What does the Tenant Fees Act 2019 ban, and what can you still charge?

In England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans landlords and letting agents from charging tenants anything unless the Act says it is permitted. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules: Wales has the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, Scotland uses the premium ban applied to private residential tenancies, and Northern Ireland’s notable rule is narrower because an agent’s commission stipulation is void but no equivalent ban applies to a self-managing landlord.

What is the Tenant Fees Act 2019?

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 is the English tenant fee ban: from 1 June 2019, a landlord or letting agent cannot require a tenant, guarantor or other relevant person to make a prohibited payment in connection with a tenancy of housing in England. The operative landlord ban is England-only even though the Act extends to England and Wales; the explanatory notes state, “The Act will apply in relation to housing in England only,” and section 1 says, “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.” Section 3 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 is the key switch: a payment is banned unless Schedule 1 permits it. The tenant fee ban mattered because pre-ban tenant charges were common: the government’s impact assessment recorded that “the mean average fee paid by a household in 2014-15 was £223, while the median was £200.”

What payments are banned under the Tenant Fees Act?

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a payment is banned in England unless it is a permitted payment in Schedule 1, so prohibited payments include ordinary letting agent fees such as admin, referencing, credit-check, guarantor, inventory, check-in and check-out charges where they are not otherwise allowed. Section 3 states the rule in full: “For the purposes of this Act a payment is a prohibited payment unless it is a permitted payment by virtue of Schedule 1.” That means a landlord cannot get around the ban by renaming a pre-tenancy charge as an onboarding cost, reservation admin charge or tenancy set-up fee. The same Act also catches non-money requirements: government guidance says, “It is also a prohibited payment if you require your tenant to take out a loan, pay for insurance or start a contract for a service.” Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different; in Northern Ireland the 1986 Order voids a tenant-paid agent commission stipulation, but that is not a general self-managing-landlord fee ban.

What can you still charge a tenant?

In England, permitted payments under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 are rent, a capped tenancy deposit, a capped holding deposit, late-rent default interest, reasonable default payments for lost keys or security devices, payments for tenant-requested variation, assignment or novation, early termination at the tenant’s request, council tax, utilities, TV licence and communication services where the tenancy makes the tenant liable. The deposit cap is five weeks’ rent where annual rent is under £50,000 and six weeks’ rent where annual rent is £50,000 or more; Schedule 1 says five weeks applies where rent is “less than £50,000,” and six weeks applies where rent is “£50,000 or more,” with no £100,000 ceiling in the statute. A holding deposit above one week’s rent is prohibited as to the excess. Late-rent interest is permitted only on the statutory basis: 3% above Bank of England base rate, charged day by day on unpaid rent. Abodient can record each tenancy’s rent, deposit amount and deposit scheme, which matters because those figures decide whether a proposed charge exceeds the Act’s permitted-payment limits.

Can you charge a tenant for referencing, right to rent checks or cleaning?

In England, you cannot charge a tenant for referencing, credit checks, Right to Rent checks or an upfront checkout-cleaning fee, but you can still make a tenancy deposit deduction if the property is left dirty beyond its original condition. Referencing and credit checks are landlord set-up costs: MHCLG guidance says, “This includes fees for referencing and credit checks, guarantor fees and administration.” Right to Rent is also the landlord’s duty, not a tenant-payable service; the statutory rule is that “A landlord must not authorise an adult to occupy premises under a residential tenancy agreement if the adult is disqualified as a result of their immigration status.” Cleaning is the point most often miswritten into tenancy agreements: the guidance is blunt that “You cannot require a tenant to pay for a professional clean when they check-out,” but it also says a landlord may recover costs from the deposit if “the property is not left in a fit condition.” So an upfront exit-clean fee is banned; a dirty-property deposit deduction can still stand.

How much can you take as a holding deposit?

In England, the maximum holding deposit under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 is one week’s rent, calculated as annual rent divided by 52, and any excess is a prohibited payment. Schedule 1 says, “If the amount of the holding deposit exceeds one week's rent, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment,” and then defines the calculation: “In sub-paragraph (3) ‘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.” That means a £1,200 monthly rent gives a maximum holding deposit of £276.92, not £300, because the Act uses £14,400 divided by 52 rather than one month divided by four. Wales also caps a holding deposit at one week’s rent under the Welsh Act, Scotland treats holding deposits as unlawful key money in practice, and Northern Ireland has no equivalent statutory holding-deposit cap.

When can you keep a holding deposit instead of refunding it?

In England, you can keep a holding deposit only in limited cases such as failed Right to Rent unknown when the deposit was taken, false or misleading information, the tenant deciding not to proceed before the deadline, or the tenant failing to take reasonable steps to enter the tenancy. Schedule 2 expressly covers withdrawal: “Subject to paragraph 13, paragraph 3(c) does not apply if 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.” It also covers immigration status where “the landlord is prohibited by section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014” from granting the tenancy. A failed credit or reference check is not enough by itself; TDS states, “Even if the tenant fails a credit check, they should get a holding deposit refund, unless they provided false or misleading information.” If you intend not to repay, you must give written reasons within the relevant seven-day period, or the right to retain is lost.

Can you charge a tenant for ending the tenancy early?

In England, you can charge a tenant for ending the tenancy early only where the tenant requests the termination, and the charge cannot exceed the landlord’s loss caused by that early termination. Schedule 1 permits “a payment to a landlord in consideration of the termination of a tenancy at the tenant's request,” but immediately caps it: “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.” That means no automatic one-month, two-month or £50 statutory surrender fee applies to tenant-requested early termination; the defensible figure is the provable loss, such as lost rent during a void period or unavoidable reletting cost, not a penalty. The difference is real in tribunal decisions: in a 2022 Caspian Heights case, an invoice for one month’s rent plus VAT was cut down, with the tribunal recording that “the costs amount to £363 inclusive of vat.”

Can you charge a tenant extra for paying by card or bank transfer?

In England, a landlord cannot add a rent payment-method surcharge to a tenant unless it is a permitted payment, and card surcharges are separately banned for consumer payments. The Tenant Fees Act route is simple: “For the purposes of this Act a payment is a prohibited payment unless it is a permitted payment by virtue of Schedule 1,” and a 5% fee for not paying cash, a credit card rent surcharge or a bank transfer surcharge is not on the Schedule 1 list. The payment-surcharges rules also stop consumer card fees; HM Treasury described the ban this way: “Today’s ban means that it will be unlawful for retailers to charge additional fees when someone uses a particular credit or debit card, or other payment systems like PayPal, to make a purchase.” A tenancy term saying rent is paid by standing order with no extra charges cannot be varied partway through a periodic tenancy to add a payment-method penalty that the Act does not permit.

What are the penalties for breaching the Tenant Fees Act?

Penalties under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 are two tracks, not a ladder: a first breach carries a civil penalty capped at £5,000, while a repeat breach is a criminal offence with an uncapped court-set fine, and the widely quoted £30,000 is the alternative civil penalty for that offence, not the criminal fine. Section 8 says the first financial penalty “must not exceed £5,000.” If the authority is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the landlord or agent has committed the repeat offence, the alternative civil penalty “must not exceed £30,000.” Section 12 creates the repeat-breach offence where the later breach occurs within five years of an earlier relevant penalty or conviction, and the penalty on conviction is not stated as £30,000: “A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine.” Tenants can also recover prohibited payments through the First-tier Tribunal, which may order repayment of all or part of the prohibited sum.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Tenant Fees Act 2019 explanatory notes — “The Act will apply in relation to housing in England only.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.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.” Source
• Tenant Fees Bill Impact Assessment — “The English Housing Survey 2014-15 found that the mean average fee paid by a household in 2014-15 was £223, while the median was £200.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.3 — “For the purposes of this Act a payment is a prohibited payment unless it is a permitted payment by virtue of Schedule 1.” Source
• GOV.UK guidance, Fees you can charge as part of a tenancy — “It is also a prohibited payment if you require your tenant to take out a loan, pay for insurance or start a contract for a service.” Source
• The Commission (Disposals of Land) (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 art.3 — “Where, on a disposal of land, an agent acting for the person making the disposal is entitled to be paid a commission, any stipulation made on the disposal to the effect that the person acquiring the land shall pay the whole or any part of the commission shall be void.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 — “A payment of rent under a tenancy is a permitted payment.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 — “(a)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” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 — “(b)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,” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 — “If the amount of the holding deposit exceeds one week's rent, the amount of the excess is a prohibited payment.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 — “The amount referred to in sub-paragraph (4) is the aggregate of the amounts found by applying, in relation to each day after the due date for which the rent remains unpaid, 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.” Source
• MHCLG Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance for landlords and agents — “This includes fees for referencing and credit checks, guarantor fees and administration.” Source
• Immigration Act 2014 s.22 — “A landlord must not authorise an adult to occupy premises under a residential tenancy agreement if the adult is disqualified as a result of their immigration status.” Source
• MHCLG Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance for landlords and agents — “You cannot require a tenant to pay for a professional clean when they check-out.” Source
• MHCLG Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance for landlords and agents — “If the property is not left in a fit condition, you can recover costs associated with returning the property to its original condition and/or carrying out necessary repairs by claiming against the tenancy deposit.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 — “In sub-paragraph (3) ‘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.” Source
• Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 Schedule 1 — “(c)does not exceed an amount equivalent to one week's rent under the contract.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 2 — “Subject to paragraph 13, paragraph 3(c) does not apply if 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.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 2 — “(a)the landlord is prohibited by section 22 of the Immigration Act 2014 (persons disqualified by immigration status) from granting a tenancy of the housing to the tenant,” Source
• Tenancy Deposit Scheme, Retaining and Returning Holding Deposits Under The Tenant Fees Act — “Even if the tenant fails a credit check, they should get a holding deposit refund, unless they provided false or misleading information.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 paragraph 7 — “A payment is a permitted payment if it is a payment to a landlord in consideration of the termination of a tenancy at the tenant's request—” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 paragraph 7 — “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.” Source
• Caspian Heights FTT decision, 19 October 2022 — “The Schedule [44] provides that the costs amount to £363 inclusive of vat.” Source
• Payment Services Regulations 2012 reg.6A — “A payee must not charge a payer any fee in respect of payment by means of—” Source
• HM Treasury, Card surcharge ban means no more nasty surprises for shoppers — “Today’s ban means that it will be unlawful for retailers to charge additional fees when someone uses a particular credit or debit card, or other payment systems like PayPal, to make a purchase.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.8 — “(b)subject to subsection (3), must not exceed £5,000.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.8 — “(b)must not exceed £30,000.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.12 — “A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 s.15 — “On an application under subsection (3) or (5), the First-tier Tribunal may order the landlord or the letting agent to pay all or any part of the amount or (as the case may be) the aggregate amount referred to in that subsection to the relevant person within the period specified in the order.” Source