For renters

What do I need to know when renting for the first time in England?

Guide · about 3 min read · Covers the law as at November 2026 · Last checked on 1 November 2026

The money you can be asked for is capped, and most of the paperwork has a legal deadline attached. A holding deposit cannot exceed one week's rent. A deposit cannot exceed five weeks' rent for most tenancies. Rent is not payable before you have a tenancy. Knowing those three sentences changes what you agree to.

The rest of renting is largely negotiable. These parts are not.

These are the rules that attach to an assured tenancy, which covers most private renting in England. Sharing with a resident landlord, social housing, supported housing and accommodation a council arranges are each outside it or treated differently, so check which kind of arrangement you have first.

The money, and the caps on it

A holding deposit reserves a property while references and paperwork are sorted. Paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 makes anything above one week's rent a prohibited payment, and paragraph 3(4) says one week's rent means the annual rent divided by 52. The tenancy deposit is capped by paragraph 2(3) of the same Schedule at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, and six weeks' where it is £50,000 or more.

Rent comes later than people expect. Section 4B of the Housing Act 1988 stops a tenancy requiring rent in advance, with an exception for the initial rent, and it has its own excepted categories. Our guide to paying rent in advance before you move in works through section 4B properly, including what the initial rent comes to and who is outside it. Paragraph 1(1A) of Schedule 1 prohibits rent that is payable before the tenancy is entered into, and section 5A(1)(a) of the Act does not merely refuse the payment: a landlord must not invite or encourage one. Our guide to whether it is safe to pay rent in advance before you move in goes through what to do if you are asked.

Everything else is on the permitted list or it is not permitted at all. Referencing, a credit check, an inventory, admin, renewal and a fee for a guarantee are not on it. Our guide to what landlords can and cannot ask for when you rent sets out the whole list. If you have already paid something that is not on it, you can ask for it back in writing.

As an illustration, that usually means about a month's rent plus the deposit, which is capped at five weeks' rent, or six where the annual rent is £50,000 or more.

What has to be given to you, and when

The earliest one is new and it comes before you sign. Section 16D(4) of the Housing Act 1988 requires the landlord to give you a written statement of the tenancy terms before the tenancy is entered into, and regulations set what it has to cover. Our guide to whether a written tenancy agreement is required goes into it.

Then the deposit. Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 says a deposit must be dealt with under an authorised scheme from the time it is received, and gives the landlord 30 days from receiving it both to comply with the scheme's initial requirements and to give you the prescribed information about it. If 30 days have passed and you have heard nothing, that is a question worth asking in writing. How the schemes work is in our guide to deposit protection in England.

Then the safety paperwork. A copy of the gas safety record has to be given to a new tenant before they occupy the premises, under regulation 36(6)(b) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.

The energy performance certificate, which should normally have been made available to you by the time you viewed the place, and the property generally has to be band E or better to be let at all. A prospective tenant can request the electrical safety report in writing and must be given it within 28 days, and a new tenant has to be given the most recent report before they occupy the premises without having to ask.

Keep every piece of it. It is the record of what you were promised, and it is what you will want if a deposit is ever disputed. That is the part VEYLO X is built around. VEYLO X is a software platform for renting and letting in England, where the landlord writes the tenancy record, VEYLO X keeps it, and the renter sees the same one. The renter profile is free for renters. It does not assess anyone, does not decide any outcome, and takes no part in whether a tenancy goes ahead.

How long the tenancy lasts now

Not for a fixed term. Since the main provisions of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect on 1 May 2026, an assured tenancy is periodic, so there is no six or twelve month lock-in of the old kind, and for a tenancy granted now there is no Section 21. That changes both sides of the arrangement, and ending a tenancy is outside this guide; the detail is in our guides to what a periodic tenancy is and to how much notice you have to give to end your tenancy.

Common questions

How much money do I need to rent my first home in England?

Two capped amounts and then the rent. A holding deposit, which reserves the property while things are arranged, cannot exceed one week's rent under paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019. A tenancy deposit cannot exceed five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks' rent where it is £50,000 or more, under paragraph 2(3) of the same Schedule. Rent itself is not payable before the tenancy is entered into. Anything else asked for as a condition of the tenancy is likely to be a prohibited payment.

What should my landlord give me when I move in?

Before the tenancy is entered into, a written statement of the tenancy terms, under section 16D(4) of the Housing Act 1988. Then, before you occupy the premises, a copy of the gas safety record, under regulation 36(6)(b) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. The energy performance certificate, which was already due to you by the viewing. Proof that your deposit is protected, and the prescribed information about the scheme: section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 gives the landlord 30 days from receiving the deposit for both. The electrical safety report has to be given to a new tenant before they occupy the premises, and is available to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a written request. Keep all of it, because it is the record of what you were promised.

Can a letting agent charge me a fee for renting?

Not for the things renters are usually charged for. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 permits only what is on the list in Schedule 1, and referencing, an inventory, a credit check, admin, renewal and a guarantee are not on it, so charging for those is prohibited. Schedule 1 does permit some payments, which is why the answer is narrower than a flat no. Our guide to what landlords can and cannot ask for works through the whole of Schedule 1, including the payments that are permitted and the two default charges an agreement may set. If you have already paid something that was not permitted, you can ask for it back in writing.

Sources

The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the position in England as at November 2026: the main Renters' Rights Act 2025 tenancy provisions took effect on 1 May 2026, and a few further measures are still to be commenced, so some detail may have changed since. It does not cover how a tenancy is ended. Free advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice for your own situation.

Get started