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Guidance

Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance

Guidance for tenants, landlords, letting agents and local authority enforcement officers explaining how the Act affects them.

Updates to this page

From:
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2018 to 2021)
Published:
1 April 2019
Last updated:
30 September 2020
Show all updates

  1. On 1 June 2020, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 became retrospective. This means it now applies to all applicable assured shorthold tenancies, tenancies of student accommodation and licenses to occupy housing regardless of when they were entered into. The guidance documents have now been updated to reflect this. Additionally, the guidance for tenants, and the guidance for landlords and agents includes a Q&A covering the interaction between the Tenant Fees Act and COVID-19.

  2. Added glossary of terms.

  3. First published.

This publication was withdrawn on

This guidance is no longer up to date. For up to date guidance, please access our tenant, landlord, and local council Tenant Fees Act guidance updated by the Renters’ Rights Act.

Applies to England

Documents

Tenant Fees Act 2019: statutory guidance for enforcement authorities (updated September 2020)

PDF, 866 KB, 42 pages

Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for landlords and letting agents (updated September 2020)

PDF, 1.02 MB, 61 pages

Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants (updated September 2020)

PDF, 1.74 MB, 84 pages

Details

Information about how private renting is affected by COVID-19

Statutory guidance to assist local authorities in understanding and using their enforcement powers as per the Tenant Fees Act 2019, including on:

  • the enforcement and appeals procedure for enforcing the Act
  • imposing civil penalties
  • co-operating with the Lead Enforcement Authority

Consumer guidance to help inform landlords and letting agents of their rights and obligations under the Act, including:

  • a list of permitted and prohibited payments
  • consequences of a breach of the Act

Consumer guidance to help tenants understand their rights and obligations under the Act, including:

  • a list of permitted and prohibited payments
  • what to do when you think your rights have been breached under the Act

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