Tenant Fees Act 2019 and more

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 (“the Act”) came into force at the beginning of this month (June 2019). The act introduces a ban on various fees that had become the norm within the rental sector. Any tenancies entered into after 1 June 2019 will be subject to these new provisions. 

The government has released guidance for Landlords and Tenants.  Under the Act fees such as viewing, tenancy set-up, check out and third-party fees are now prohibited. 

There are still some fees which Landlords or their Agents will be able to charge to Tenants. This includes rent, deposit, holding the deposit, default fee, change to the tenancy or an early termination fee. All fees are subject to certain limitations which are set out in Schedule 1 of the Act.

Where a prohibited payment has been made, the Landlord is unable to use the section 21 eviction procedure until such time as the prohibited payment has been repaid in full to the Tenant.

Sanctions for breach of the Act

The following sanctions apply where a breach of the legislation has been committed[1]


The Act provides another layer of protection to Tenants against unruly Landlords. Given the current strain on resources which all Local Authorities are experiencing it will be interesting to see the level of enforcement.

Get the advice and help you need

Further recent changes also include the new mandatory Form 6A which is to be used for section 21 notices when seeking to recover possession of your Property. 

Also, a new version of the ‘How to Rent’ guide was published on 31 May 2019. This guide must be used for all new private assured shorthold tenancies or any replacement tenancies entered into where the original tenancy was made before 31 May 2019. If the incorrect version of the guide is given to Tenants’ then a section 21 notice cannot be served until they have been provided with the correct version.

[1] https://bit.ly/2IhvZt4

Robert Blair – Cohen Cramer Solicitors 14/06/19