This information applies to England and Wales
Many tenants have a written tenancy agreement, but a legal contract exists between a landlord and a tenant whether or not anything is written down. A verbal agreement may simply be based on the conversation the landlord and tenant had when they originally agreed on the terms of the letting. A verbal contract may, however, be difficult to enforce, especially if there were no witnesses to the agreement.
If you are having problems either enforcing the terms of the agreement, for example, repairs, or being required by the landlord to agree to something different from the original tenancy agreement, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on 
nearest CAB.
If you do not know the identity of the landlord, you can write to the person who last collected your rent, asking for your landlord’s full name and address. You should send this letter by recorded delivery and keep a copy. If the person to whom you have written does not reply within 21 days, this is a criminal offence. You can inform the Tenancy Relations Officer of the local authority, who can prosecute the person who has failed to provide the information.
Before contacting the Tenancy Relations Officer, you should consider whether this might provoke your landlord into retaliating with threats or attempted eviction. You should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If you need to find out your landlord’s identity because of an emergency, such as a burst pipe, it may be quicker to inform the local authority of the emergency. The local authority has special powers to enter and carry out any necessary work, and can take steps to find out who your landlord is in order to recover its costs.
Only a tenant with a weekly tenancy, or who pays the rent weekly, has a right to a rent book.
It is important to remember that it is your duty to pay the rent and not your landlord’s duty to collect it.
If you have difficulty paying the rent and/or council tax because you have a low income you may be eligible for housing benefit and/or council tax benefit.
For information on housing benefit, see Help with your rent - Housing Benefit.
For information on council tax benefit, see Help with your Council Tax - Council Tax Benefit.
Your landlord has a right to reasonable access to carry out repairs. What ‘reasonable access’ means depends on why your landlord needs to get access. For example, in an emergency, your landlord is entitled to immediate access to carry out any necessary work.
Your landlord also has a right to enter the property to inspect the state of repair or to empty a fuel slot meter, but they should always ask for your permission and should give you at least 24 hours notice.
If you are staying in lodgings where it is agreed that your landlord provides a room-cleaning service or where you share a room with other lodgers, your landlord can enter without permission.
Your landlord does not have a right to enter in any other circumstances unless they have a court order.
If you are having problems with your landlord who is entering the accommodation without the tenant’s permission, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Your landlord has the right to reasonable access to the home to carry out repairs (see under heading the landlord's rights of entry). The repairs your landlord is responsible for will depend on the type of tenancy.
For information on types of tenancies and your rights to repair, if it is a public sector property, see Repairs and improvements in Public sector tenancies.
For information on types of tenancies and your right to repairs, if it is a privately owned property, see Repairs in Private sector tenancies.
For details on how to get repairs carried out, see Disrepair in rented accommodation.
If your landlord wants to carry out improvements, they must either get your permission to enter the home and do the work, or get a court order authorising them to take possession of the home. This also applies if the repairs are so extensive that they cannot be done unless you move out. Your landlord may have to provide alternative accommodation for you. If you do not want to move, your landlord has the power, in some circumstances, to apply to the county court to repossess the property.
If your landlord wants you to leave so that improvements or repairs can be done, you should not agree to this until you has obtained independent advice on your rights, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
It is an offence for your landlord to do anything which they know is likely to make you leave the home or prevent you from exercising your legal rights. This would include, for example, repeatedly disturbing you late at night or obstructing access to the home, creating noise, disconnecting supplies of water, gas or electricity where your landlord knows that this is likely to drive you out or discourage you from insisting on your legal rights.
If you are subjected to harassment, the matter should be reported to the Tenancy Relations Officer of the local authority or to the police.
It's against the law for a landlord to harass you because of your race, sex, sexuality, religion or disability. Harassment can include both actions and language that you find offensive.
I'm a woman living on my own in a rented flat. The landlord has kept the keys and keeps coming round. He says it's to check on the property, but really he just makes suggestive comments to me. I don't know what to do. I don't want to say he can't come into the flat in case he evicts me.
Your landlord doesn't have the right to treat you like this. This is sex discrimination. And although he has the right to keep the keys, he doesn't have the right to come into your flat whenever he feels like it. You need to see an experienced adviser who will help you deal with this landlord.
If you are being harassed by your landlord you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You can also find further information about your rights from protection from harassment in a booklet on the Local Government and Communities website at www.communities.gov.uk.
A lodger is someone who lives with the person who occupies the accommodation, is provided with meals and services (such as cleaning and provision of linen), and who may not have any separate accommodation of their own. A sub-tenant has their own separate accommodation (at least one room) and will not normally be provided with meals and services.
A local authority or housing association tenant can take in lodgers without the landlord’s permission.
Some private tenants with unfurnished tenancies have the right to take in lodgers without the landlord’s permission, but you should seek the help of an experienced adviser before doing this.
As a local authority or housing association tenant you have to get your landlord’s permission to sub-let part of your accommodation to sub-tenants, but your landlord cannot refuse unreasonably. Sub-letting all of the accommodation can be a ground for possession. This means your landlord can evict you.
In other cases, the right to sub-let depends on the tenancy agreement. If you are a private tenant you should seek your landlord’s permission before sub-letting unless the tenancy agreement specifically allows this. There is no appeal against a private landlord’s refusal to allow sub-letting.
If you want to sub-let or take in lodgers, it would be advisable for you to consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
A home is overcrowded if:-
The local authority can, in certain circumstances, prosecute both the landlord and the occupier of an overcrowded dwelling.
If you are in privately rented accommodation and you are on the local authority housing register/waiting list, you should inform the housing department that you are living in overcrowded accommodation. If you are not on the housing register/waiting list you should apply to go on it. If you are living in local authority accommodation, you should inform the housing department of your situation and ask for a transfer.
If you think your home is overcrowded you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Your landlord must provide the services which are reasonably required by you. These services include the supply of gas, electricity and water.
As the tenant you must pay for the fuel and water you use. You may pay the bill yourself, or the cost of fuel and water may be included in the rent and your landlord pays the fuel or water company’s bills.
You may be able to get help if you have difficulty paying your gas, electricity or water bills.
For more information about help with gas bills, see Gas supply.
For more information about help with electricity bills, see Electricity supply.
For more information about help with water bills, see Water supply.
There are legal restrictions on the amount your landlord can charge you for fuel which is supplied through a pre-payment meter provided by your landlord. If a pre-payment meter is set to charge above the legal limits, you are entitled to a rebate when it is emptied.
If you pay your landlord each time a bill is received and you think the amount is too high, you should ask to see the bill before paying it.
If fuel is paid for along with the rent, you should check whether there is a written tenancy agreement which specifies how this is assessed. If the rent is registered with the Rent Officer, the amount for fuel may be specified and this cannot be changed without the agreement of the Rent Officer.
For details of the maximum your landlord can charge for gas and electricity, consult the fuel supplier or an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If your landlord is responsible for paying the fuel bills and has not done so, the supply may be cut off. If you have had your supply cut off, or think that this might happen, you could:-
If you cannot get a supply put in your own name, the help of an experienced adviser should be sought before you take any further action, for example, from a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. In some cases, your landlord may retaliate by threatening to evict you and you should find out what security you have first.
You have a right to any services which you need to use the accommodation as your home, without any interference from your landlord.
Your landlord should not cut off a fuel or water supply because you have not paid your rent.
If you have had your fuel or water supply cut off by your landlord, you should consult an experienced adviser immediately, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Your landlord is responsible for ensuring that any electrical appliances supplied with the accommodation are safe. This includes heaters, cookers, kettles, and any other electrical goods.
If you are concerned that an electrical appliance is not safe, you could contact Consumer Direct on: 0845 404 0506.
Your landlord must ensure that any gas fittings and appliances in the accommodation they rent out are safe.
Your landlord must arrange and pay for safety checks and any necessary work to be carried out on appliances at least once every twelve months. The checks must be carried out by a person who is registered with the Gas Safe Register.
For more information about the Gas Safe Register, see under the heading Useful organisations in Gas supply.
Your landlord must keep a record of inspection dates, any defects identified and any remedial action taken. You must be given a copy of this record.
If your landlord does not carry out regular inspections of gas appliances or if they refuse to give you a copy of the inspection record, you could contact the local office of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has a duty to enforce the safety requirements.
The HSE also operates a special freephone Gas Safety Advice Line:-
0800 300363 (24 hours)
If a property is let furnished as a tenant you could expect a level of furnishing that would be reasonable to allow you to live in the accommodation. This would include:-
Any upholstered furniture must comply with fire safety regulations (see under Furniture fire safety, below).
If you think that the provision is not adequate, you can provide your own furniture, unless the tenancy agreement does not allow this.
If you are not happy with the condition of the furniture when you move in, you could consider discussing this with your landlord. Your landlord might agree to replace it. You could check what was listed in the inventory (if one exists) (see below), or tenancy agreement about the condition of the furniture.
An inventory is a list of furniture and other contents which have been provided in the accommodation by your landlord.
Your landlord usually writes the inventory. It should list everything provided in the accommodation for use by you, with a description of the items, including their age and condition.
If you are visually impaired, you can ask your landlord to provide an inventory in a different format, for example on an audio tape or in Braille. Your landlord may be discriminating against you if they refuse to do this.
For more information about disability discrimination, see Disability discrimination.
You should check that you agree with the inventory, sign and date it.
If your landlord does not draw up and agree an inventory, you can draw one up as soon as you move into the accommodation and get it signed and dated by an independent witness, that is someone who is not a close relative or friend.
Any furniture provided by your landlord must be fire resistant, unless the landlord is letting a room in their own home, or letting the whole home on a temporary basis.
All new and secondhand upholstered furniture sold after 1 September 1990 should meet the fire safety regulations, and carry a label to say so. The labels should be permanently attached to a hidden part of the item. If a piece of furniture does not carry a label saying that it meets the regulations, it is likely that the item does not meet the regulations and must be replaced.
If you have damaged furniture or fittings you should tell the landlord what has happened and seek to agree on how the replacement or repair is to be arranged, and how payment will be made.
If you replace or repair an item without the agreement of your landlord, your landlord may identify this at the end of the tenancy, when they check the inventory. Your landlord might then deduct an amount from the deposit or take legal action against you for compensation.
Over a period of time, most household furniture and contents deteriorate as a result of normal use, for example, floor coverings will become worn. This is known as ‘wear and tear’, and you would not be responsible for replacing these items.
If the extent of the wear and tear means that it causes a hazard, for example, springs in an armchair begin to stick through the upholstery, your landlord should repair or replace such items.
If your landlord has supplied an appliance such as a cooker or a washing machine that was working as the beginning of the tenancy, they have a responsibility to repair or replace it if it breaks down, unless this is the result of your negligence.
If there is damage or loss of furniture or contents, the cost may be covered by your landlord’s or your own insurance.
The tenancy agreement may state who is liable for any damage or loss to contents. The liable person, whether your landlord or you, should consider arranging an insurance policy to cover this liability.
You are responsible for arranging insurance cover for any contents or possessions which you own.
If there is a television set, DVD or video recorder in the accommodation, you are responsible for obtaining a television licence, unless your landlord installed the set. However, even if your landlord supplies the set, you should check that a licence exists by contacting the National TV Licence Records Office. If there is no licence, you could be liable for prosecution because you are the user of the set.
For more information about television sets and DVD or video recorders, see Television licences.
If the tenancy agreement specifies that your landlord should provide certain services, for example, gardening or lighting common parts, the landlord must do so.
If your landlord is not providing the agreed services, or is providing an inadequate level of service, you may wish to negotiate with the landlord to enforce the agreement. However, you should be aware that if you have a disagreement with your landlord, you could end up being evicted. This might depend on what type of tenancy agreement you have.
If you are experiencing problems with a landlord’s provision of services, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Your landlord does not have the right to discriminate against you when providing services. For example, your landlord is responsible for cleaning all the landings in a block of flats and arranges to clean them all except for those landings where Asian tenants live. This could be race discrimination and would be against the law.
If you are experiencing discrimination by your landlord, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest cab.
Your landlord is usually responsible for external and major structural repairs. You are usually responsible for internal decoration and for making sure that furniture and other contents, and fixtures and fittings are not damaged because of your negligence (see under Damage or loss to contents/furniture).
You will not usually be responsible for making good any deterioration caused by ‘fair wear and tear’ (see under Wear and tear). Your exact responsibilities will normally be described in the tenancy agreement.
You must take care of the property by doing the little jobs which can reasonably be expected of you, for example, unblocking drains and mending fuses.
You should also inform the landlord about any situation which could cause damage to the property, for example, a leak in the roof.
If your landlord claims that you have damaged the property, they will normally keep all or part of any deposit you may have paid to cover the cost of damage (see under Getting a deposit back at the end of a tenancy, below).
If you paid a deposit to your landlord at the start of a tenancy as security for any rent arrears or damage to property, this should be returned at the end of the tenancy if the accommodation has been left in good condition and there are no arrears.
If your landlord refuses to return the deposit or makes deductions, you should check the terms of the tenancy agreement or the agreed inventory (if there was one) to see what the deposit was supposed to cover. In cases of damage to property, it will often be cheaper for you to make good the damage before your landlord comes to inspect the property than for your landlord to charge for the cost of getting repairs done.
If you paid the deposit before 6 April 2007, and your landlord persists in refusing to return a deposit, you may have to take action in the county court to try and get it back. However, if you paid your deposit from 6 April 2007, your landlord must use a tenancy deposit protection scheme. This means your deposit is safeguarded and there are procedures not involving the court that can be used to sort out problems about the deposit at the end of the tenancy.
If you paid your deposit before 6 April 2007 and then renewed the tenancy agreement after that date, the legal situation is unclear. However, the intention of the new law was that your landlord should safeguard your deposit. You will need expert advice if you are in this situation and have a problem getting your deposit back.
For more information about tenancy deposit schemes, see Tenancy deposits in Housing Fact Sheets.
If you’re considering court action to get your deposit back, you'll need the help of an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
If you use the whole of the property which you rented as your home for business purposes and no longer live there, you will lose any security of tenure you had and could be evicted by the landlord.
You can use part of the home for business purposes as long as it is not specifically forbidden in the tenancy agreement and it does not cause a nuisance to neighbours. As a private tenant you should not, however, use the home for business purposes without your landlord’s permission because, even if you have a legal right to do so, your landlord may be able to find some other reason for eviction, if they do not approve.
You may also require permission from the local authority to carry on a business. For example, there may be a need to obtain planning permission, or a special licence, depending on the activity. The business use can also lead to part of the home being assessed for the uniform business rate.
If you are threatened with eviction because you have used the home for business purposes, you may be able to defend the eviction, depending on what kind of tenancy you have, but the help of an experienced adviser will be needed, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You can keep pets as long as it is not specifically forbidden in the tenancy agreement and it does not cause a nuisance to neighbours. However, you should normally seek your landlord’s permission because, even if you have a legal right to keep pets, if your landlord does not approve, you may end up getting evicted.
Whether you can be evicted depends on the type of tenancy agreement you have. If you are threatened with eviction because you are keeping pets, you may be able to defend this even if it is in breach of the tenancy agreement but you will have to get rid of the pet. This does, however, depend on what kind of tenancy you have. For example, if the landlord shares the home with you, you will not be able to prevent the eviction, although you may be able to delay it.
If you are keeping pets when this is forbidden by the tenancy agreement, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If there's a term in your tenancy agreement which bans pets, you can ask your landlord to change it to allow you to have an assistance dog.
Your landlord must agree to do this if you are disabled and you need an assistance dog to be able to live in the property. This is known as making a 'reasonable adjustment'. If your landlord refuses to make a reasonable adjustment, they are discriminating against you and will probably be breaking the law.
In some circumstances, a landlord may be able to refuse to make a reasonable adjustment if they have a good enough reason, for example, on health and safety grounds.
If you're disabled and your landlord refuses to allow you to keep an assistance dog, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
There are many rules governing the notice needed for ending tenancy agreements and applying for eviction orders from the court. The rules cover the length of notice needed, the form in which it must be given and the dates on which it must take effect.
In most cases, your landlord has to serve a special notice on you before they can apply for an eviction order. The rules vary depending on what kind of tenancy it is, and in some cases, more than one notice is needed.
If a private landlord wants to end a tenancy on the date the agreement expires, they must usually serve a Notice conforming to special rules.
You can find further information about how a landlord brings a tenancy to an end in a booklet produced for tenants and landlords in England and Wales. It is available from the Communities and Local Government website at www.communities.gov.uk.
If you receive a Notice of seeking possession, you should consult an experienced adviser without delay, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
You generally have to give the same amount of notice as your landlord to end the tenancy agreement.
If you want to end a fixed term agreement before it is due to expire, you can only do so with the permission of your landlord or if there is a term in the agreement that allows for this. Otherwise you may end up liable for the rent for the remainder of the time covered by the fixed term agreement.
If you want to end a fixed term agreement early, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB. If you have given notice to your landlord and then change your mind and want to stay on, the help of an experienced adviser must also be sought, as there are different rules on this for different kinds of tenancy.
If a you leave without giving proper notice, your landlord may be entitled to charge rent up to the date when notice should have expired, or up to the end of the tenancy agreement if it is a fixed term agreement and you did not give any notice at all.
The help of an experienced adviser is almost certain to be needed if there is a dispute about rent arrears in this situation, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
How your landlord can get possession of the accommodation will depend on the type of tenancy you have.
For information on types of tenancies and your right to remain in the property if it is a public sector property see The right to stay in the accommodation in Public sector tenancies.
For information on types of tenancies and your right to remain in the property if it is a privately owned property see The right to stay in the accommodation in Private sector tenancies.
Once your landlord or you have given notice, this does not necessarily mean you can be evicted. In nearly all cases a court order is needed, and further notice of court proceedings is often required. Whether the court will allow the eviction will depend on the kind of tenancy and the reasons for seeking eviction. However, in some cases, a court order may not be necessary. For example, a court order for eviction is not needed to evict you from your home if you have a resident landlord and the tenancy started after 15 January 1989.
If you have been asked to leave the accommodation by your landlord or have been told by them that they are taking court proceedings for possession, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on the CAB sign.
A large number of courts will have a duty desk scheme where you can receive advice and/or representation at the court hearing. In England, go to www.nhas.org.uk to find out whether your local court has a scheme.
If your landlord has an order from the court giving them possession of the property, you do not have to leave until the date on the order.
Property you left behind still belongs to you and normally should be returned to you when you ask for it.
If you leave things behind when you give up a tenancy, your landlord may charge for the cost of clearing them out of the home.
If your landlord will not return your belongings left in the accommodation, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Passing on a tenancy to someone else is called assignment. The rules about who can and who cannot assign tenancies are very complex.
If you want to assign your tenancy to someone else, you should always consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
When a tenant dies, there are rules which may allow the tenancy to be passed on to the tenant’s partner or, sometimes, another member of the family who has been living with the tenant. These rules apply regardless of anything stated in a tenancy agreement. A tenancy agreement can increase the basic rights of a tenant, but it cannot take these rights away. The rules are different for different kinds of tenancy.
If you want to know how the rules apply in a particular case you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
My same-sex partner has just died. We lived together in a one-bedroom council flat for the last 25 years but it was always in his name and we never entered into a civil partnership. I'm afraid I'll be evicted.
You have probably got the right to stay in the flat. This is called the right of succession. The law says that partners in same-sex or opposite-sex couples count as a member of the family of the person who died. This means you will probably have the right of succession as long as:
You should get advice about your situation from an experienced housing adviser.
A landlord must not discriminate against you because of your race, sex, disability, sexuality or religion. This means that they are probably breaking the law if they:
There are some circumstances where the general rules about discrimination may not apply, for example, if your landlord lives in the same property as you.
If you think your landlord is discriminating against you because of your race, sex, disability, sexuality or religion, you should get advice from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
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