Rent in advance limits under the Renters' Rights Act

Rent in advance under the Renters' Rights Act is limited in three stages: no rent at all before a new tenancy is signed or agreed, only the first month's rent (or 28 days' rent) between signing and the start date, and then rent on the normal rent day. A holding deposit of up to one week's rent is still allowed. Taking rent too early can cost up to £5,000.

What are the rent in advance rules?

The rules come from section 4B of the Housing Act 1988 and section 5A of the Tenant Fees Act 2019, both in force since 1 May 2026. They work in three stages:

Stage	What you can take	What you can't do
Before the tenancy is signed or agreed	A holding deposit of up to one week's rent	Ask for, encourage or accept any rent, including rent the applicant offers
Between signing and the start date (the "pre-tenancy period")	"Initial rent" only: rent for the first rent period, or for periods ending within the first 28 days. GOV.UK: one month's rent for monthly rent, 28 days' rent for weekly rent	Require more than the initial rent
After the tenancy starts	Rent on the normal rent day, or the first day of each period	Rely on a term that requires rent before the period it covers; such a term has no effect

The same rules apply to a letting agent acting for you.

Worked example: monthly and weekly rent

Monthly rent. Leah chooses a tenant on 2 November 2026 for a flat at £1,100 a month. The tenancy is agreed and signed on 9 November and starts on 1 December.

• 2 to 8 November: Leah can take a holding deposit of up to one week's rent. She can't take any rent.
• 9 to 30 November: she can require the first month's rent, covering 1 to 31 December. Nothing more.
• From 1 December: rent is due on the 1st of each month for that month.

She can also take a tenancy deposit of up to 5 weeks' rent, because the annual rent is under £50,000, and must protect it within 30 days.

Weekly rent. Ben lets a room at £300 a week, starting on a Monday. Between signing and the start date, the most he can require is 28 days' rent: £1,200. After that, each week's rent falls due on the normal rent day.

Can a tenant choose to pay early?

Before the tenancy is agreed, no. The ban covers accepting rent, including the tenant's own offer. Turn it down and explain the rule.

After the tenancy starts, the position is less clear. The old GOV.UK guide said "Tenants may still pay early if they choose", but current guidance doesn't repeat this. Don't ask for or require early payment, and don't build it into the tenancy agreement, because such a term has no effect.

Which tenancies are covered?

The limits apply to private assured tenancies in England entered into on or after 1 May 2026. Rent in advance arrangements in tenancies that started before then can continue.

They don't apply to:

• social housing let by a private registered provider;
• tenancies granted under the homelessness rules in Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996;
• supported housing.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

What about applicants who used to pay months upfront?

Some applicants, such as overseas tenants or students, used to offer several months' rent upfront. That is no longer possible for new tenancies. You can still manage the risk in other ways:

• check affordability as part of referencing, in the same way for every applicant;
• take a full tenancy deposit within the 5- or 6-week cap;
• ask for a guarantor where the applicant's income alone doesn't cover the rent. See our guide to guarantors and rent arrears.

Don't push the rent up instead. The rental bidding ban stops you accepting more than the advertised rent.

Deposits and holding deposits

The deposit rules are unchanged, except that they now apply to all assured tenancies:

• Holding deposit: up to one week's rent, to reserve the property before the tenancy is agreed.
• Tenancy deposit: up to 5 weeks' rent (annual rent under £50,000) or 6 weeks' rent (£50,000 or more).
• Protection: in an approved scheme, with the prescribed information given within 30 days of receipt.

If the deposit isn't protected and the prescribed information given, the court can't make a possession order on most grounds. See deposit protection.

What is the penalty?

The council can impose a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for asking for, encouraging or accepting rent before a tenancy is entered into, under section 8 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019. It can also require the money to be repaid. The archived GOV.UK guide gives the same "up to £5,000" figure.

Whether a repeated breach becomes a criminal offence under the Tenant Fees Act is not yet confirmed. We'll update this page when it is. All the other amounts are in our guide to Renters' Rights Act fines.

Watch out: the £5,000 penalty is for rent taken before the tenancy is signed or agreed, and it applies even if the applicant offered the money first. Between signing and the start date, ask for the first month's rent only.

Common mistakes

1. Accepting a "keen" applicant's offer of rent before the tenancy is signed.
2. Asking for two months' rent at signing on a monthly tenancy.
3. Leaving a "rent payable in advance for the term" clause in a new agreement template.
4. Treating a large upfront payment as an extra deposit to get around the cap.
5. Assuming the limits stop existing tenants paying as they always have. Arrangements from before 1 May 2026 can continue.

What to do next

Update your tenancy agreement template and your agent's onboarding emails so that the only money taken before signing is a holding deposit. Then check the written statement of terms you must give before the tenancy is agreed, or go back to the Renters' Rights Act hub.