Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants
Rental bidding
A landlord or letting agent cannot ask or encourage you to pay higher than the advertised rent. They also cannot accept a bid above the advertised rent.
If someone offers to pay more than the advertised rent for a property, this is known as ‘rental bidding’.
When a property is advertised
When a property is advertised in writing, the advert must say how much the rent is. It must be a specific amount. A price range is not allowed.
A written advert can be:
- an online property advert
- a printed advert
- a social media post
- any digital communication, for example, emails, text messages or direct messages
A ‘to let’ sign outside a property is not a written advert.
After a property is advertised
After a landlord or letting agent has advertised the rent for a property, they cannot:
- ask or encourage you to offer more
- publish a price range for the property and ask you to bid within that range, or higher
- tell you there are other bids to encourage you to increase your offer
Report a landlord or letting agent
You can report a landlord or letting agent to your local council if they take part in or encourage rental bidding.
Your local council may ask you for:
- evidence of the original advertised rent
- evidence of rental bidding
- a statement
You can also report a landlord or letting agent if they did not include the rent when they advertised the property.
If you’ve already bid on a property
You can still report a landlord or letting agent to your local council if:
- you made a bid above the advertised rent after the landlord asked or encouraged you to
- you made a bid above the advertised rent and the landlord accepted it
If your local council agrees that rental bidding has happened, they can fine a landlord or letting agent up to £7,000.