On 31 May the government revised the How to Rent Guide to take into account all the changes introduced into the Private Rental Sector by the Tenant Fees Act.
The How to Rent Guide must be given to tenants who enter into a new or renewed tenancy for a fixed term on or after 1 October 2015. Tenants with tenancies that became periodic prior to 1 October 2015 do not need to be given the How to Rent Guide.
The guide was updated to reflect the changes introduced by the Tenant Fees Act which came into force on 1 June 2019.
In summary the notable changes in the guide are that:
- tenant fees are no longer permitted with a link for tenants to seek further guidance;
- deposits are capped at 5 weeks rent where the annual rent is less than £50,000 or and 6 weeks where the annual rent is £50,000 or above; and
- deposit replacement products can be offered on a voluntary basis only.
This new guide must be given for any tenancy that was executed, renewed or became statutory periodic on or after 31 May 2019.
For the purposes of clarification with regards to statutory periodic tenancies the rules are:
- where a tenancy became statutory periodic prior to 1 October 2015 no How to Rent Guide needs to be given unless that tenancy is renewed after 1 October 2015
- where a fixed term tenancy commences after 1 October 2015 and subsequently becomes statutory periodic a How to Rent Guide must be given at that point.
Comment
Updates to the How To Rent Guide should be expected every time legislation is introduced which has an impact on the Private Rental Sector.
Published 4 June 2019
