The Tenant Fees Act 2019 works by reversing the default. Rather than listing what is banned, it lists what is permitted, and anything not on that list is a prohibited payment.
Where inventories sit
Inventory, check-in and check-out fees are prohibited payments. They cannot be charged to a tenant and cannot be taken from the deposit. The landlord or the agent pays.
What is permitted
- Rent.
- A refundable tenancy deposit, capped at five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks above that.
- A refundable holding deposit, capped at one week's rent.
- Payments to change the tenancy at the tenant's request, capped at £50 unless greater costs can be evidenced.
- Payments on early termination at the tenant's request, capped at the landlord's actual loss.
- Utilities, communication services, TV licence and council tax where the agreement requires it.
- Default fees for a lost key or late rent, tightly limited and only where the agreement provides for them.
Commonly attempted, and prohibited
- Inventory, check-in and check-out fees.
- Referencing, credit check and administration fees.
- Tenancy renewal fees.
- Professional cleaning as a condition of the tenancy.
- Gardening and maintenance charges presented as fees.
What happens if you get it wrong
A prohibited payment must be repaid, and enforcement authorities can impose financial penalties, with higher penalties and potential prosecution for repeat breaches. There is a practical trap too: a section 21 notice generally cannot be served while a prohibited payment is still held.
The cleaning point, which causes the most confusion
You cannot require a tenant to pay for a professional clean as a term of the tenancy. You can require the property to be returned in the same state of cleanliness it was let in, and if it is not, you can claim reasonable costs from the deposit at the end. The difference is a fee in advance versus an evidenced deduction at the end, and what makes the second one work is a check-in record establishing the standard. See how adjudicators decide.
Written by The Surveyor Co, a trading name of LW Renovation Group Ltd, Lincoln. This guide describes how records are written and read; it is not legal advice. Where a deposit scheme, lease or insurer sets a rule, that rule wins.