A landlord in England can ask for at most the initial rent in advance: rent for the first rent period and any later period ending within the first 28 days, collected after the tenancy is entered into and before it starts, for tenancies entered into from 1 May 2026. No rent before signing, one stated rent, no higher offer accepted.
By Stevie Hayes · Updated 26 October 2026 · Figures checked against legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK on 26 October 2026 · How we verify · Report a problem with this page · Statutory penalties are maximums; councils and courts decide the amount.
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| Fact | Position | Since / status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent before signing | A prohibited payment; the landlord or agent must not invite, encourage or accept it | 1 May 2026 | Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.5A (pre-tenancy payments of rent: prohibitions) |
| Rent in advance after signing | Terms are of no effect so far as they provide for rent to be due in advance, except the initial rent in the pre-tenancy period | 1 May 2026 (tenancies entered into from that date) | Housing Act 1988 s.4B (prohibition of rent in advance, except initial rent) |
| Initial rent | Rent for the first rent period, or any later rent period which ends during the 28 days beginning with the first day of the first rent period | 1 May 2026 (s.4B(12)) | Housing Act 1988 s.4B (prohibition of rent in advance, except initial rent) |
| Advertised rent | A written advert or offer must state a specific rent; GOV.UK: a price range is not allowed | 1 May 2026 | Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.56 (requirement to state rent and to avoid rental bidding) |
| Rental bidding | Must not invite, encourage or accept an offer above the stated rent; applies to the landlord and anyone acting for them | 1 May 2026 | Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.56 (requirement to state rent and to avoid rental bidding) |
| Bidding penalty | Up to £7,000 per breach; a further penalty of up to £7,000 where a penalty for the same subsection was imposed on that person in the previous five years | 1 May 2026 (s.57) | Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.57 (financial penalties for rental bidding) |
| Pre-tenancy rent penalty | Up to £5,000 and repayment to the tenant without set-off; requiring it also breaches s.1, and a repeat breach of s.1 within five years can be an offence | 1 May 2026 (TFA 2019 ss.1, 5A, 8, 10, 12) | Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.8 (financial penalties) |
| Deposit caps | Tenancy deposit five weeks' rent (six where the annual rent is £50,000 or more); holding deposit one week's rent | 1 June 2019 (TFA 2019 Sch 1 paras 2, 3) | Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 (permitted payments), as amended |
From 1 May 2026, for private assured tenancies in England, three rules apply: no rent may be taken before the agreement is signed by both of you (when the tenancy is entered into), only the initial rent may be collected before move-in, and a written advert must state one rent that nobody may bid above. A tenancy entered into before that date keeps its rent-in-advance term, though a rent period longer than a month converts to monthly; the bidding rule applies to every private assured letting advertised from that date.
The three rules sit in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and took effect under SI 2026/421, regulations 2 and 3, regulation 2 commencing Chapter 1 of Part 1 "for the purposes of assured tenancies that are not social housing assured tenancies only":
Existing tenancies. Under s.4B(2)(a), subsection (1) does not apply "to a tenancy entered into before the commencement date", which section 146(3) defines as the day Chapter 1 came into force for that tenancy, 1 May 2026 for private tenancies. So a rent-in-advance term agreed before 1 May 2026 keeps its effect for that tenancy. Section 4A does apply to an existing tenancy (s.146(1)), as modified by Schedule 6, paragraph 2: terms providing for the rent periods are of no effect "so far as relating to rent periods beginning on or after the commencement date" unless each such period is "a period of 28 days or shorter" or "a monthly rent period" (s.4A(3)), and where they are of no effect the tenancy runs on successive monthly periods from 1 May 2026 or from the day after the current period ends, with the rent for each period due "on the first day of the period" in the amount set by the formula in s.4A(6) (as modified for existing tenancies by Sch 6 para 2). A quarterly, six-monthly or annual existing tenancy therefore moves to monthly rent from its next period. Any new agreement, including a new agreement with the same tenant, falls under section 4B. The other rules for tenancies that pre-date the Act are in our tenancy agreement guide and information sheet guide.
This guide describes the law in England; it is not advice on a particular letting.
Rent, a holding deposit of up to one week's rent, a tenancy deposit of up to five weeks' rent (six where the annual rent is £50,000 or more), and the initial rent in advance once the tenancy is entered into. During the tenancy the agreement may also require a default payment for a lost key or late rent, and payments for council tax, utilities, a television licence and communication services. Everything else a landlord might require is prohibited by the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
| Payment | Limit | Provision | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holding deposit (before signing) | One week's rent; none while an earlier holding deposit on the same property is unrepaid and no exception allowed it to be kept | TFA 2019 Sch 1 para 3 | 1 June 2019 |
| Rent before signing | None: a prohibited payment | TFA 2019 Sch 1 para 1(1A); s.5A | 1 May 2026 |
| Tenancy deposit (before or after signing) | Five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000; six weeks' rent at £50,000 or more | TFA 2019 Sch 1 para 2 | 1 June 2019 |
| Rent in advance after signing | The initial rent only: rent for the first rent period and any later period ending within the 28 days beginning with the first day, during the pre-tenancy period | HA 1988 s.4B(2)(c), (12) | 1 May 2026 (new tenancies) |
| Rent above the advertised figure | None: the stated rent is the ceiling at the letting stage | RRA 2025 s.56(3) | 1 May 2026 |
| Default payments during the tenancy | Only if the tenancy agreement requires them: a lost key at the costs reasonably incurred and evidenced in writing; rent still unpaid at the end of the 14 days beginning with the due date, with interest from the due date at no more than 3% above the Bank of England base rate | TFA 2019 Sch 1 para 4 | 1 June 2019 |
| Council tax, utilities, television licence, communication services | Permitted; utilities, green deal, licence and communication services only where the tenancy agreement requires the payment, and a communication-service payment to the landlord capped at the reasonable costs incurred | TFA 2019 Sch 1 paras 8–11 | 1 June 2019 |
| Referencing, admin, inventory, renewal or check-out fees | None: prohibited payments | TFA 2019 s.1 | 1 June 2019 |
Section 1 of the Tenant Fees Act provides that a landlord "must not require a relevant person to make a prohibited payment", whether in consideration of the grant, renewal or continuance of a tenancy or under a term of the agreement, and must not require a loan or a contract for services or insurance. The rest of the permitted list in Schedule 1 is: a payment in the event of a default (para 4), damages for breach (para 5), a capped fee for a variation, assignment or novation the tenant asks for (para 6), a payment on an early termination the tenant asks for (para 7), council tax paid to the billing authority (para 8) and, where the tenancy agreement requires them, utilities and green deal payments (para 9), a television licence (para 10) and communication services (para 11). The checks that come before any of this, including Right to Rent, are in our guide to becoming a landlord.
No. Since 1 May 2026, rent payable before a private assured tenancy in England is entered into is a prohibited payment, and a landlord or letting agent must not invite, encourage or accept it, even where the tenant offers it to secure the property. A council may impose a penalty of up to £5,000 and order the money repaid; where the landlord required the payment that is also a breach of section 1 of the Tenant Fees Act, and a repeat breach of section 1 within five years can be an offence.
Paragraph 1(1A) of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 reads: "a payment of rent is a prohibited payment if (a) it is payable before the tenancy is entered into, and (b) the tenancy is an assured tenancy". Section 5A(1) then provides that a landlord "must not (a) invite or encourage a relevant person to make a prohibited pre-tenancy payment of rent … (b) accept an offer from a relevant person to make a prohibited pre-tenancy payment of rent … or (c) accept from a relevant person a prohibited pre-tenancy payment of rent", and s.5A(2) to (4) extend the same three prohibitions to payments routed through a third party and to letting agents. "Tenancy" in that Act now means an assured tenancy other than a tenancy of social housing (section 28, as amended by RRA 2025 s.27).
So the sequence is fixed: the agreement is signed first, the rent is asked for afterwards. A tenant who volunteers to pay early does not change the position, because accepting the offer is itself a breach (s.5A(1)(b)). The only money that may change hands before signing is a holding deposit of up to one week's rent and a tenancy deposit within the cap.
What follows a breach. Under section 8 the enforcement authority, satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, "may impose a financial penalty" which "must not exceed £5,000". Section 10 lets the council require the landlord to repay the prohibited rent to the tenant, and for pre-tenancy rent the usual set-off against rent or deposit does not apply (s.10(2A)). The tenant can also apply to the First-tier Tribunal to recover it (section 15). Where the landlord required the payment, for example as a condition of granting the tenancy (s.1(6)(a)), that is also a breach of section 1(1), and a further breach of section 1 within five years of a penalty or conviction is an offence under section 12, which a court may punish with a fine and which is a banning order offence; where the council is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offence was committed, it may instead impose a penalty above the usual cap (s.8(3)).
The initial rent only: rent for the first rent period and any later period that ends within the first 28 days, collected after the tenancy is entered into and before its first day. That is one month's rent on a monthly tenancy and four weeks' rent on a weekly one; GOV.UK puts it at "usually" one month or 28 days. Any term making later rent due before its period is of no effect for a tenancy entered into on or after 1 May 2026.
Section 4B(1) of the Housing Act 1988 provides that terms of an assured tenancy "which provide for when rent is due are of no effect so far as they provide for rent to be due in advance", and "due in advance" means "due before the rent period for which it is payable". The exception in s.4B(2)(c) is for "initial rent to be due during the permitted pre-tenancy period". Both phrases are defined in s.4B(12):
| Term | Meaning in s.4B(12) | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| Permitted pre-tenancy period | "begins when the tenancy is entered into, and ends with the day before the first day of the tenancy" | The window between signing and the move-in date |
| Initial rent | Rent payable for "the first rent period, or any later rent period which ends during the initial 28 day period", the 28 days "beginning with the first day of the first rent period" | Rent periods must be "a period of 28 days or shorter" or "a monthly rent period" (s.4A(3)), so this is one month on a monthly tenancy, four weeks on a weekly one and two periods on a fortnightly one; GOV.UK puts it at one month's rent or, usually, 28 days' rent |
| Substitute rent day | Where a term is of no effect, rent is due "on the substitute rent day": the regular rent day within the period, or the first day of the period | An "in advance" clause is not void altogether; the rent simply falls due inside its period |
A holding deposit may be used towards the initial rent (s.4B(8), pointing to Schedule 2 to the Tenant Fees Act). Two kinds of tenancy are "excepted" from s.4B altogether: social housing let by a private registered provider, and a tenancy granted under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (homelessness). GOV.UK's rent in advance page says the same: "You can only ask for rent in advance during the 'pre-tenancy period'" and "You can usually only ask for either one month or 28 days' worth of rent before the tenancy starts".
Front-loading the rent is closed off separately. Paragraph 1A of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act makes the excess a prohibited payment where the rent for an early period in the first year "is more than the amount of rent payable in respect of any later relevant period", so a higher first month followed by a lower rent is not a way round the limit. Once the tenancy is running, the rent moves only by a Form 4A notice, covered in our Section 13 rent increase guide.
A tenancy deposit of up to five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks' rent where it is £50,000 or more, and a holding deposit of up to one week's rent. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 did not change either cap; both come from the Tenant Fees Act 2019, and the tenancy deposit must still be protected in an authorised scheme within 30 days beginning with the day it is received.
Under Schedule 1, paragraph 2 to the Tenant Fees Act a tenancy deposit is a permitted payment, but the excess over "five weeks' rent, where the annual rent … is less than £50,000", or six weeks' rent where it is £50,000 or more, is a prohibited payment; "one week's rent" is the annual rent divided by 52. Once received, the deposit must be dealt with under an authorised scheme and the scheme's initial requirements met "within the period of 30 days beginning with the date on which it is received" (Housing Act 2004 s.213(3)); the prescribed information and the consequences of missing the deadline are in our tenancy deposit scheme guide.
A holding deposit is a permitted payment under paragraph 3, capped at one week's rent, and it cannot be taken while an earlier holding deposit on the same property is still unrepaid and no exception allowed it to be kept (para 3(5)). What must happen to it afterwards, including the deadline for deciding and the cases in which it may be kept, is set out in Schedule 2 to that Act and in our holding deposit guide. GOV.UK's rent in advance and deposits page states the same caps: "up to 5 weeks' rent if the rent for the year is less than £50,000" and a holding deposit "up to one week's rent", and lists "a tenancy or security deposit before the tenancy agreement is signed" among the payments a landlord may ask for before signing.
Since 1 May 2026 a landlord in England, or anyone acting for them, must advertise or offer a private assured letting in writing only with a specific rent stated, and must not invite, encourage or accept an offer of rent above that figure. A council may impose a penalty of up to £7,000 for each breach, and a further penalty of up to £7,000 where a penalty for a breach of the same subsection of section 56 was imposed on that person in the previous five years.
Section 56(2) of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 provides that a relevant person "must not advertise in writing, or otherwise offer in writing, the proposed letting unless (a) the rent that is to be payable under the letting is a specific amount (the 'proposed rent'), and (b) the advertisement or offer states the proposed rent". GOV.UK's rental bidding page says "A price range is not allowed". The only exception is "a sign displayed at the dwelling … which merely advertises that the dwelling is to let" (s.56(5)).
Section 56(3) then provides that a relevant person "must not (a) invite or encourage any person to offer to pay an amount of rent under the proposed letting that exceeds the stated rent, or (b) accept an offer from any person to pay an amount of rent under the proposed letting that exceeds the stated rent". "Relevant person" means the prospective landlord "or a person acting or purporting to act directly or indirectly on behalf of the prospective landlord", so a letting agent is bound in the same way (s.56(6)). The same GOV.UK page adds that encouraging includes "telling them you have received other offers", and that a social media post, email or direct message counts as a written advert.
Penalty. Under section 57(1) a local housing authority "may impose a financial penalty" on the balance of probabilities for a breach of s.56(2) or (3); the amount "must not be more than £7,000" (s.57(3)). Where a penalty for breaching the same subsection was imposed on that person "within the period of five years ending with the date on which" the new penalty is imposed, the council "may impose an additional financial penalty" (s.57(2)), and a previous penalty whose final notice was withdrawn or quashed on appeal does not count (s.57(4)); so a repeat can carry two penalties of up to £7,000 each. Where a landlord and an agent breach the rule through the same conduct, the penalty can be imposed on them jointly (s.57(5)). The rule applies to any proposed letting on an assured tenancy other than social housing or supported accommodation (s.56(1), (6)).
For every new letting from 1 May 2026, in this order:
If a tenancy was entered into before 1 May 2026, it keeps its rent-in-advance term, but if its rent period is longer than a month, section 4A converts it to monthly periods from the first period starting on or after 1 May 2026; any new agreement with the same tenant, or any new letting, falls under the rules above.
Government changes that bear on this duty. Where the status says in force the rule already applies; everything else is not yet law for private landlords. Dates are quoted as the government has published them, checked on 15 October 2026.
| Change | Status today | Published timing | Sensible preparation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandatory membership of a Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman scheme | announced, dates to be confirmed | Government roadmap: landlords required to join "in 2028", after the Database launches; scheme conditions set during Phase 2 from 2026 | Keep a written complaints process and records of how tenant complaints were handled; the scheme will expect both. Source |
For a tenancy entered into on or after 1 May 2026, only the initial rent, collected after signing and before the tenancy starts: rent for the first rent period and any later period ending within the first 28 days (Housing Act 1988 s.4B(12)): one month's rent on a monthly tenancy, four weeks' on a weekly one. No rent may be taken before signing (Tenant Fees Act 2019 Sch 1 para 1(1A)).
Not on a tenancy entered into on or after 1 May 2026: a term providing for rent to be due in advance is of no effect under Housing Act 1988 s.4B(1), and the rent falls due inside each period instead. An earlier tenancy keeps its terms (s.4B(2)(a)), though a rent period longer than a month converts to monthly from its next rent period (s.4A; Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 para 2).
Before the agreement is signed, the landlord or agent must not accept the offer or the payment (Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.5A(1)(b) and (c)); a willing tenant does not make it lawful. After signing, the agreement cannot require rent in advance beyond the initial rent, because such terms are of no effect (Housing Act 1988 s.4B).
Since 1 May 2026, Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.56 requires a written advert or offer of a private assured letting in England to state a specific rent, and forbids the landlord or anyone acting for them to invite, encourage or accept an offer of rent above that stated figure. A council may impose a penalty of up to £7,000 for a breach (s.57).
No. Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.56(2) requires the rent to be "a specific amount" and the written advert or offer to state it. GOV.UK's rental bidding page says "A price range is not allowed" and that asking tenants to bid within a range, or higher, is a breach that a council may penalise.
Up to £7,000 per breach, imposed by the local housing authority on the balance of probabilities (Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.57(1), (3)). A further penalty of up to £7,000 can be added where a penalty for the same subsection was imposed on that person in the previous five years and was not withdrawn or quashed (s.57(2), (4)); landlord and agent can be jointly liable (s.57(5)).
Yes. "Relevant person" in Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.56(6) includes anyone acting, or purporting to act, directly or indirectly on behalf of the prospective landlord, and s.57(5) lets the council impose the penalty on landlord and agent jointly where the breach arises from the same conduct.
A tenancy deposit of up to five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks' at £50,000 or more; one week's rent is the annual rent divided by 52 (Tenant Fees Act 2019 Sch 1 para 2), protected within the 30 days beginning with receipt (Housing Act 2004 s.213). A holding deposit of up to one week's rent may be taken before signing (para 3).
Only the payments in Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019: rent, the capped tenancy and holding deposits, a default payment for a lost key or late rent, damages for breach, a capped fee for a change the tenant asks for, an early-termination payment the tenant asks for, and council tax, utilities, a TV licence and communication services where the agreement requires them. Referencing, admin, inventory and renewal fees are prohibited (s.1).
Housing Act 1988 s.4B does not apply to a tenancy entered into before the commencement date (s.4B(2)(a); Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.146(3)), though a rent period longer than a month converts to monthly from its next period (s.4A, Sch 6 para 2). The bidding rule applies to private assured lettings advertised from 1 May 2026, and the pre-tenancy rent prohibition to payments from that date.
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