What Can Landlords Charge Tenants in the UK?

If you are a self-managing landlord in England, the rules on what you can charge tenants are tighter than many people realise. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 banned most upfront fees and capped deposits. Then, from 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 went further — banning landlords from requiring more than one month's rent in advance. The penalties for getting any of it wrong are serious.

This guide covers exactly what you are allowed to charge under both Acts, what schemes to avoid, and what legal alternatives exist if you want more financial protection before handing over the keys.

Note: This guide covers England only. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own rules on tenant fees and deposits.

What the Tenant Fees Act 2019 Actually Allows

The Tenant Fees Act applies to all assured shorthold tenancies in England. Under the Act, landlords and letting agents can only charge tenants for a short list of permitted payments. Everything else is banned.

Here is what you are allowed to charge:

• Rent — the agreed monthly amount, payable in advance. You can ask for the first month's rent before the tenancy starts. However, from 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 prohibits requiring more than one month's rent in advance (see below).
• Tenancy deposit — capped at five weeks' rent if the annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks' rent if above. This must be protected in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days.
• Holding deposit — capped at one week's rent. This reserves the property while references are carried out. You must return it within 15 days unless specific conditions apply (the tenant fails a reference check, pulls out, or provides false information).
• Changes to the tenancy — you can charge up to £50 (or reasonable costs if higher) when a tenant requests a change, such as adding a permitted occupier or swapping a tenant's name on the agreement.
• Early termination — if the tenant wants to end the tenancy early, you can charge the landlord's reasonable costs, but the amount must not exceed the financial loss you actually suffer.
• Utilities and council tax — only where the tenancy agreement makes the tenant responsible. You cannot mark these up or add an administration charge on top.
• Default fees — you can charge for replacement keys (at reasonable cost) and for late rent, but only if the rent is more than 14 days overdue and the charge does not exceed 3% above the Bank of England base rate.

That is the complete list. If a charge is not on this list, you cannot ask for it.

This is the trap in the request landlords now field most often. If a tenant asks to install an EV charge point, the electricity it draws is theirs to pay for where the agreement makes utilities their responsibility — but you cannot add a margin, a "charge point levy" or a monthly administration fee on top. EV charging points in rental properties sets out how to handle the metering and the consent conditions without straying into a prohibited payment.

Common Schemes Landlords Try — and Why They Are Illegal

Despite the rules being clear, some landlords still try to extract more money upfront. These schemes are all unlawful under the Tenant Fees Act:

Requiring large upfront rent payments. Before May 2026, some landlords routinely required three or six months' rent upfront — particularly from tenants without a UK credit history. This was legal under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. However, from 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 bans landlords from requiring, encouraging, or accepting more than one month's rent in advance before the tenancy begins. Tenants can still voluntarily choose to pay ahead once the tenancy has started, but you cannot make it a condition of being offered the property.

Admin fees or referencing charges. Before the Act, charging £200–£400 for "administration" or "credit checks" was standard practice. It is now completely banned. You cannot pass on the cost of referencing, inventory, or tenancy agreement preparation to the tenant.

Professional cleaning fees. You cannot require tenants to pay for professional cleaning at the end of the tenancy as a condition of moving in. You can deduct cleaning costs from the deposit if the property is returned in a worse condition than documented at check-in — but you cannot charge upfront.

Checkout inventory charges. Requiring tenants to pay for a checkout report or inventory clerk is a prohibited payment. If you want a professional checkout, you pay for it.

Garden maintenance fees. Some landlords add a monthly "garden maintenance" charge on top of rent. Unless this is genuinely part of the rent figure itself, it is a prohibited payment.

The key principle is straightforward: if a payment benefits you rather than the tenant, and it is not on the permitted list, it is banned.

What Happens If You Break the Rules

The consequences for charging prohibited fees are not trivial:

• First offence: a fine of up to £5,000, issued by the local authority trading standards team.
• Repeat offence within five years: a fine of up to £30,000, or prosecution as a criminal offence with an unlimited fine.
• Possession restriction: Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, so the old "no valid Section 21 until the money is repaid" bar no longer applies. Unlawful fees still count against you: an outstanding prohibited payment or unlawful deposit is the kind of conduct a court will weigh when you rely on a discretionary Section 8 ground, and the deposit rules must be put right regardless.
• Tenant recovery: tenants can recover prohibited payments through the First-tier Tribunal, and the local authority can pursue enforcement action independently.

Trading standards teams are increasingly proactive about enforcement, particularly in areas with high rental demand. The risk of being caught is real — tenants are well-informed, and many local authorities now have dedicated enforcement officers.

Legal Alternatives for Extra Financial Protection

If you want more security before letting your property, there are several perfectly legal routes:

Guarantors

You can require a tenant to provide a guarantor — someone who agrees to cover the rent and any tenancy obligations if the tenant defaults. This is not a fee, so it falls outside the Tenant Fees Act entirely. A guarantor agreement should be a formal document, ideally signed before the tenancy starts, and should clearly state the guarantor's liability.

Guarantors are particularly useful for tenants with limited credit history, students, or anyone whose income is borderline for the rent amount.

Rent Guarantee Insurance

Rent guarantee insurance is a policy you take out (at your own cost) that covers lost rental income if a tenant stops paying. Policies typically cover 6–12 months of rent arrears and sometimes include legal expenses for possession proceedings — which can total £15,000–£35,000 for a single problem tenancy.

The cost is usually between 3% and 5% of annual rent. You cannot pass this cost on to the tenant — but it is a legitimate business expense and tax-deductible against rental income.

Thorough Tenant Screening

The best protection is choosing the right tenant in the first place. A proper screening process — credit checks, bank statement analysis, employer references, and previous landlord references — dramatically reduces your risk of rent arrears.

You pay for screening yourself (you cannot charge the tenant), but the cost of a single check is a fraction of what even one month of rent arrears costs. Many self-managing landlords underinvest in screening because they think it requires an agent. It does not.

Rent Paid in Advance (Limited Since May 2026)

Before the Renters' Rights Act 2025, landlords could freely require multiple months' rent upfront. This was common practice — particularly for international tenants or those with thin credit files.

From 1 May 2026, this has changed. You can no longer require, encourage, or accept more than one month's rent in advance before the tenancy starts. Once the tenancy is running, a tenant can voluntarily choose to pay ahead — for example, paying quarterly for their own budgeting convenience — but this must be entirely their decision. You cannot advertise the property as requiring advance rent, and you cannot reject a tenant solely because they will not pay ahead.

Note: Existing tenancies signed before 1 May 2026 that already provide for quarterly or annual advance payments are unaffected — those terms remain enforceable.

Keep It Simple, Keep It Legal

The rules on what landlords can charge tenants are not complicated — they are just strict. Stick to the permitted payments list, protect the deposit properly, and do not try to work around the caps. The fines are real, and the reputational damage of a tribunal case is worse.

If you want more security, use guarantors, invest in proper tenant screening, and consider rent guarantee insurance. These are the tools that protect you legally — not creative fee structures. If you're considering renting to tenants with pets, note that reasonable conditions (such as a higher deposit within the cap, or professional cleaning clauses) are permitted, but pet-specific fees on top of rent are not — and neither is requiring the tenant to buy pet insurance, one of the misconceptions covered in our guide to the 28-day pet duty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I charge tenants for referencing or credit checks?

No. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, landlords and letting agents cannot charge tenants for referencing, credit checks, administration, or tenancy agreement preparation. The cost of tenant screening must be borne by the landlord. The only permitted charges are rent, the tenancy deposit (capped at five weeks), a holding deposit (one week), and limited fees for tenancy changes, early termination, and defaults.

Can I ask for more than one month's rent in advance?

No, not since 1 May 2026. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 prohibits landlords from requiring, encouraging, or accepting more than one month's rent in advance before the tenancy starts. Tenants may voluntarily choose to pay ahead once the tenancy is running, but you cannot make it a condition of offering the property.

What is the maximum deposit I can charge a tenant?

The tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is below £50,000, or six weeks' rent where the annual rent is £50,000 or above. The deposit must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days. Holding deposits are capped separately at one week's rent.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your circumstances.