Can they do that? Brighton & Hove
All questions

Can a letting agent charge me fees to rent a place?

Short answer

Only a few

Apart from rent, deposits and a few listed charges, they can't charge you anything. No admin, referencing, viewing, inventory or check-out fees, and no rent before you sign.

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a landlord or letting agent in England can’t make you pay anything that isn’t on the Act’s short list of permitted payments.1

Payment Limit
Rent Not before you’ve signed the tenancy agreement2
Rent before you move in After signing, usually up to 1 month’s rent, or 28 days’ if you pay weekly3
Holding deposit Up to 1 week’s rent, refundable4
Tenancy deposit Up to 5 weeks’ rent, or 6 weeks’ if the rent is £50,000 a year or more.5 It must be protected6
Changing the tenancy at your request £50, or their reasonable costs if that’s more7
Leaving early at your request No more than the landlord’s loss, or the agent’s reasonable costs8
Late rent Only if your agreement says so, and only once the rent is 14 days late. Interest of up to 3% a year above the Bank of England base rate9
Lost keys or fobs Only if your agreement says so: the reasonable cost, with evidence in writing10
Damages if you break the agreement Allowed11
Bills: gas, electricity, water, TV licence, phone line, internet Only if your agreement says you pay them12
Council tax Paid to the council, not to the landlord13

“One week’s rent” means a year’s rent divided by 52.14 So if your rent is £1,300 a month (£15,600 a year), one week’s rent is £300, and the most they can take as a tenancy deposit is £1,500.

What they can’t charge for

For example, they can’t charge for:

They also can’t make you pay for insurance or sign up for a service, such as an inventory service or a deposit replacement product. You can choose to use one if you want to.20

Rent in advance

New rules apply to tenancy agreements signed from 1 May 2026.21

  • Before you sign, a landlord or agent must not ask for rent, encourage you to pay it, or accept it, even if you offer.22
  • Between signing and moving in, they can usually ask for up to one month’s rent, or 28 days’ if you pay weekly.3 If they ask for more, you can refuse to pay.23
  • Once you’ve moved in, any term in your agreement that makes rent due in advance has no effect.24 You can choose to pay early, but they can’t make you.25

These limits don’t apply if the council arranged the tenancy because you were homeless, or if it’s social or supported housing.26

Holding deposits

A holding deposit reserves the property while the landlord does checks.27

  • You and the landlord have 15 days to sign the agreement, unless you agree a different deadline in writing.28
  • They must give it back within 7 days if you sign the agreement, if the landlord decides not to go ahead, or if the deadline passes without an agreement.29 With your consent, they can put it towards your first rent or your tenancy deposit instead.30
  • They can only keep it if you fail a Right to Rent check, give false or misleading information, pull out, or don’t take reasonable steps to agree the tenancy by the deadline.31 They must tell you why in writing.32
  • They can’t keep it for pulling out or delay if they asked you for a banned fee, or treated you so badly that it would be unreasonable to expect you to sign.33
  • They can only take one holding deposit for a property at a time.34 If you’re sharing, the cap is one week’s rent for the whole property, not each.35

If you’ve been charged a banned fee

  1. Don’t pay it. If you already have, ask for it back in writing, and keep a record of every request and reply.36
  2. Report it to the council. It can investigate, help you get the money back, and fine the landlord or agent.37 In Brighton & Hove, Trading Standards enforces the rules on fees, and you report through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, which passes complaints to Trading Standards.38 See how to report a letting agent.
  3. You can also apply to the First-tier Tribunal to get the money back.39 If it was a letting agent, you can complain to its redress scheme.40

The council can fine a landlord or agent up to £5,000 for a banned fee or for asking for rent before you sign,41 and up to £30,000 for a repeat within five years.42

References

  1. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 1(1) and s. 3(1). A landlord must not require a relevant person to make a prohibited payment to the landlord in connection with a tenancy of housing in England. For the purposes of this Act a payment is a prohibited payment unless it is a permitted payment by virtue of Schedule 1. ↩

  2. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 1(1A), inserted from 1 May 2026. But a payment of rent is a prohibited payment if…it is payable before the tenancy is entered into, and…the tenancy is an assured tenancy. ↩

  3. Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants, “Rent in advance and deposits”. GOV.UK. If you’ll be paying rent monthly, the maximum amount the landlord can usually ask for is one month’s rent. If you’ll be paying rent weekly, the maximum amount the landlord can usually ask for is 28 days’ rent. ↩ ↩2

  4. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 3(3). If the amount of the holding deposit exceeds one week’s rent, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment. ↩

  5. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 2(3). But if the amount of the tenancy deposit exceeds…the amount of five weeks’ rent, where the annual rent in respect of the tenancy immediately after its grant, renewal or continuance is less than £50,000, or…the amount of six weeks’ rent, where the annual rent in respect of the tenancy immediately after its grant, renewal or continuance is £50,000 or more, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment. ↩

  6. Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants, “Rent in advance and deposits”. The landlord or letting agent must keep your deposit safe using a government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme. ↩

  7. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 6. to a landlord in consideration of the variation, assignment or novation of a tenancy at the tenant’s request; But if the amount of the payment exceeds the greater of…£50, or…the reasonable costs of the person to whom the payment is to be made in respect of the variation, assignment or novation of the tenancy, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment. ↩

  8. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 7(2) and (4). But if the amount of the payment exceeds the loss suffered by the landlord as a result of the termination of the tenancy, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment. But if the amount of the payment exceeds the reasonable costs of the letting agent in respect of the termination of the tenancy, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment. GOV.UK’s guidance adds that for a landlord this cannot be more than the amount of rent due until the minimum notice period ends (2 months starting on the day rent is due). Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants. GOV.UK, updated July 2026. ↩

  9. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 4(1), (2)(b) and (5). a payment in the event of a relevant default by the tenant is a permitted payment if the tenancy agreement requires the payment to be made. a failure to make a payment of rent in full before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date (“the due date”) on which the payment is required to be made; an annual percentage rate of 3% above the Bank of England base rate to the amount of rent that remains unpaid at the end of that day. ↩

  10. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 4(2)(a) and (3). the loss of a key to, or other security device giving access to, the housing to which the tenancy relates; the amount of the payment exceeds the costs which…are reasonably incurred by the landlord or letting agent as a result of the default, and…are supported by evidence in writing which is provided to the person on whom the requirement to make the payment is imposed, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment. ↩

  11. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 5. A payment of damages for breach of a tenancy agreement or an agreement between a letting agent and a relevant person is a permitted payment. ↩

  12. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 paras. 9–11. A payment for or in connection with the provision of a utility is a permitted payment if the tenancy agreement requires the payment to be made. A payment to the British Broadcasting Corporation in respect of a television licence is a permitted payment if the tenancy agreement requires the payment to be made. A payment for or in connection with the provision of a communication service is a permitted payment if the tenancy agreement requires the payment to be made. Communication services are a telephone other than a mobile telephone…the internet…cable television…satellite television. ↩

  13. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 8(1). A payment to a billing authority in respect of council tax is a permitted payment. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants, “Council tax”. Your landlord can include a payment for council tax within the rent where this is agreed within the tenancy agreement. If payments for council tax are not included in the rent, your landlord can require you to pay council tax to the relevant local council. However, your landlord cannot require you to make a separate payment to them for council tax. ↩

  14. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 2(4)(c). “one week’s rent” means the amount of the annual rent payable in respect of the tenancy immediately after its grant, renewal or continuance divided by 52. ↩

  15. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (PDF). Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 30 September 2020, withdrawn 8 May 2026. p. 28. No. A landlord or agent cannot charge for this service as viewing a property is part of the process connected with granting a tenancy. The sections of the Act this describes are still in force. ↩

  16. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (2020, withdrawn), p. 28. It is a landlord’s responsibility to pay for services they contract, including any costs associated with setting up a tenancy. This includes fees for referencing and credit checks, guarantor fees and administration. ↩

  17. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (2020, withdrawn), p. 29. No. A landlord may choose to carry out an inventory check, but they cannot charge you for this service ↩

  18. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (2020, withdrawn), p. 30. No. A landlord or agent cannot charge you for any services connected with the termination or ending of a tenancy. ↩

  19. Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents (England) (PDF). The Property Ombudsman, updated 1 May 2026. para 16c, p. 11. Note that you cannot require a tenant to pay for a professional clean when they check-out ↩

  20. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants, GOV.UK. There are loans, insurance and contracts that can help tenants for example: a professional guarantor service contents insurance a deposit replacement product an inventory service You can choose to use any of these things, but your landlord is not allowed to make you pay for a loan, pay for insurance or start a contract for a service as part of your tenancy. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 1(3). A landlord must not require a relevant person to enter into a contract with a third party in connection with a tenancy of housing in England if that contract is— (a) a contract for the provision of a service, or (b) a contract of insurance. ↩

  21. Asking for rent in advance: guidance for local authorities. GOV.UK, updated 8 May 2026. The rules will not apply to: tenancy agreements that were signed before 1 May 2026 payments of rent in advance that were made before 1 May 2026 ↩

  22. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 5A(1) and (3), inserted from 1 May 2026. A landlord must not— (a) invite or encourage a relevant person to make a prohibited pre-tenancy payment of rent to the landlord in connection with an assured tenancy of housing in England, (b) accept an offer from a relevant person to make a prohibited pre-tenancy payment of rent to the landlord in connection with an assured tenancy of housing in England, or (c) accept from a relevant person a prohibited pre-tenancy payment of rent. Subsection (3) says the same of letting agents. ↩

  23. Asking for rent in advance: guidance for local authorities, “Pre-tenancy period”. Landlords must not demand more than this. If they do, the tenant can refuse to pay. ↩

  24. Housing Act 1988, s. 4B(1), inserted from 1 May 2026. 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. ↩

  25. Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants, “Rent and other payments”. Once the tenancy has started, you can choose to pay any amount of rent early. The landlord or letting agent cannot make you do this. ↩

  26. Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants, “Rent in advance and deposits”. The landlord or letting agent can ask you for more than one month or 28 days’ rent in advance if: the tenancy was agreed by the local council because you were legally homeless the property will be let as either social or supported housing ↩

  27. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants, “Refundable holding deposit”. You might have to pay a holding deposit to reserve the property while the landlord does pre-tenancy checks. ↩

  28. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 2 para. 2. “the deadline for agreement” means the fifteenth day of the period beginning with the day on which the landlord or letting agent receives the holding deposit. But the landlord or the letting agent may agree with the tenant in writing that a different day is to be the deadline for agreement ↩

  29. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 2 paras. 3–4. the person who received the holding deposit must repay it if— (a) the landlord and the tenant enter into a tenancy agreement relating to the housing, (b) the landlord decides before the deadline for agreement not to enter into a tenancy agreement relating to the housing, or (c) the landlord and the tenant fail to enter into a tenancy agreement relating to the housing before the deadline for agreement. the deposit must be repaid within the period of 7 days ↩

  30. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 2 para. 6. the amount of the deposit is applied, with the consent of the person by whom it was paid— (a) towards the first payment of rent under the tenancy, or (b) towards the payment of the tenancy deposit in respect of the tenancy. ↩

  31. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 2 paras. 8–11. Paragraph 8 covers a landlord who is prohibited by section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014 (persons disqualified by immigration status) from granting a tenancy; paragraph 9, where the tenant provides false or misleading information to the landlord or letting agent; paragraph 10, where the tenant notifies the landlord or letting agent before the deadline for agreement that the tenant has decided not to enter into a tenancy agreement; and paragraph 11, where the tenant fails to take all reasonable steps to enter into the agreement. ↩

  32. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 2 para. 5(1). The deposit must be repaid if the person holding it does not give the person who paid the deposit a notice in writing within the relevant period explaining why the person who received it intends not to repay it. The relevant period is 7 days. ↩

  33. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 2 para. 13. Paragraph 10, 11 or 12 does not apply (so that paragraph 3(c) does apply) if, before the deadline for agreement— (a) the landlord or a letting agent instructed by the landlord in relation to the proposed tenancy breaches section 1 or 2 by imposing a requirement under that section on the tenant or behaves towards the tenant, or a person who is a relevant person in relation to the tenant, in such a way that it would be unreasonable to expect the tenant to enter into a tenancy agreement with the landlord. ↩

  34. Tenant Fees Act 2019, Sch. 1 para. 3(5). A payment of a holding deposit is not a permitted payment if…the landlord or letting agent to whom the deposit was paid has previously received a holding deposit (“the earlier deposit”) in relation to the same housing, and has neither repaid it nor been allowed to keep it. ↩

  35. Tenant Fees Act 2019: statutory guidance for enforcement authorities. GOV.UK, 2026. If there are 3 tenants who are jointly liable for the agreed weekly rent of £240, the landlord or agent cannot charge each tenant a £240 holding deposit. The maximum a landlord can accept for the property as a whole would be £240. ↩

  36. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants, GOV.UK. If your landlord asks you for a fee that is not allowed, you should refuse to pay it and you should keep any evidence. If you have already paid a fee that is not allowed you can ask your landlord to give the money back and keep a record of any response. ↩

  37. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants, GOV.UK. You can contact your local council who can investigate prohibited payments and can help you get the money back. They can also make your landlord pay a fine. The council’s duty to enforce: Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 6(1). It is the duty of every local weights and measures authority in England to enforce in its area— (a) section 1 (prohibitions applying to landlords), (b) section 2 (prohibitions applying to letting agents). Local weights and measures authorities are councils’ Trading Standards services. ↩

  38. Renters’ Rights Act. Brighton & Hove City Council. The following elements of the Renters Rights Act are enforced by Trading Standards, including the requirement to pay rent in advance. To report any of these issues, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. Find consumer advice. Brighton & Hove City Council. you can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133; the adviser can pass information about complaints on to Trading Standards - you can’t do this yourself ↩

  39. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 15(3). The relevant person may make an application to the First-tier Tribunal for the recovery from the landlord or letting agent of a prohibited payment or holding deposit that hasn’t been repaid. ↩

  40. Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants, GOV.UK. If a letting agent asked for a prohibited payment, you can report them to the letting agent redress schemes: The Property Ombudsman Property Redress ↩

  41. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 8(1)–(2). must not exceed £5,000. Asking for rent in advance: guidance for local authorities, “First breach”. You can issue a civil penalty of up to £5,000 if you find a landlord or agent has asked for, encouraged or accepted rent before a tenancy agreement is signed. ↩

  42. Tenant Fees Act 2019, s. 8(3). the financial penalty— (a) may exceed £5,000, but (b) must not exceed £30,000. Asking for rent in advance: guidance for local authorities, “Repeat breaches”. You can fine or prosecute a landlord or letting agent if they commit the same breach within 5 years. The fine for a repeat breach can be up to £30,000. ↩