Finding a new home to rent can be very stressful, and more difficult for some of us than others. Since 1 May 2026, landlords are banned from:

• Asking for or accepting a higher rent than what was advertised. This is designed to prevent landlords starting bidding wars between tenants. 
• Asking tenants to pay more than one month’s rent in advance. Once you have signed a tenancy you can choose to pay more than one month’s rent at a time, but your landlord cannot require you to do this.
• Discriminating against would-be tenants on the basis of having children, or receiving benefits. They may still require your income to be more than a certain level in relation to the rent, e.g. 2.5 times the rent.

If you are considering a property but have doubts about your landlord, check out the following resources before handing over any money:

• Rentprofile.co – set up to prevent illegal subletting and fake landlord scams
• Marks Out Of Tenancy – have tenants had problems with your landlord before? (Also, review your last place!)
• In London, a list of agents and landlords who have got into trouble in the past year

If your landlord or agent encourages you to use a “no deposit” option or similar, beware that this will cost you more money in the long term and you can choose to pay a refundable deposit worth up to 5 weeks’ rent instead. If the agent doesn’t let you pay a normal deposit, they are breaking the law: report them.

When moving into a new home as a tenant your new landlord should give you:

• A written tenancy agreement to be signed
• the property’s energy performance certificate
• a valid gas safety certificate (an inspection must take place every year)
• details of where your deposit has been protected

If your deposit is not protected or the landlord doesn’t give you documents with details of the protection, they will be unable to evict you (unless you have engaged in anti-social behaviour). Knowing that your landlord has made a mistake is valuable information, so get advice before telling them.

Your landlord must also have electrical installations inspected every five years, provide you with a copy, and complete remedial work in 28 days or less if dangerous.

Your landlord may have an inventory made as a record of the contents and condition of the property at the start of the tenancy. This is so they can identify any damage that might need to be paid out of your deposit at the end of the tenancy. Whether or not they do this, you should protect yourself from unfair deductions from your deposit by taking your own photos of any pre-existing damage and sending these to your landlord as soon as possible. 

Your landlord should tell you where to find instructions to operate and take care of any appliances that come with the home, and where the stopcock is in case you need to turn off the water supply in an emergency. 

Take meter readings as soon as you move in and also when moving out. This prevents you paying for energy that was consumed when you weren’t living in the property. By having a record of each amount, the energy supplier can tell how much energy you have used throughout your tenancy and bill you accurately. This can also mean you might get back any overpaid bills when you close the account.

Also check if your landlord needs a licence, which depends on how many people live in the property and where it is. If they’re supposed to have a licence but do not, you may be able to claim a repayment of rent. Your council should have a public register of licensed homes to check – let us know if yours doesn’t.