A leading agency has warned that tenants could move into a property without having paid any rent once the Renters' Rights Bill becomes law.

The government’s amendments mean any payment of rent made before a tenancy agreement is signed will be a prohibited payment; if a landlord invites, encourages, or accepts such a payment, the landlord or their agent could face local authority enforcement action and a fine.

Knight Frank’s head of lettings, Gary Hall (main image), reckons it’s bad news for landlords. “The big problem with this is often tenants want to move into a rental property quickly - sometimes in a matter of days - and transfer of funds can take three to five days, sometimes more if coming from overseas,” he explains.

“Tenants will want to be able to make one payment covering rent and deposit as soon as possible to avoid multiple bank charges or the admin of making multiple payments.

“Labour needs to see sense and allow rent at the start of a tenancy to be paid before a tenancy agreement is signed and before the start date of the tenancy.

"The current framework puts landlords and agents at constant risk of enforcement action for something that is out of their control. It is also unfair for a landlord to be at risk of a tenant moving into a property without the first month’s rent paid.”

Large sums

Landlords will also no longer be able to ask for multiple months’ rent in advance under the Bill as the government believes finding large sums of cash upfront is impossible for many renters, making it harder for those on lower incomes to get housing.

Groups such as Propertymark have warned that by preventing tenants from paying rent upfront, the government will potentially reduce the housing options available to people on fixed incomes and overseas students who may have challenges passing referencing and affordability checks.