London Landlords Beware: Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Brings £7,000 Fines for Non-Compliance

Reviewed by: Nollienne Alparaque , Head of Landlord and Tenant Department and Senior Immigration Caseworker

Last updated: May 26, 2026

Reviewed by: Oshin Shahiean , Managing Partner

Last updated: May 26, 2026

London Landlords Beware: Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Brings £7,000 Fines for Non-Compliance

In Brief

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 represents a significant shift in landlord regulation. For London landlords, the Act increases the complex web of compliance duties. Landlords can now face fines of £7,000 for breaches.

In this article, our Landlord and Tenant Solicitors explain what the new rules mean in practice, why landlords must take compliance seriously, and the steps landlords should take to protect themselves, whether they have a large rental portfolio or a single rental property.

Contact OTS Solicitors in London.

The Aims of the Renters’ Rights Act

The Renters’ Rights Act aims to:

Strengthen tenant protections
Improve housing standards
Clamp down on non‑compliant landlords

The Renters' Rights Act will achieve its aims through:

Increased penalties
Expanded enforcement powers
Local authority resources to investigate breaches

What the Renters' Rights Act means for Landlords in London

Landlords are at increased risk of:

Enforcement action
Larger fines
Greater scrutiny of standards and documents
Higher financial risk and reduced financial return

What can Landlords be Fined £7,000 for?

The Renters' Rights Act introduces civil penalties for a range of landlord compliance failures.

Local authorities can issue fines for specific breaches, such as:

Failure to provide mandatory documents
Taking pre-tenancy rent payments
Failure to state rent
Accepting an increased rent from the rent advertised
Tenant discrimination
Marketing a rental property when unable to do so

Full details of the civil penalties can be found in Civil penalties under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and other housing legislation.

Failure to Provide Mandatory Documents

An amendment to the Housing Act 1988 (Section 16D) requires landlords to provide their tenants with written information before the tenancy agreement is signed.

Failure to comply with a first-time offence can result in a fine of up to £7,000, or up to £40,000 for repeat offenders.

The guidance states that the fine starting point for this breach of the rules is £4,000. However, local authorities can increase the fine up to £7,000.

Pre-tenancy Rent Payments

The Renters' Rights Act prohibits pre-tenancy payments. For example, a reservation fee or rental payments before the tenancy agreement is signed. Landlords and letting agents can be in breach of this requirement if they are found to have invited or encouraged a pre-tenancy payment.

A breach of this rule can result in a civil penalty of up to £5,000 for a first offence. The fine can increase to £30,000 if another breach occurs within 5 years.

Failure to State Rent in Adverts

The Renters’ Rights Act prohibits landlords and relevant persons, such as letting agents, from advertising or offering, in writing, a proposed rental property unless they state the specific rent sought, and any rental advertisement must contain details of the rent sought.

Non-compliance can result in a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first offence or up to £40,000 for a second offence.

The guidance states that the fine starting point for this breach of the rules is £3,000. However, local authorities can increase the fine to up to £7,000 if they are satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the landlord failed to state the rent in the adverts. The intention is to prevent landlords from raising rents by encouraging tenants to bid against one another.

Accepting an Increased Rent to the Rent Advertised

If a landlord or letting agent either invites or encourages a prospective tenant to pay more than the stated advertised rent for a rental property, or accepts a higher rent, they could receive a fine.

Landlords can accept offers below the advertised rent.

The sanction for this breach of the Act is a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first offence or up to £40,000 for a second offence. The guidance states that the fine starting point for this breach is £4,000.

Tenant Discrimination

Historically, many landlords refused to accept prospective renters who were receiving state benefits or had children. The new law prohibits landlords and letting agents from discriminating against prospective tenants based on their state benefit status or on whether they have children.

Landlord and Tenant Solicitors stress that landlords can conduct rental affordability checks and reject a prospective tenant on benefits if they do not meet the affordability test.

Landlords can reject tenants with children if they have a legitimate aim, for example, if renting to the tenant would create overcrowding. For example, because of London's high rents, a couple with 4 children wants to rent a 2-bed flat. A landlord could refuse their application because, with mixed sex children, the landlord is avoiding overcrowding and therefore meeting a legitimate aim.

Marketing a Rental Property When Unable To Do So

If a landlord obtains possession of their rental property under:

Possession ground 1 - landlord or their family member intends to occupy the property, or
Possession ground 1A – the landlord intends to sell the property

The Renters' Rights Act says that a landlord or letting agent cannot offer the property for rent or licence for a period of 12 months from either:

The date of the possession order, or
The date the tenants moved out, if they left voluntarily without a possession order being made

The sanction for this breach is a civil penalty of up to £40,000, although the guidance states that the starting point should be £25,000.

Why London Landlords Need Legal Advice From Landlord and Tenant Solicitors

London has a fast-paced rental market, with some London boroughs having active enforcement teams and tenants and prospective tenants who fully understand their rights and landlords' obligations.

It is hard for both landlords and letting agents to get up to speed with the wide sweeping changes introduced by the Renters' Rights Act and the amendments made to older housing legislation, such as

Housing Act 2004
Protection from Eviction Act 1977
Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

It can be equally difficult for landlords to understand the specifics of the new rules, such as when it is acceptable to refuse to rent to a tenant on benefits or to understand the importance of providing the prescribed information in the exact format required by the legislation and regulations.

Landlords should also be aware that local authorities do not need a tenant complaint to act. If the authority sees a non-compliant advert, they can act without a complaint from a prospective tenant.