What is a tenant?
A tenant is someone who lives in a property or on land rented from a landlord.
If you’re a tenant your landlord might be:
a private landlord
your local council
a housing association
A tenant’s rights and responsibilities
Most tenants have a tenancy agreement with their landlord.
A tenancy agreement includes:
rent cost
length of tenancy
rights and responsibilities of the tenant and landlord
Most tenancy agreements are assured shorthold tenancy (AST) contracts. They must stick to the regulations in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
You do not have to have a written landlord tenant agreement but it’s best to.
Tenancy agreements may be different depending on if you're renting from:
the council
a housing association
a private landlord
Council housing
You can apply for council or social housing if your income is low and you’ve lived in an area for many years. Or have a family or job there.
There’s currently a shortage of council housing. So if they accept your application they'll put you on a waiting list.
Councils prioritise people based on who needs a home most urgently.
Secure tenancy
If you’re given a council home, you’re likely to get a secure tenancy.
As a secure tenant, you can normally live in the property for the rest of your life. As long as you follow the conditions of the tenancy.
As a secure tenant, you’ll be able to:
rent out rooms (but not sublet the whole property)
buy your property through the Right to Buy scheme
swap your home with another council tenant (with your council’s permission)
transfer your tenancy to someone else in some circumstances
make improvements to your home
Renting from a landlord or a letting agent
Most tenants rent from a buy to let landlord or letting agent. This means they’re tenants in the private rented sector.
The number of households occupied by private renters in England rose. It went from over 2 million households in 2000 to 4.55 million households in 2019.¹
Often landlords will own a property and deal with tenants directly. Or hire a letting agent to manage the tenancy for them.
Your rights and responsibilities as a private tenant
As a tenant, you have the right to:
live in a property that’s safe and in a good state of repair
have your deposit returned when the tenancy ends
know who your landlord is
live in the property undisturbed
see an Energy Performance Certificate for the property
be protected from unfair eviction and unfair rent²
At the start of a new tenancy your landlord must give you:
a copy of the How to Rent guide if you live in England
a tenant information pack if you live in Scotland
As a tenant, you must:
prove you have the right to legally live in the UK
give your landlord access to the property to inspect it or carry out repairs with 24 hours’ notice
give your landlord immediate access to the property in an emergency
take good care of the property
pay the agreed rent
pay utility bills and
repair or pay for any damage you or your visitors cause
only sublet if your landlord allows it
Your landlord has the right to take legal action to evict you if you do not meet your responsibilities.
Costs of renting
It costs an average of £959 a month to rent a property in the UK. It costs more to rent in London, an average of £1,673 a month.³
Tenants usually pay rent monthly, one month in advance.
When you start a tenancy you’ll usually be asked for a tenancy deposit. This is often one month’s rent.
Your landlord must protect this in a government-backed tenancy protection scheme.
You should get your deposit back at the end of a tenancy if you’ve paid all the rent and not damaged the property.
Before 1 June 2019, letting agents could charge tenants a fee at the beginning of a tenancy.
Fees were for things like references, a tenant credit check, tenancy signing and inventory.
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 banned these charges.
The only costs a tenant now pays at the beginning of a tenancy are the deposit and rent.
It’s usually the tenant’s responsibility to pay the utility bills and running costs of a rented property.
These include:
council tax
gas and electricity
water
broadband and phone line
TV licence
If you rent a room in a house in multiple occupation (HMO) your rent may include some bills.
How to find a place to rent
If you’re looking for a council home to rent you’ll need to contact your local council.
If you want to rent a home in the private sector you can find properties:
from local letting agents
on property sites such as Rightmove or Zoopla
on rental listings sites such as OpenRent.co.uk or SpareRoom.co.uk
from classified adverts or social media
Tenants checklist
Read and understand your tenancy agreement
Read the How to Rent guide your landlord gives you
Pay the rent on time
Be able to prove your immigration status
Check if you’re entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit
Pay a tenancy deposit if necessary
Consider buying contents insurance
Pay council tax and household bills
Understand how the tenancy can be ended
Look after the property
Report repairs needed to your landlord
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Sources
¹ Statista – Number of households occupied by private renters in England from 2000 to 2019
² Gov.uk – private renting
³ Statista – Average rental costs in the United Kingdom (UK) March 2019 and March 2020, by region