Tenancy & deposits
What is the Tenant Fees Act 2019?
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans most fees charged to tenants in England and caps tenancy deposits and holding deposits. Payments outside the permitted list are prohibited.
It works as a list of what is permitted rather than a list of what is banned. Rent, a capped deposit, a capped holding deposit, and a small number of defined payments are allowed; everything else is not.
Caps on deposits are expressed by reference to annual rent, and charging above them makes the excess a prohibited payment that must be repaid.
A prohibited payment taken and not repaid also affects the ability to serve a no-fault notice, which links a fee dispute to possession months later.
What goes wrong in practice
- Administration or referencing charges still being taken.
- Deposits taken above the cap, usually on higher-rent properties.
- Holding deposits retained outside the permitted circumstances.