Your rights as a Tenant

As a tenant one of the most important steps to protecting your tenure is to take advice before you sign any agreement, any Landlord and tenant solicitor will be able to assist with the contract, it's not obligatory that you have a contract to check, but you should still take advice.


Your Rights - Deposits.

One of the most contentious issues for landlords and tenants is the deposit, most rentals will be agreed under a contract called an Assured Short hold Tenancy (AST), with all agreements that started after April 2007, the deposit must be held in a deposit protection scheme, these are Government schemes that were set up to protect your money and ensure you get it back, providing you have paid all the bills you are liable for, have not caused any damage to the property and have met all other terms of your agreement.

When you pay your landlord, they must pay your deposit into a protection scheme within 30 days, when you end your occupancy in agreement with the terms of your contract, your landlord must return the money within ten days, if you have not agreed the amount that should be returned, the money will be held in the scheme until this is resolved.

When you initially pay the deposit to your landlord, they must send you confirmation of the monies being paid into the protection scheme, along with all the details on how to dispute the return of the deposit amount, who holds the money, under what terms the money can be withheld in addition to all the basic information about the property and parties involved.

You should question your landlord if you are uncertain if they have used a protection scheme, if still unsure, contact the approved schemes to find out, details at the end of this article.

If you are still concerned you should seek legal advice, and you do have recourse to the courts to ensure the landlord has complied. Failure to protect your deposit is not in the landlord's best interest, as a court may decide that you do not need to vacate the property at the end of the agreement.

One of the great things about the protection scheme is that they provide a free dispute service, if you do not agree with the amount to be returned, all parties must agree to the use of this service, and it's not obligatory, you may wish to engage the services of a solicitor or handle the dispute yourself. If you do use the service its decision must be adhered to.


The golden rules are to keep all evidence and do not delay in obtaining advice.


Your Rights - The property must be in a good state of repair and safe.


Your agreement should detail your requirements in the event of repairs, you do have obligations to allow for repairs to be made, and in most cases you will receive 24 hours notice of the repairs being done, unless of course it is an emergency.

You must take reasonable care of the property, and repair any damage you have caused.

At the start of a tenancy agreement it is common place for the landlord to conduct an audit of the property, there is nothing stopping you from arranging one yourself, but in both cases a signed agreement by you and the landlord before you move in can help with any disputes at the end of your tenancy.

With regards to safety, your landlord must ensure that any appliance and utilities system are checked and safe, the safety checks for the gas must be undertaken once a year and be conducted by a gas safe engineer, and your landlord must give you a copy of the report before your tenancy starts and each year.

It is also your landlord's responsibility to comply with all fire regulations; the details for these are available on line.

If you need to have any part of your property repaired contact your landlord straight away, you cannot withhold the rent because a repair has not been done.

It is also advisable to check your insurance to find out whom is responsible for repairs for items such as water damage, caused by you, for example you live in a flat and leave the tap on, and flood out the flats below.

You do have the right to force your landlord to undertake repairs, your local environmental health agency may be able to help, or a local solicitor.

If in doubt, ask.


Your Rights - Excessive Charges.

There have been a number of cases recently that the media have picked up upon in which a landlord has levied excessive charges, these could be a form of management charge or maintenance charge, and you do have a right to challenge excessive charges, speak to a solicitor or the CAB if you are unsure.

Your rights - Peace.

You have a right to be left alone; your landlord must not disturb you, unless they have justifiable reason for their visit/communication.


Your Rights - Fairness.

If you have an agreement, and you actually only have to have one if the agreement is for a period of 3 years or more, then you have a right of protection from your rent or any eviction being unfair. Your Landlord can only increase your rent on a fixed term tenancy if you agree, or at the end of the term.
Any other increases should be included in your original agreement, and once again you can challenge this if you feel it is unfair.


Your Rights - Rent Arrears.

This is not so much about your rights but guidance, if you are behind on your rent speak to your landlord explain why and what you can do about it, you could be evicted.

The government has help lines if you are experiencing financial problems, also Shelter, and your council may be able to help.

Don't ignore it; it will not just go away. Don't ignore letters as they may affect your future.

Your landlord may take you to court and ask the court to evict you.




Contact Details

Deposit Protection Service 0844 4727 000
My Deposits 0844 980 0290
Tenancy Deposit Scheme 0845 226 7837
Capita Tenancy Deposit Protection 0845 412 9969
Shelter 0808 800 4444