking people to bid. Once you have set the rent, you cannot accept a higher offer. In England this has been the law since May 2026, and we apply it everywhere.
Who you welcome
Your advert must not exclude or put off people with children, or people who get benefits such as Universal Credit or Housing Benefit. So no "No DSS", "No kids", "Professionals only" or "Working people only". You can still check that a tenant can afford the rent, in the same way for everyone. For example: "All applicants welcome. Standard referencing and affordability checks apply."
Your advert must not ask for, or prefer, a nationality, race, religion, caste, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability. So no "Nepali only", "Hindus only" or "British only".
The one exception. If you live in the home yourself and share a kitchen or bathroom with the lodger, you may say you would prefer a man or a woman. Nothing else. Choose "I live here" as the landlord type, and say that you share facilities.
Deposits and rent in advance
- Ask for at most one month’s rent in advance.
- A tenancy deposit can be at most 5 weeks’ rent, or 6 weeks’ rent if the rent is £50,000 a year or more.
- A holding deposit, to take a room off the market, can be at most one week’s rent.
- Do not charge fees for viewings, references, admin or contracts. Most fees like these are banned by law in England and Wales.
Be real
- Post only a room or home you are allowed to let. If you are an agent, say so.
- Use your own photos of the actual room. Photos copied from somewhere else are removed.
- The first room an account offers is always checked by a person before it appears. So are rooms with a rent far below what is normal for the area.
Jobs
Never charge a job seeker
You must never ask a job seeker to pay anything. Not a registration fee, not an admin fee, not a deposit for the job, and not money for a visa. It is against UK law for an agency to charge someone for finding them work.
A sponsoring employer must not pass on the cost of a Certificate of Sponsorship (the document an employer issues so someone can apply for a work visa) or the Immigration Skills Charge. Selling a Certificate of Sponsorship is a crime.
Pay
Pay must be at least the National Minimum Wage for the worker’s age, or the apprentice rate for a real apprenticeship. Belayat checks hourly pay against the current rates, and an advert below them cannot be published. If you give a yearly, weekly or daily figure, give the hours too. You can find the current rates on GOV.UK.
Agencies
If you are an employment agency or employment business, your advert must give your full legal name and say whether the job is temporary or permanent. If you give the pay, also say what the work is, where it is, and any qualifications needed.
Visa sponsorship
If a job offers visa sponsorship, give the sponsor’s legal name as it appears on the GOV.UK register of licensed sponsors, and confirm that the worker pays nothing for the job, the Certificate of Sponsorship or the Immigration Skills Charge. A person checks every job that mentions sponsorship before it appears.
New overseas applications for care worker visas closed in July 2025. An advert offering overseas care sponsorship is very likely a scam and will be checked closely.
Fair adverts
Do not ask for a nationality, religion, ethnicity, sex, age or disability. Describe the skill or the work instead. "Must be 18 or over" is fine where the law requires it.
Asking for a language, such as "Nepali speaker", is allowed only when the job genuinely needs it, for example a carer for someone who speaks only Nepali. If it is just a preference, leave it out.
Immigration advice
Only advisers registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly OISC) and regulated solicitors may offer immigration advice or services in the UK. If you offer it, include your registration or SRA number. Without one, you cannot post it.
For sale
Sell only what you own and what is legal to sell. You cannot post:
- drugs, including prescription medicines
- weapons, including knives sold as weapons and imitation guns
- forged, stolen or official documents, such as passports, visas, BRPs, driving licences or certificates
- stolen or fake goods
- accounts for apps, games or websites, or anything that lets someone pretend to be another person
- investments that promise a return, loans or other financial products, unless you are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority
- adult services or sexual content
Events and the Notice Board
- Events must be real, with a real date and place. If you sell tickets, link to where people buy them. Belayat does not sell tickets.
- Notices, questions and discussions are welcome. Disagree with ideas, not with people.
Not allowed anywhere
- Scams and fraud, including fake rooms, fake jobs and asking for money for something that does not exist.
- Anything illegal, including content about terrorism, child sexual abuse or exploitation, people trafficking or forced labour. We report these to the police or the National Crime Agency.
- Harassment, threats, bullying or stalking.
- Hate: attacking people for who they are, including their race, caste, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age.
- Sexual content, or using Belayat to look for dates or relationships.
- Encouraging self-harm or suicide.
- Posting someone else’s personal details, photos or messages without their permission.
- Reviews or ratings of people or businesses.
- Pretending to be someone else, or another business.
- Spam: the same post many times, posts in the wrong category, or posts that only advertise a website.
- More than one account, or a new account after a ban.
Messaging
- Keep conversations on Belayat until you have met. We can only help with what we can see.
- For new accounts, phone numbers and email addresses in the first two messages are hidden.
- If a message looks like a common scam, such as asking for a deposit before a viewing, we show a warning.
- Messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Our moderators can read a conversation when it is reported or when a safety check flags it.
Reporting and blocking
Every post, profile, message and comment has a Report option. On belayat.uk anyone can report a post, even without an account. Choose the reason that fits best and add anything that helps. You can also email support@belayat.uk.
We aim to review every report within 24 hours, and scam reports sooner. You get a case number. We do not tell the person you reported who you are. If three different verified people report the same thing within a day, it is hidden until we have looked at it.
To block someone, open their profile or your conversation and choose Block. They can no longer message you.
If you are in danger, call 999. If you have lost money to a scam, tell your bank straight away and report it to Action Fraud (Report Fraud).
What happens if a rule is broken
A person looks at every report and decides. Depending on what happened:
- a post may be held until it is changed, or removed
- the first time, the account gets a warning
- the next time, the account cannot post, message or vote for 30 days
- after that, the account is banned, and its mobile number and device cannot be used for a new account
A scam, a threat or illegal content can lead to a ban straight away. When we remove a scam, we may warn the people who messaged about it.
We always tell you what we removed, why, and which rule it breaks. The Terms of Use say more.
Appeals
If you think we got it wrong, you can appeal once, from the notice we sent you. A different person reviews it where we can, and we usually answer within 24 hours. If the appeal succeeds, we put things back as they were. You can also complain to us.
Staying safe
- See a room in person before you pay anything. Nobody genuine posts the keys from abroad.
- Never pay for a job, a visa or a Certificate of Sponsorship.
- Meet in a public place to buy or sell, check the item, and pay in person.
- Be careful with anyone who wants to move to WhatsApp straight away, or who is in a hurry for money.