Renters' Rights Act fines and penalties for landlords

Renters' Rights Act fines for landlords in England are civil penalties imposed by your local council: up to £7,000 for most tenancy breaches, and up to £40,000 for unlawful eviction, re-letting after using Ground 1 or 1A, and licensing and other Housing Act 2004 offences. A breach that continues or is repeated can become a criminal offence. Tenants can also claim back up to 2 years' rent through a rent repayment order for certain offences.

How do Renters' Rights Act fines work?

Every penalty in this guide is imposed by the local housing authority, which is your council, not a court. The process is the same each time:

1. The council sends a notice of intent saying it plans to impose a penalty.
2. You have 28 days to make representations, for example to explain what happened or show you have put it right.
3. The council decides and, if it goes ahead, sends a final notice.
4. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days.

For the main tenancy breaches and for unlawful eviction, the council has to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt. For discrimination and rental bidding, the test is the balance of probabilities.

Conduct before 1 May 2026 attracts no penalty under the new tenancy rules. These penalties apply in England only.

Renters' Rights Act fines at a glance

Breach	Maximum civil penalty	Offence?	Notes
Unlawful eviction or harassment of a tenant	£40,000	Yes. In the magistrates' court: a fine and/or up to 6 months' imprisonment. On indictment: an unlimited fine and/or up to 2 years	In force 1 May 2026. A penalty and a conviction can't both be imposed for the same conduct. Rent repayment order available
Re-letting or marketing the property during the restricted period after relying on Ground 1 or 1A	£40,000, as an alternative to prosecution	Yes	In force 1 May 2026. The period runs from service of the notice to 12 months after the date in it. Limited exceptions apply. Rent repayment order available
Relying on a possession ground without reasonable belief that you could get possession, where the tenant leaves within 4 months without a court order	£7,000	Yes, if you knew or were reckless; alternative penalty £40,000	In force 1 May 2026. Rent repayment order available
Granting a fixed term; serving a landlord's notice to quit; ending a tenancy orally; serving a possession notice that doesn't comply with section 8 (a "purported notice of possession")	£7,000	Becomes an offence if it continues more than 28 days after a penalty, or is repeated within 5 years; alternative penalty £40,000	In force 1 May 2026
Not giving the written statement of terms; not giving prior notice of a ground you later rely on; not giving the Information Sheet	£7,000	As above	In force 1 May 2026. A missing prior-notice statement doesn't stop the court ordering possession, but Ground 4A can't be used at all without its written statement
Discriminating against people with children or benefit claimants	£7,000, plus an additional penalty for a repeat within 5 years and a further penalty if it continues more than 28 days after a penalty	No	In force 1 May 2026
Rental bidding, or a written advert or offer without one fixed rent	£7,000, plus an additional penalty for a repeat of the same rule within 5 years	No	In force 1 May 2026. GOV.UK's example: up to £21,000 for two breaches of the same type, £14,000 for two different breaches
Asking for, encouraging or accepting rent before the tenancy is agreed	£5,000, and the council can require repayment	Not confirmed for repeat breaches	In force 1 May 2026
Housing Act 2004 offences: HMO and selective licensing, HMO management regulations, improvement notices, overcrowding notices	£40,000 (up from £30,000)	Yes	£40,000 applies to conduct on or after 1 May 2026
A Category 1 hazard you could reasonably have removed	£7,000	No	In force 22 June 2026
Obstructing a council officer, failing to comply with a requirement, or giving false information under the investigatory powers	Not a civil penalty	Yes: a fine up to level 3 on the standard scale	In force 27 December 2025
Not registered on the landlord database; marketing without a database entry; adverts without database IDs	£7,000	Becomes an offence if it continues more than 28 days after a penalty or is repeated within 5 years; alternative penalty £40,000	Not yet in force. The database is due to open on 15 December 2026, and councils can enforce after each region's deadline
Knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information to the database	£40,000	Yes	Not yet in force
Breaching the landlord ombudsman rules, such as the membership duty once it exists	£7,000	Can become an offence; alternative penalty £40,000	Not in force. Membership is expected to be required from 2028
Unreasonably refusing a pet request	None	No	The tenant can apply to court for an order
Raising the rent without a Section 13 notice	None	No	The increase has no effect

How a £7,000 fine can become £40,000

The main tenancy duties escalate in three steps:

1. First breach. The council can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000.
2. The breach continues or comes back. If the same conduct continues more than 28 days after the final penalty, or you commit the same kind of breach within 5 years of a penalty or conviction, it becomes a criminal offence.
3. Prosecution or a bigger penalty. You can be prosecuted, or the council can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 instead.

Example. A landlord keeps using a 12-month fixed-term agreement for new lets after 1 May 2026. The council imposes a £7,000 penalty. Two months later the landlord grants another fixed-term tenancy. That is a repeat within 5 years, so the landlord now faces prosecution, or a penalty of up to £40,000.

Company officers can also be personally liable for some of these offences.

Fines linked to possession notices

Several penalties are aimed at how landlords use Section 8. These are the ones to check before you serve:

• An invalid notice. Any written document that claims to be a Section 8 notice, or to end the tenancy, but doesn't comply with section 8 counts as a "purported notice of possession". Serving one is a breach on its own, up to £7,000. See common Section 8 mistakes.
• A ground you can't prove. If you rely on a ground without a reasonable belief that you could get possession, and the tenant leaves within 4 months without a court order, you risk £7,000. If you knew or were reckless, it is an offence.
• Selling or moving in, then re-letting. After relying on Ground 1 or 1A, you can't let or market the property until 12 months after the date in the notice. See the protected period.
• Taking matters into your own hands. Changing the locks or forcing a tenant out without a court order and enforcement officers is unlawful eviction, up to £40,000 or prosecution. See illegal eviction.

Rent repayment orders on top

A rent repayment order is separate from a council fine. Tenants, and councils for rent paid through Universal Credit, can apply to the tribunal for up to 2 years' rent for certain offences, including unlawful eviction, licensing offences, misusing possession grounds and breaking the re-letting ban. Repeat offenders face the maximum. See our guide to rent repayment orders.

Who enforces these fines?

Your council. Councils have had investigatory powers since 27 December 2025, including information notices and limited powers of entry, and a duty to enforce the new rules since 1 May 2026. See council powers and inspections.

What to do next

The fines most landlords can avoid outright are the ones tied to paperwork: a valid written statement, the Information Sheet, and a Section 8 notice that follows the rules. Our Section 8 notice builder checks your ground, the notice period and the protected period before you serve. For everything else that changed, see the Renters' Rights Act hub.