Renting in the UK in 2026 – the Renters' Rights Act, deposits, Right to Rent and council tax
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Since 1 May 2026, renting a home in England works differently: rolling tenancies, no 'no fault' evictions and no bidding wars. Here is what renting in the UK means for you in each nation – from deposits and Right to Rent checks to council tax and stamp duty if you buy.
If you are renting in the UK for the first time, you arrive just after a major reform in England. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and its main tenancy reforms took effect on 1 May 2026. The rules here are for England unless stated; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own systems.
What changed for renting in the UK on 1 May 2026?
Most existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies – rolling weekly or monthly, with no end date – and every new private tenancy is one too. According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG):
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Evictions | No more 'no fault' section 21 evictions; a landlord needs a legal ground, usually with 4 months' notice |
| Selling or moving in | Not a ground for eviction in your first 12 months |
| Leaving | You give 2 months' notice in writing, or less if you both agree in writing |
| Rent increases | Once a year, not in the first 12 months, on Form 4A with 2 months' notice; challenge a rise above market rent at the First-tier Tribunal |
| Rent in advance | None before you sign, then usually at most one month's rent (28 days' if you pay weekly) |
| Bidding | One advertised rent and no offers above it; councils can fine up to £7,000 |
| Discrimination | No refusing tenants because they have children or receive benefits |
Source: MHCLG, read 23 September 2026.
Letting agents must belong to a redress scheme, such as The Property Ombudsman, and your council can make a landlord repay rent illegally taken in advance. A landlord database and a Private Landlord Ombudsman are planned from late 2026; that timing is a plan, and neither is in force yet.
How do deposits and Right to Rent checks work in England?
A holding deposit can be up to one week's rent, and the tenancy deposit up to five weeks' rent, or six if the annual rent is £50,000 or more. The landlord must protect it within 30 days in an approved scheme – in England and Wales, the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme – and return it within 10 days of you agreeing the amount.
Right to Rent checks apply in England only. The landlord must check every tenant aged 18 or over before a new tenancy – checking only people who seem not to be British is illegal – and, if your permission is time-limited, within the 28 days before it starts. Use a share code from your UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) account or original immigration documents; the landlord cannot insist on the code. British and Irish citizens show a passport, current or expired. With neither, the landlord can ask the Home Office's Landlord's Checking Service, which answers within 2 working days.
How do Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ?
| Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Up to 2 months' rent | Holding deposit up to 1 week's rent; security deposit typically about a month's rent (Welsh Government guidance) | Up to 1 month's rent |
| Protect it within | 30 working days of the start | 30 days | 28 days |
| Rent increases | Once in 12 months, 3 months' written notice | 2 months' notice, up from one | Once in 12 months since 1 April 2025, 3 months' written notice |
| Right to Rent check | No | No | No |
Source: the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and nidirect, read 23 September 2026.
In Scotland, landlords must be on the Scottish Landlord Register, rent in advance is capped at six months, and key money and credit-check fees are illegal. You can refer a rent rise to Rent Service Scotland within 21 days.
In Wales, tenants are 'contract-holders' under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, in force since 1 December 2022. You give at least four weeks' notice; a landlord's 'no fault' notice is at least six months and cannot be given in your first six months. Since 1 June 2026, landlords may not discriminate against people on benefits or with children.
In Northern Ireland, you get a free Tenancy Information Notice within 28 days, and a landlord's notice to quit runs from 4 to 12 weeks, depending on how long you have lived there.
What does renting in the UK cost – and how do you avoid scams?
| Area | Average monthly rent, August 2026 | Change on a year |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £1,400 | +3.8% |
| England | £1,459 | +4.0% |
| London | £2,332 | +3.5% |
| Manchester | £1,373 | +4.2% |
| Birmingham | £1,099 | +3.0% |
| Scotland | £1,013 | +1.1% |
| Wales | £846 | +4.3% |
| Northern Ireland (June 2026) | £874 | +1.6% |
Source: the Office for National Statistics (provisional figures), read 23 September 2026.
A one-bedroom home averaged £1,136 across the UK. The trap to avoid is rental fraud: paying upfront for a home that does not exist or is not available. Police advice: view in person, or send someone you trust, before signing or paying; pay by card rather than bank transfer where possible; and, if moving from overseas, ask your employer or university for accommodation guidance. Report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
How does council tax work – and can you get social housing?
When you move in, contact your council: it registers you for council tax and sends the bill. Adults usually pay from 18, and the amount depends on the home's valuation band. The average Band D bill in England for 2026-27 is £2,392, up 4.9%, and £2,068 in London, usually paid in 10 monthly instalments, or 12 if you ask.
A full bill assumes two adults: live alone, or only with 'disregarded' people such as full-time students, and you get 25% off; all-student households pay nothing. You must apply for discounts. Wales has nine bands, A to I, and in Scotland water and waste charges from Scottish Water usually come on the same bill. Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead, based on your home's value on 1 January 2005 and billed by Land & Property Services.
Council housing means a waiting list under each council's own rules. In England, people subject to immigration control are not eligible unless they fall into a prescribed class, such as refugees, people with humanitarian protection, or people with ILR (indefinite leave to remain) who are habitually resident. With NRPF (no recourse to public funds) on your visa, you cannot get social housing, homelessness assistance, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction.
How much stamp duty do you pay when you buy a home?
House prices averaged £273,000 across the UK in July 2026 (provisional) and £569,000 in London, down 3.3% on a year. Bank Rate, which influences mortgage rates, was held at 3.75% on 17 September 2026. On a visa, ask lenders about their criteria early.
| Tax | Standard rates | First-time buyers | Surcharges |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stamp Duty Land Tax, England and Northern Ireland | 0% to £125,000; 2% to £250,000; 5% to £925,000; 10% to £1.5 million; 12% above | Nothing up to £300,000, 5% up to £500,000; no relief above that | 5% extra if you will own more than one home; 2% if you spent under 183 days in the UK in the previous 12 months |
| Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, Scotland | 0% to £145,000; 2% to £250,000; 5% to £325,000; 10% to £750,000; 12% above | Nil band rises to £175,000 | 8% of the price on additional homes |
| Land Transaction Tax, Wales | 0% to £225,000; 6% to £400,000; 7.5% to £750,000; 10% to £1.5 million; 12% above | – | Higher rates of 5% to 17%, for example on second homes |
Source: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Revenue Authority, read 23 September 2026.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | In England, have a share code ready for the Right to Rent check | Before viewings |
| 2 | View in person before paying; pay by card | Before paying anything |
| 3 | Check the deposit and rent in advance against your nation's limits | Before signing |
| 4 | Confirm your deposit is protected | Within 30 days in England and Wales |
| 5 | Register for council tax and claim any discount | When you move in |
| 6 | Give notice in writing – 2 months in England | When you plan to leave |
Source: MHCLG and the Home Office, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- GOV.UK (MHCLG) – Renters' Rights Act overview for tenants · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants (How to end your tenancy) · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants (Rent increases) · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants (Rent in advance and deposits) · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for tenants (Rental bidding) · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Tenancy deposit protection · gov.uk
- GOV.UK (MHCLG) press release – When will the Renters' Rights Act come into force? · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Checking your tenant's right to rent; Prove your right to rent in England · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Prove your right to rent in England · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – Council housing · gov.uk
- GOV.UK (HMRC) – Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property rates · gov.uk
- legislation.gov.uk – Renters' Rights Act 2025 (introduction, as enacted) · legislation.gov.uk
- ONS – Private rent and house prices, UK: September 2026 · ons.gov.uk
- ONS – Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics (dataset released 16 September 2026, Table 1) · ons.gov.uk
- GOV.UK (HMRC) – Stamp Duty Land Tax rates: 31 October 2024 to 31 March 2025 · gov.uk
- Revenue Scotland – LBTT residential property rates; Additional Dwelling Supplement · revenue.scot
- Welsh Revenue Authority (GOV.WALES) – Land Transaction Tax rates and bands · gov.wales
- Bank of England – Interest rates and Bank Rate · bankofengland.co.uk
- Bank of England – Financial Stability Report, July 2026 · bankofengland.co.uk
- mygov.scot – Tenancy deposits; Rent increases if you have a private residential tenancy · mygov.scot
- legislation.gov.uk – Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 · legislation.gov.uk
- GOV.WALES – Renting homes: frequently asked questions (tenants) · gov.wales
- GOV.WALES – Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019: Guidance for tenants; Deposits: guidance for tenants · gov.wales
- nidirect – Private rent and tenancies; Tenancy Deposit Scheme – information for tenants · nidirect.gov.uk
- nidirect – Protection against eviction · nidirect.gov.uk
- MHCLG – Allocation of accommodation: guidance for local authorities, Chapter 3 · gov.uk
- UK Visas and Immigration – Public funds guidance ( · gov.uk
- GOV.UK – How Council Tax works (Who has to pay) · gov.uk
- Report Fraud (City of London Police national reporting centre) – Rental fraud · reportfraud.police.uk
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.