Your rights when you rent from a private landlord

When you have a problem with your landlord or your home, your rights and your landlord’s responsibilities depend on the type of contract or rental agreement you have.

If you know what type of contract or rental agreement you have, you can find out what rights you have when dealing with things like:

• getting repairs done

• paying your rent

• dealing with rent increase

• your home's energy efficiency

• being asked to leave your home

• ending your rental agreement

• getting your deposit back

You can check what type of contract or tenancy you have if you’re not sure.

Your rights are different if you rent from the council or a housing association - check your rights when you rent from a council or a housing association.

Getting repairs done

If your landlord is responsible for repairs, they should do them in a ‘reasonable’ amount of time. 

What counts as reasonable depends on the problem - for example, a broken boiler should be fixed sooner than a leaky tap.

You can’t pay your rent

You can check our advice on getting help with renting costs. 

Your contract or rental agreement will usually say how much rent you have to pay and when you have to pay it.

Your contract or rental agreement will usually say how much rent you have to pay and when you have to pay it. 

If you have a standard or secure contract

Your landlord has to give you a written statement that tells you how much your rent is and when you have to pay it. Your landlord has to give you your written statement either: 

• within 14 days of the start of your contract

• by 1 June 2023 if your agreement started before 1 December 2022

If you have a different type of agreement 

If you don’t have a written agreement, the amount of rent you have to pay will be what you agreed with your landlord.

If you don’t pay your rent on time

Your landlord might be able to evict you.

If you think you’re going to miss a rent payment, you should:

• check if you can get benefits

• talk to your landlord - you could ask for extra time to pay, but don’t say you’ll pay earlier than you think you’ll be able to

If you fall behind with your rent payments, you’ll be in ‘rent arrears’. Get help dealing with rent arrears.

Your landlord wants to increase your rent

Your landlord can't increase your rent whenever they like. They need to follow certain rules if they want you to pay more - these depend on the type of contract or rental agreement you have. 

If your landlord doesn’t follow the rules, you might be able to challenge them.

You can’t challenge a rent increase if you’ve already started to pay the new amount - for example, if you started paying the increased rent then changed your mind.

Your home’s electrical and gas safety checks

The law says your landlord has to:

• make sure your home meets electrical and gas safety standards

• give you copies of electrical and gas safety check reports

If you have a secure or standard contract

Your landlord has to make sure there’s a working smoke alarm on each floor of the property. The smoke alarms must be hardwired - this means when one alarm senses smoke they all go off.

Your landlord also has to make sure there’s a working carbon monoxide alarm in every room where there’s:

• a gas appliance, for example a gas ring hob

• an oil fired appliance, for example an oil boiler

• a solid fuel burning appliance, for example a wood stove

Ask your landlord for a gas safety check

Your landlord needs to do a gas safety check every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered installer. You can check your gas engineer is registered at Gas Safe Register.

Your landlord has to give you a copy of a gas safety report within 28 days of the check. If there are any safety problems on the report, your landlord must get them fixed within the same 28 days of the safety check. You should check the report for anything that needs fixing sooner than 28 days.

If you’re moving to a new home, your new landlord has to give you a copy of a gas safety certificate before your new tenancy starts. Check the expiry date on the certificate.

If you think your landlord hasn’t followed the law

If your landlord has missed an electrical or gas safety check, or hasn’t given you copies of the reports, you should speak to them first. If speaking to your landlord hasn't worked, you can tell your local council’s housing services team.

If you complain, your landlord might try to evict you by giving you a notice. The type of notice you could get depends on the type of agreement you have.

You can: 

• check what to do if you get a ‘no fault’ notice

• check what to do if you get a 'with grounds' notice

If you need help, you can talk to an adviser.

Your home's energy efficiency

Your landlord is responsible for your home's energy efficiency if you have a:

• secure occupation contract

• standard occupation contract

• protected tenancy

If your home has an F or G energy efficiency rating, your landlord must improve it to E or better. They can’t carry on renting the property with an F or G energy rating.

If you don’t know your home’s energy efficiency rating, ask your landlord or agent for an energy performance certificate (EPC). They have to give you an EPC if you ask for one.

If your landlord says they’re ‘exempt’ from improving your home’s energy efficiency you should talk to an adviser.

If you reach the end date of your agreement

If your agreement has an end date, it’s a ‘fixed term’ agreement. You don’t automatically have to leave your home at the end of the fixed term.

If you’re a standard contract holder, you can decide with your landlord if you want to renew the contract for another fixed period or stay on a rolling basis. A rolling basis is when the contract runs from month to month or week to week - this is called a ‘periodic standard occupation contract’.

If your landlord asks you to leave your home 

The amount of notice you should get and the process your landlord has to follow depends on the type of rental agreement you have. If your landlord doesn’t follow the rules, you can challenge them.

Ending your rental agreement

You’II usually need to let your landlord know in advance if you want to end your rental agreement - this is called 'giving notice'.

If you’re a secure or standard contract holder 

You’ll need to give notice to your landlord if you want to end your tenancy.

Check our advice on ending your occupation contract.

If you’re a different type of tenant or occupier

You have to give notice in the correct way - if you don’t, you might have to pay rent even after you’ve moved out. You might also have to pay other bills - for example, council tax. 

When and how much notice you give will depend on whether you have a fixed term agreement and if your agreement says anything about giving notice.

You should always give notice in writing and keep a copy of it. 

If you can't give the right amount of notice, you might be able to agree with your landlord to end your rental agreement early. This is called 'surrendering your agreement'. You should always try to agree this in writing in case there are problems later on. 

Think carefully before ending your agreement. If you leave before finding somewhere else to live, it might affect how much help you get from the council to find somewhere else to live. 

If you’re thinking of ending your agreement, talk to an adviser. They can help you check how much notice you need to give and talk you through your options.

If you have a fixed term agreement

You can only end your agreement early if your landlord agrees or your written agreement says you can - this is called a ‘break clause’. 

If you have a joint agreement the rules are more complex - you usually can’t use a break clause unless the other person agrees to do this. 

Talk to an adviser if you don’t understand your break clause or if you have a joint agreement.

If you don’t have a fixed term agreement or it’s ended

If you’re a protected tenant you need to give notice in writing. You'll need to give at least 28 days notice but this might be longer - look at what it says in your tenancy agreement. 

If you have a joint agreement, only one tenant needs to give notice. This will end the tenancy for both people. 

Talk to an adviser if you:

• need help understanding what notice you need to give

• have a different type of rental agreement

If you live with your partner

If you’re separating from your partner, check our advice on what happens to your home when you separate.

If you have a joint secure or standard contract, you can find out more about ending your joint occupation contract.

Getting your deposit back 

You'll need to contact your landlord at the end of your rental agreement to ask them for your deposit.

If you’re a secure or standard contract holder

Your landlord might have a responsibility to protect your deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme. You can check our advice on:

• finding out if your landlord has to protect your deposit

• getting your tenancy deposit back

If your assured shorthold tenancy ended before 1 December 2022

You can find advice on getting your deposit back.

If you’re a different type of occupier

You'll need to contact your landlord when you leave your home to ask them for your deposit. 

If your home is managed by a letting agency, you'll need to contact them instead.

It's a good idea to write or email when you ask for your deposit - this means you'll have a record of when you asked for it.

You'll have a better chance of getting all or most of your deposit back if you leave the property in the same condition as when you moved in. It's a good idea to get evidence of the condition of the property when you leave - for example, photos or a signed inventory. 

Your landlord might take money off your deposit if you owe rent or if you’ve damaged the property - for example if you’ve stained the carpet. Your landlord can’t take money off your deposit for everyday use - for example if you’ve scuffed the skirting boards. This is known as ‘reasonable wear and tear’.

If your landlord says they’re going to take money off your deposit, they should tell you why - if they don't, ask them. You can also ask them to give you details about how they’ve worked out the amount, if it’s not clear. 

It's best to get your landlord's reasons in writing if you can - that way you can refer back to them if you need to take action to get your deposit back.

If you still can't agree with your landlord, you could take them to court. 

Talk to an adviser if you need help getting your deposit back.

If you have any other problems

If you have an occupation contract, you can check our advice on renting privately.

If you have any other type of agreement, you can talk to an adviser.

If you think you’ve been discriminated against

It might be against the law if your landlord treats you unfairly or differently because of who you are, such as being disabled or being a woman. If it is, you can complain or take them to court.

Check if your housing problem is discrimination.