Tenant Fees Act 2019: Every Permitted Payment (2026)

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans any payment a landlord or agent requires from a tenant in England unless Schedule 1 permits it. Permitted payments are rent, a deposit capped at five weeks' rent (six weeks where annual rent is £50,000 or more), a holding deposit of one week's rent, and a short list of default, change and utility charges.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Landlords should seek independent legal advice for their specific circumstances. It describes the position in England.

Which tenancies does the Tenant Fees Act cover in 2026?

Since 1 May 2026 the Act covers every private assured tenancy in England, student lettings under paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1988, and licences to occupy, which includes lodgers. Section 27 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed the definition in section 28(1) from assured shorthold tenancies to assured tenancies.

GOV.UK guidance states that the Act does not cover lets where the annual rent exceeds £100,000, because those are not assured tenancies. Tenancies that were already assured but not shorthold before 1 May 2026 stay outside the Act under the transitional provisions in Schedule 6 to the Renters' Rights Act.

The bans apply to landlords under section 1 and to letting agents under section 2. A guarantor counts as a "relevant person", so the same rules protect anyone paying on the tenant's behalf.

The full list of permitted payments

Section 3(1) makes every payment a prohibited payment unless Schedule 1 permits it. The permitted list is short.

Permitted payment	Limit	Schedule 1
Rent	Only once the tenancy has been entered into. Higher rent in an early period than a later one is prohibited for periods starting in the first year	paras 1 and 1A
Tenancy deposit	5 weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000; 6 weeks' where it is £50,000 or more	para 2
Holding deposit	1 week's rent; only one at a time for the same property	para 3
Late rent	Only once rent is 14 days overdue; interest no higher than 3% a year above Bank of England base rate, charged daily on the unpaid amount	para 4
Lost key or security device	Reasonable cost, evidenced in writing	para 4
Damages for breach of the agreement	As the law of damages allows	para 5
Variation, assignment or novation at the tenant's request	£50, or reasonable costs if higher	para 6
Early termination at the tenant's request	Landlord: loss actually suffered. Agent: reasonable costs	para 7
Council tax, utilities, green deal charges, TV licence, communication services	Only where the agreement requires them; a landlord's charge for communication services is limited to reasonable cost	paras 8 to 11

The two default fees, late rent and lost keys, can only be charged if the tenancy agreement provides for them. A landlord and an agent cannot both charge for the same late payment.

What can landlords no longer charge?

Everything not in the table above. The following are prohibited payments, however the agreement describes them:

Referencing, credit check or administration fees
Inventory, check in or check out fees
Renewal fees
A requirement to use a nominated cleaning company, insurer or other third party service, other than utilities and communication services (section 1(3) and (4))
A requirement to make a loan to anyone (section 1(5))
A separate pet deposit above the five or six week cap; any extra deposit for a pet must fit inside the same cap

A term requiring a prohibited payment is not binding on the tenant, but the rest of the tenancy agreement survives under section 4. Deposit replacement products remain lawful as an option the tenant chooses, but not as a requirement.

What are the holding deposit rules?

A holding deposit, meaning money paid to reserve a property before the tenancy is agreed, is capped at one week's rent and governed by Schedule 2 to the Act. Those rules were not changed by the Renters' Rights Act.

Rule	Detail	Schedule 2
Deadline for agreement	The 15th day starting with the day the deposit is received, unless a different date is agreed in writing	para 2
Repayment	Within 7 days, unless applied to the first rent or tenancy deposit with the tenant's consent	paras 3, 4 and 6
Keeping it	Only where the tenant fails a Right to Rent check, gives false or misleading information, withdraws, or fails to take reasonable steps to enter the tenancy	paras 8 to 12
Reasons	Written reasons for keeping it must be given within 7 days	para 5
Losing the right to keep it	Where the landlord or agent breached the Act or behaved unreasonably	para 13

The cap is one week's rent per tenancy, not per tenant.

How does rent in advance work after the Renters' Rights Act?

Two rules have applied since 1 May 2026. First, no rent can be taken before the tenancy is entered into: paragraph 1(1A) of Schedule 1 makes pre-tenancy rent a prohibited payment, and new section 5A bans landlords and agents from inviting, encouraging or accepting it, even when the tenant offers.

Second, once the agreement is signed, section 4B of the Housing Act 1988 makes any term requiring rent before its rent period of no effect. The exception is initial rent, meaning rent for the first rent period and any period ending within the first 28 days, which may be paid between signing and the start date. GOV.UK guidance summarises this as one month's rent, or 28 days where rent is not monthly. Section 4B does not apply to tenancies entered into before 1 May 2026.

The practical result is that a landlord can no longer require several months' rent upfront. Our article on rent in advance under the Renters' Rights Act covers the edge cases.

Worked example: a £1,200 a month tenancy

The Schedule 1 formula converts rent to a weekly figure by taking the annual rent and dividing by 52.

Item	Calculation	Figure
Annual rent	£1,200 × 12	£14,400
One week's rent	£14,400 ÷ 52	£276.92
Maximum tenancy deposit (annual rent under £50,000)	5 weeks	£1,384.61
Maximum holding deposit	1 week	£276.92
Initial rent payable between signing and start	First monthly period	£1,200

The deposit figure uses the unrounded weekly rent; multiplying the rounded £276.92 by five gives £1,384.60. Taking even a few pence over the cap makes the excess a prohibited payment, so rounding down is the safer course. LLCR's free landlord calculators work out the five and six week caps from any rent.

What are the penalties for charging a banned fee?

The Tenant Fees Act penalties were not changed by the Renters' Rights Act. The £7,000 and £40,000 figures often quoted for 2026 belong to the separate penalty regime set out in our civil penalties table.

Breach	Consequence	Source
First breach of section 1, section 2 or Schedule 2	Civil penalty of up to £5,000	s.8(2)
Repeat breach within 5 years of a previous penalty or conviction	Criminal offence with an unlimited fine, or a civil penalty of up to £30,000 instead; also a banning order offence	ss.8(3) and 12
Prohibited payment taken	Council can require repayment; tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal, which orders repayment within 7 to 14 days	ss.10 and 15
Pre-tenancy rent under section 5A	Civil penalty of up to £5,000	s.8 as amended

On the statutory wording, the repeat offence in section 12 refers only to breaches of sections 1 and 2, so a repeat breach of the new section 5A appears to carry the £5,000 maximum each time. No guidance has confirmed that reading.

Section 17, which stopped a landlord serving a section 21 notice while a prohibited payment was unrepaid, has been omitted. A banned fee no longer blocks possession under the Tenant Fees Act, but an unprotected deposit does, under a different Act. Our article on what happens when a deposit is not protected explains that bar.

Where the Tenant Fees Act sits in LLCR Academy

The Tenant Fees Act is taught inside Tenancy Deposit Compliance for Landlords (England), the LLCR Academy course available now on Udemy. Lesson 2 separates a tenancy deposit from a holding deposit, rent in advance and the payments the Act bans, and tests one of the most common myths: that a landlord can take a bigger deposit for a pet.

LLCR Academy is the training arm of LLCR (Landlord Compliance Register). Its courses cover England only, every legal point is mapped to its statutory source, and each course carries a public "law reviewed" date; this one was reviewed in September 2026. The course has eight video lessons running about an hour, printable checklists, and a certificate of completion on passing the final assessment. It is general training rather than legal advice and is not currently CPD accredited.

Inside the LLCR platform, the tenancy agreement, deposit certificate and payment records for each property sit in one document vault, with a dated audit trail of what was taken and when.

Check every fee and deposit against the caps in a few minutes with the free LLCR compliance checker, or learn the full deposit and fees rules in the LLCR Academy deposit course.

Frequently asked questions

How much holding deposit can a landlord take in England?

A landlord can take a holding deposit of up to one week's rent, worked out as the annual rent divided by 52, under Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The parties then have until the 15th day starting with receipt to agree the tenancy, unless they agree a different date in writing. If the tenancy goes ahead, the holding deposit must be repaid within 7 days or applied to the first rent or deposit with the tenant's consent.

Can a landlord charge a tenant for a lost key?

Yes, if the tenancy agreement provides for it. The charge is limited to the landlord's reasonable cost of replacing the key or security device, and that cost must be evidenced in writing, for example with the locksmith's invoice. A flat lost key fee that exceeds the actual cost is a prohibited payment.

How do I work out the maximum deposit I can take?

Multiply the monthly rent by 12 to get the annual rent, divide by 52 to get one week's rent, then multiply by five, or by six if the annual rent is £50,000 or more. On a rent of £1,200 a month the cap is £1,384.61. LLCR's free landlord calculators work this out for any rent, and the LLCR Academy deposit course covers what counts towards the cap.

Tenant Fees Act 2019: Every Payment a Landlord Can and Cannot Charge in 2026