The Tenant Fees Act bans most letting fees and caps tenancy deposits paid by tenants in the private rented sector in England and applies to new or renewed tenancy agreements signed on or after 1st June 2019. Existing tenancies will be subject to the new rules from 2020.

The key changes in the Act include:

·         Tenancy deposits must not exceed the equivalent of five weeks rent (unless the annual rent exceeds £50,000 in which case deposits are capped at six weeks’s rent);

·         Refundable holding deposits (to reserve a property) will be capped at no more than one weeks rent;

·         Payments to change a tenancy when requested by the tenant are capped at £50 unless the landlord demonstrates that greater costs were incurred.

Landlords will no longer be able to charge for many other services, including:

·         Referencing

·         Credit checks

·         Inventories

·         Services, such as cleaning or gardening

·         Administration

For landlords who are found to be in breach of the fee ban an initial fine of £5,000 will be issued for the initial breach. It will be a criminal offence if an individual has been fined or convicted of the same offence within the last 5 years.

Further information and guidance for tenants, landlords and letting agents can be found here:

 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenant-fees-act-2019-guidance

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