Date Set for Tenant Fee Ban to Start

Landlords and letting agents in England face a ban on charging private renters fees on setting up a tenancy from 1 June 2019. The date the Tenants Fees Bill came into force was announced in the House of Lords by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth.

“We need to enable agents and landlords following Royal Assent to become compliant, but we intend for the provisions to come into force on June 1, 2019,” he said. 

“This would mean the ban on lettings fees would apply to all tenancies signed after this date. “The sector has been waiting for legislative certainty and agents now need to ensure that they are fully up to speed and taking steps to implement changes.”

The bill passed the Lords without any significant changes but is subject to amendment by MPs, although this is unlikely. His statement followed a third reading of the Bill in the House of Lords with no significant modification. The Bill faces a final reading in the Commons before receiving Royal Assent. 

The main measures in the bill include:

• Landlords and letting agents are only allowed to charge fees for replacing locks, tenancy changes requested by the renter and bills such as utilities and Council Tax
• Holding deposits are capped at one week’s rent
• Security deposits are limited to five week’s rent

David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, said,

“With the Tenant Fees Bill completing its passage through the House of Lords this afternoon, it appears the Tenant Fees ban will come into force on June 1, 2019 subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the House of Commons. 

“This now gives agents the legal certainty they need to prepare for a post tenant fees ban world. To learn about the intricacies of the legislation.”

When the final legislation is published, we will produce an in-depth article about the tenant fees ban.