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You can usually exchange homes with your landlords permission if you have a secure, assured, fixed term or contractual tenancy and you have successfully completed any probation period. You’ll find further information on reasons you may be refused mutual exchange here.
- Looking to Join House Exchange
If you have to pay a subscription fee, you are able to pay...
- Looking to Join House Exchange
This information is for residents living in social housing, including councils and housing associations. We have set out some of your rights as tenants. It does not cover the occupancy rights of long-leaseholders and shared ownership leaseholders of social housing landlords.
- Who Should Read This Guide?
- Introduction to Letting Rooms – Some Important Principles
- Before Arranging A Let – Some Points to Consider
- Charging For Rent and Other Bills
- Repairs, Maintenance and Safety
- Ending A Letting
- Money Issues
- Appendix A: Form of Words That Must Be Used in A Notice to Quit
- Appendix B: Special Rules That Apply to Lettings Made Before 15 January 1989
You should read this guide if you are letting (or thinking of letting) part of your only or main residential home. In law, a resident landlord letting is one where the landlord and the person he or she lets to live in the same building. This includes conversions where they live in different parts of the same property (however long ago it was conver...
1.1 What types of letting does this guide cover?
This guide deals with many different arrangements, ranging from simply letting a room to a lodger to letting a converted flat in a house.
1.2 Why is it important whether the landlord is considered to be resident?
Tenancies which do not have a resident landlord are generally regulated or assured (including assured shorthold), depending whether they were granted before or from 15 January 1989 respectively. Resident tenants have more limited rights to security of tenure than regulated tenants (pre-15 January 1989) and assured tenants from 15 January onwards. Resident landlords have this greater freedom to end an arrangement because it is acknowledged that, should the relationship break down between the l...
1.3 How exactly is a landlord considered to be ‘resident’ in law? Does it make a difference if I don’t live in the property all the time?
For lettings started from 15 January 1989, the important point is whether you are using the property as an only or principal home, both at the start of the letting and throughout it. It is accepted that, for short periods, a landlord may not live in the property yet still be considered to be resident: so long as he or she intends to return and this is apparent, for example if he or she has left belongings. However, only a court can say for certain whether a landlord has maintained enough resi...
2.1 Does the let have to be for a set period or can it run indefinitely?
This is something for both parties to agree at the outset. There is no minimum length of time that you must allow the let to run for. Usually it will run indefinitely from one rent period to the next – a periodic letting; or may be agreed to last for a number of weeks, months or years – a fixed term letting. The nature and length of the let can be important for giving notice when either you or the occupier wants to end it. A tenancy must be for an agreed term, eg weekly periodic or a fixed te...
2.2 I’m an owner-occupier. Do I need permission to let out part of my home?
If you own the property outright, you do not need permission from anyone to let. If you have a mortgage on the property, it is in practice essential to get the mortgage lender’s agreement to let part of the property first: otherwise, you are likely to be in breach of the mortgage terms. If you are a long leaseholder, you should check the terms of the lease to ensure that you can let part of the property and, if necessary, get the freeholder’s agreement first. In either of these situations, if...
2.3 I’m a tenant. Can I sublet part of the property or take in lodgers?
If you are a secure council tenant, you have the right to take in a lodger, but cannot sublet part without the council’s written permission, you cannot sublet the whole of a secure tenancy. If you are a private tenant, you should check the terms of your tenancy. If there has been nothing agreed to the contrary, the tenant would be free to sublet. However, in practice most private tenancies prohibit subletting: because there is something in the written tenancy agreement to this effect (either...
3.1 Are there any rules about the amount of rent I can charge?
You are free to agree this with the occupier – for resident landlord lettings agreed since 15 January 1989 there is no means for the occupier to object to the amount of rent he or she is being charged. (see Appendix B for rules that apply to most lets started before this date) It is usual to ask for rent in advance, eg at the start of the month if it is paid monthly.
3.2 How often (and by how much) can I put the rent up?
Again, there are no rules specifically about rent increases, but if you have agreed a rise with the occupier, you cannot put the rent up by more than this. If the arrangement is for a fixed term, it cannot go up within that time unless this has been agreed, for example in a tenancy agreement. You are free to raise the rent at the end of the fixed term, if you agree a new let with the occupier. If the let is periodic or completely open-ended, then unless the parties have made arrangements for...
3.3 Must I provide a rent book?
You are legally obliged to provide a rent book if the rent is payable on a weekly basis. This must by law contain certain information about overcrowding, so it may be advisable to check a standard one available from law stationers’. However, many standard rent books are for tenancies not relevant to lets by resident landlords; so if you do decide to use a standard one, you may need to adapt it so that inapplicable information is removed. Even where there is no requirement to provide a rent bo...
4.1 Who is responsible for repairs and maintenance?
Responsibility for major repairs generally rests with the landlord. However, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 applies to tenancies but not licences. But a home must be fit for habitation whatever the arrangement of people living in it. It is especially important to agree responsibility for other repairs where you and the occupier live in very separate parts of the house, for example if it is converted into flats. Unless there is express agreement to the contrary, you will retain responsibilit...
4.2 Are there any rules about gas and electrical safety I need to know?
You are required by the “Gas Safety (Installation and use) Regulations 1998” to ensure that all gas appliances are maintained in good order and that an annual safety check is carried out by a recognised engineer – that is an engineer who is approved under Regulation 3 of the “Gas Safety (installations and use) Regulations 1998”. You must keep a record of the safety checks, and must usually issue it to the occupier within 28 days of each annual check. The occupier is responsible for maintainin...
4.3 What are the rules on fire safety of furniture?
If you supply furniture or furnishings with the let, you should ensure that they meet the fire resistance requirements – sometimes known as the ‘match test’ – in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. The Regulations apply if it is considered that the landlord is acting in the course of a business in letting the property, ie where he or she views the property primarily as a source of income rather than as his or her home. This means that in some resident landlord arra...
5.1 How can a let be ended?
This depends very much on whether it is for a fixed term, or a periodic or open-ended arrangement (see also section 2.1), and also on the nature of the let (see section 1.4). The requirements in this chapter apply to lettings started since 15 January 1989 – see Appendix B for information on lettings started before this date. If the arrangement is an open-ended or periodic one, either you or the occupier is free to bring it to an end at any time, but must notify the other party that the lettin...
5.2 For a periodic or open-ended let, how much notice must be given to bring it to an end? How should I or the occupier give notice to quit?
For non-excluded tenancies and licences, notice must be of at least whichever is the longest of: 1. 4 weeks or 2. the term of the let, if any (for example, a month if rent is paid monthly) or 3. whatever has been agreed between the parties and, for a periodic tenancy, end on the last day of a period (usually the day rent is due). It must be served in writing; if it is served by the landlord, it must include certain specified information (see appendix A – pre-printed forms are available from l...
5.3 Can I end a fixed-term arrangement early?
Yes, if there is something in the agreement or grounds for termination set out in legislation allowing you to terminate the arrangement if the occupier breaks it. But you would not be able to end the arrangement for this reason if, for example, the rule that had been broken came from an unfair term in a standard contract. You might still have to apply for a court order if the occupier refused to leave – see section 5.5. In that situation you would have to prove the breach of agreement to the...
6.1 Will letting rooms affect the Council Tax bill for the property?
Yes, if you are receiving the single person discount on your Council Tax. This will cease if you allow anyone else to live in the property (unless the additional occupiers are all exempt from Council Tax, such as students). See also sections 3.4 and 6.4.
6.2 Is rental income taxed?
Usually a landlord’s rental income will be considered as part of his or her overall taxable income. The tax to be paid will then depend on how much profit he or she has earned over his or her personal tax allowances. This is calculated by setting against the rent expenses of letting, including things like replacing fixtures or furniture, or a ‘wear and tear’ allowance. Alternatively, a resident landlord can take advantage of the Rent a Room allowance; but only if the let is of furnished rooms...
6.3 If I sell the property, will relief from Capital Gains Tax be affected by some of it having been let?
When a property is sold, tax may be payable on the gain made. Where the whole of the property was occupied as the owner’s home throughout his or her ownership, the sale is exempt from tax; an owner can take in one lodger and still be exempt, so long as no part of his or her home has been let. If you have let part of the property, the proportion of the gain that is taxed depends on what proportion of your home was let and how long for. You may be able to claim lettings relief against Capital G...
(a) If the tenant or licensee does not leave the dwelling, the landlord or licensor must get an order for possession from the court before the tenant or licensee can lawfully be evicted. The landlord or licensor cannot apply for such an order before the notice to quit or notice to determine has run out. (b) A tenant or licensee who does not know if...
What is different about lettings started before this date?The legal requirements for giving notice and getting possession of property could in some circumstances be more stringent, although you or the occupier would still be free to bring the arrangement to an end and the court must still award possession so long as the correct procedures have been...
Apr 9, 2019 · As a tenant, you have certain rights and responsibilities while living in your rented home. You should ensure you look after the property, and report any problems to the landlord or letting agent.
- This consolidated guidance is for landlords and tenants in the private rented sector (PRS). The government is committed to making sure everyone who...
- How to use this guideThis document has been produced to help both landlords and tenants. It sets out the roles and responsibilities of both parties...
- The guidance for tenants in this section sets out: what to consider when finding a new home in the private rented sector your responsibilities as a...
- SummaryThe vast majority of landlords in England provide decent, well-maintained homes for their tenants, and are good landlords committed to actin...
- Park homesPark homes are not part of the private rented sector. Privately-owned parks where home sites are occupied wholly – or in part – for perma...
A tenancy can either be: fixed-term (running for a set period of time) periodic (running on a week-by-week or month-by-month basis) Rights and responsibilities. Both you and your...
Your landlord will have to prove to the court the grounds for possession they've used are right for your situation. For example, because you have rent arrears of at least 8 weeks both when you got your section 8 notice and at the court hearing.
Having your documents ready can help you rent more quickly. Get your landlord’s or letting agent’s name and contact details before you give them your documents. Proving you have the right to rent. Your landlord or letting agent will ask to see your immigration documents or passport when you start or renew your tenancy.
