Pets, rental bidding and other new duties

Tenant requests to keep a pet

• Tenants can ask in writing to keep a pet. You must consider each request individually and cannot refuse unreasonably.
• You must reply in writing within 28 days.
• Reasonable refusals depend on the circumstances (for example a superior lease that bans pets, or a property clearly unsuitable for that animal). Record your reasons.
• Check GOV.UK for the current position on pet damage cover before requiring any insurance.

Rent in advance and rental bidding

• A landlord can require no more than one month's rent in advance, and only after the tenancy is agreed and before it starts. (Rent in advance under an arrangement made before 1 May 2026 can continue until that tenancy ends.)
• Rental bidding is banned: adverts must state the rent, and you must not ask for, encourage or accept offers above it.
• Deposits remain capped at five weeks' rent (six if annual rent is £50,000 or more), and holding deposits at one week.

If a prospective tenant can't pass referencing, alternatives include a guarantor, or the landlord taking out their own rent guarantee insurance — you can't make the tenant pay for insurance or sign up to a service as a condition of the tenancy (Tenant Fees Act 2019).

No DSS, no children: discrimination rules

Since 1 May 2026 landlords and agents must not:

• discourage or prevent someone from renting because they receive benefits;
• discourage or prevent someone from renting because a child would live at or visit the property;
• take action against a tenant for starting to claim benefits during the tenancy.

Mortgage and superior lease terms that restrict letting to families or benefit claimants are unenforceable, and landlord insurance conditions barring benefit claimants become unenforceable when the policy expires.

You can still carry out fair affordability checks and referencing applied to everyone, and ask for a guarantor where appropriate.

Commentary: https://www.northdevon.gov.uk/renters-rights-act-2025/changes-that-come-into-force-1-may-2026

Tenancy deposits: caps and protection

• Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 the deposit is capped at five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000 (six weeks if £50,000 or more). A holding deposit is capped at one week's rent.
• Protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme (DPS, mydeposits or TDS) within 30 days of receiving it, and give the tenant the 'prescribed information' within the same 30 days.
• How to work out five weeks: monthly rent × 12 ÷ 52 × 5, rounded DOWN to the penny so you never go over (e.g. £1,000 a month → £1,153.84).
• Failing to protect can lead to a court penalty of one to three times the deposit. You can still serve a section 8 notice, but the court can't make a possession order on most grounds until the deposit rules are met (see below).
• The rule (Housing Act 2004 s215, as substituted by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 from 1 May 2026): the court can only make a possession order if the deposit is held in an authorised scheme, the scheme's initial requirements were met and the prescribed information has been given — OR the deposit has been returned (in full or with agreed deductions), OR any penalty claim by the tenant has been decided, withdrawn or settled. It applies to Ground 8 and the other arrears grounds; Grounds 7A and 14 are the exceptions.
• Protected late? The 30-day deadline isn't a condition of the possession order any more, so a deposit protected late — with the prescribed information served — before the court decides does not block possession. But the tenant can still claim the 1–3× penalty (s214), often as a counterclaim, which can cut the arrears below the Ground 8 threshold. Treat late protection as a reason to have a solicitor check the case before serving.
• Already missed the 30 days and still not protected? Don't say 'protect it within 30 days' — that has passed. Protect it now and serve the prescribed information at once, or return the deposit; either way the penalty claim remains possible.
• At the end, agree deductions in writing; disputes go to the scheme's free adjudication if both sides agree to it, otherwise to court; return any undisputed part promptly.

Official sources

• www.northdevon.gov.uk/renters-rights-act-2025/changes-that-come-into-force-1-may…
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act/gu…
• www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

General information on the law in England, not legal advice. Never assume a claim will succeed — for court action, speak to a qualified professional.