What are my rights as a UK tenant?

At a glance

• Tenants are entitled to certain basic rights, such as safe living conditions, reasonable notice before the landlord can enter the property and infrequent rent rises.
• In exchange, tenants should look after the property and stick to the rental agreement.
• New laws under the Renters’ Rights Act, which started to come into effect from 1 May 2026, offer additional protection to tenants.

Whether you’re saving to buy your own home one day or are actively choosing to rent, a growing number of us are in the rental space – and that means it’s vital to know your rights as a tenant.

Landlords are required to meet certain standards and have a duty of care to those in their properties, and the Renters’ Rights Act means that landlords now have additional obligations to strengthen tenants’ rights further.

What rights do UK tenants have?

As a tenant you have a number of rights under UK law, including the right to a safe, secure home that’s properly maintained and fairly priced. These rights include:

The property must be safe and well-maintained

Landlords must make sure that their rental property is a healthy and safe environment for people to live in. This includes:

• Making sure the property has sufficient heating, ventilation and lighting
• Keeping the property in good repair
• Ensuring it’s well-secured
• Offering safe gas, water and electricity (including annual gas boiler safety checks)
• Making sure that any furniture or electrical appliances provided are certified as being safe

Damp problems can be a particular concern for tenants, but this is covered in your rights as well. Rented properties should not have any dampness – whether rising damp or dampness from the outside (i.e. penetrating damp) – and your landlord may be liable if you develop breathing problems as a consequence of damp.

Even if the dampness is caused by your habitation, it’s important to agree on a remedy that’s beneficial to both you and your landlord.

The property must have a valid EPC

You have the right to see a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property, and it must have a minimum EPC rating of E.

If it’s any lower you shouldn’t be renting the property. Bear in mind that EPCs are valid for 10 years, so make sure the one you’re seeing is up-to-date.

The Government has said that it is looking to improve the energy efficiency of rented properties, which means the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) could increase to an EPC rating of C (or equivalent) by 2030.

You’re protected from excessive rent and unfair charges

You have various rights around the fees that landlords and letting agents can charge – for example, you can’t be charged for credit checks – and you’re also protected from unfair rent rises.

Landlords are allowed to raise the rent once per year to the market rate (the rate the landlord could get if the property was newly advertised to let). Tenants can challenge this if they believe the increase is unfair.

Rights around deposits

You’re entitled to have your deposit returned at the end of the tenancy, and it must be held in a registered tenancy deposit protection scheme. This protects you if there is a dispute and your landlord doesn't want to give back your whole deposit – they must have a valid reason for refusing to return it (such as you broke the terms of your rental agreement), and the protection scheme ensures they can’t unfairly withhold it.

The deposit itself must be reasonable too – it should be a maximum of five weeks’ worth of rent (though it can be up to six weeks’ worth if the annual rent is more than £50,000), and once the tenancy ends it should be returned to you within 10 days, provided there are no disputes.

You must be able to live in the property undisturbed

The landlord cannot visit the property whenever they like – they may own the property but it’s still your home, and they can’t turn up unannounced. They must have a valid reason – such as doing some maintenance or carrying out an inspection – and they should arrange a suitable time with you beforehand. They should also provide at least 24 hours' notice, unless it’s an emergency.

Your landlord can’t just evict you

They must follow the terms of the tenancy agreement. In some circumstances, such as where there is a dispute, the landlord may need to get a court order. Your landlord cannot force you to leave (for example by entering the property while you are out and packing up your things) as this would most likely constitute an illegal eviction. By the same token, the landlord is not allowed to harass you to leave – again, this would break the law.

Do lodgers have the same rights as tenants?

No. Lodgers are not thought of as tenants in the legal sense (they’re instead known as “excluded occupiers”) and won’t usually sign a tenancy agreement, so have far fewer legal protections. For example, lodgers aren’t protected by the deposit protection scheme and can also be evicted with minimal notice, and because you’ll share the property with the landlord you’ll have fewer rights in terms of privacy. It’s a much more informal arrangement and it’s important to bear this in mind.

What is the Renters’ Rights Act?

The Renters’ Rights Act is a piece of legislation designed to strengthen renters’ rights and give them greater security in their homes. Some of the major changes came into effect on 1 May 2026, with other measures due to be implemented later.

A core part of the Act is the end of Section 21 evictions – tenants can no longer be evicted without fault – and the end of assured shorthold tenancies.

Here’s an overview of the main points:

• Periodic instead of fixed tenancies. All tenancies are now periodic, so your tenancy won’t have a fixed term but will operate on a rolling contract. This means that, if you wish to leave the property, it is far easier to do so as you don’t need to wait until the end of the term but can instead give two months’ notice. It also means you don’t need to worry that the landlord won’t renew the contract at the end of the term.
• No more Section 21 evictions. Previously, landlords could evict tenants at any point by issuing a Section 21 eviction notice. But, under the Act, landlords now need a valid reason to evict a tenant, such as if the tenant is damaging the property or in arrears, or if the landlord wants to move into the property or sell up. The end to “no fault” evictions gives tenants greater stability in their homes.
• Greater rights to request a pet. Inbuilt into the Act is the right for all tenants to keep a pet with the landlord’s consent – but crucially, that consent cannot be withheld unreasonably. Examples where they’d still have a right to refuse relate to the size of the property and the number of pets the tenant already as.
• New rent rules. The landlord is only able to ask for one month’s rent in advance – previously it was unlimited – and they can only increase your rent once a year with at least two months’ notice.
• No more rental bidding. It is illegal for landlords and agents to accept offers above the advertised rent, ending the practice of rental bidding.
• No discrimination. In a move designed to make it fairer for everyone looking for a new home, it is illegal for landlords to discriminate against prospective tenants with children or those in receipt of benefits.

Future changes

Parts of the Renters’ Rights Act will come into effect at a future date.

• Extending the Decent Homes Standard to private rentals. This is designed to offer safer homes that are better maintained and is proposed to be implemented in 2035 or 2037.
• The extension of Awaab’s Law to the private sector. If a home contains a serious hazard, the landlord must take action within a legally-expected timeframe. At the time of writing, there is no specified timeline for the introduction of this measure.

Note that the Renters’ Rights Act is for England only; different laws and protections apply in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What is the highest a landlord can raise rent?

Your landlord is allowed to raise the rent but, under the Renters’ Rights Act, they can only increase it once a year by issuing a Section 13 rent notice. They must give you at least two month’s notice of any rise.

The increase must be fair and in line with other rents in the local area; they can’t raise it higher than anything considered reasonable. If you don’t think this is the case, you can appeal it before the rent increase is due to start, and a tribunal will review it.

Can a landlord evict a tenant?

Landlords can still evict tenants for certain reasons, but the Act brings “no fault” evictions to an end. They need to have a valid reason for evicting you – you’ll need to have broken the terms of the contact in some way, such as falling behind on rent – and will issue you with a Section 8 notice. This will outline the reason for eviction and when you need to leave the property.

Being evicted because the landlord is looking to sell or move into the property can also be a valid reason for eviction. However, tenants now have a 12 month “protected period” at the start of their tenancy, during which time the landlord won’t be able to sell the property or move back into it.

How much notice does a landlord have to give?

In many cases, landlords typically need to give tenants at least four months’ notice. However, depending on the reason given for the eviction, this notice period could be shorter, potentially as short as two weeks.

When did the Renters’ Rights Bill become law?

The Renters’ Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, which means it technically became law at that time. However, the first phase of reforms were implemented on 1 May 2026, with further changes coming into force at later dates.

What are your responsibilities as a tenant?

While it’s essential that you know your rights as a tenant, it’s important to bear in mind your responsibilities too. You’ll be expected to:

• Look after the property. Most maintenance and repair is down to the landlord, but some responsibilities are yours. For example, you’ll need to make sure rubbish is properly disposed of and that the water is turned off if you’re away in cold weather, and you’ll need to do some general maintenance too, such as mowing the lawn (if specified in your agreement), changing light bulbs and replacing batteries in smoke detectors.
• Pay for or repair any damage. Damage you (or your family or friends) cause may have to be paid for, either during the tenancy or at the end, as a deduction from your deposit. However, you’re not responsible for fair wear and tear, such as wear on a heavy-traffic area of a carpet, and shouldn’t be expected to pay for a replacement.
• Provide access to the property for inspections or repairs. You should give the landlord reasonable access to inspect the property or carry out repairs, provided they give at least 24 hours’ notice (unless it’s an emergency).
• Keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement. This means you need to make sure you can pay your rent on time, pay any other charges necessary (such as Council Tax or utilities), and don't sub-let a room to someone else without getting permission from your landlord.

How to complain about your landlord

Hopefully the tenant/landlord relationship will be a civil one, but there may be situations where things don’t go as smoothly. If the landlord isn’t meeting their responsibilities in any way, if you feel the rent is too high or you have any other grounds for complaint, it’s important to try to rectify the problem.

Always try speaking to them before making a formal complaint, but if your landlord is refusing to talk to you, or is denying a problem is their responsibility, you can contact your local council for help. Most have a Tenancy Relations Officer, a specialist council worker who can mediate in disputes between landlords and tenants.

Need more assistance? These websites can help...

• Gov.UK provides a useful source of information on how landlords should operate and what you can expect.
• Shelter has a wealth of advice for different situations as well as a free helpline: 0808 800 4444.
• Propertymark. This is where to go if you have had no joy with a complaint against a Propertymark member, or you want to check that the letting agent you use is Propertymark registered (formerly ARLA).
• Citizens Advice offers advice on everything to do with housing.

If you’re trying to get out of the rental market and into your own mortgaged property, start the process by checking out the best first-time buyer mortgages available, and use our mortgage repayment calculator to get an idea of what your future outgoings could be.