Renters Rights Bill
This guidance is based on the wording of the Bill currently being considered in the House of Lords and may be subject to change. Check back regularly for further updates.
Landlords will have to change how they operate in a number of ways after the Renters Rights Bill is in force.
One of the most significant areas of change is around rent. The Bill makes several significant changes, such as:
- Banning rent in advance before a tenancy begins and restricting it during a tenancy
- Banning rental bidding wars
- Making it more difficult to increase rents.
Tenancies this guidance applies to
Unless otherwise stated, this guidance applies to assured tenancies (including assured tenancies that were assured shorthold tenancies) in England.
You will probably have one of these tenancies if :
- The tenants have exclusive occupation over the whole property or a room within the house
- The rent is between £250 and £100,000 per annum
- The tenants are people rather than an organisation such as a company
- The property will be the tenant's main home
- The landlord does not live in the same property as the tenant.
Rent in advance
The Government was expected to limit rent in advance payments in the Bill but has gone further than expected.
Once the Bill becomes law, rent in advance will be restricted in several ways:
- Landlords and agents may not demand, encourage, or accept rent payments in advance before agreeing to enter into an assured tenancy.
If a landlord accepts rent at this stage, even a voluntary payment, it breaches the Tenant Fees Act, meaning the payment may need to be returned. It could also lead to a civil penalty. - After the assured tenancy is agreed upon but before the tenant moves in, the landlord/agent may demand up to a month’s rent or up to 28 days if the rental period is less than a month (the initial payment of rent). Any clauses demanding larger initial rent payments are null and void, though tenants may voluntarily pay more if they choose to.
- For all subsequent payments, landlords can only require the rent be paid during the rental period for which the rent is payable. As rental periods are limited to no more than a month in the Bill, landlords are prevented from requiring more than a month's rent. Any clauses demanding advance rent payments are null and void, though tenants may voluntarily pay earlier or more if they choose to.
