What are my Rights as a Tenant?
When you rent a property, you might be wondering ‘what are my rights as a tenant?’ You’re effectively living under someone else’s roof (albeit they’re not living there at the time). This may feel precarious, but it doesn’t mean you can be thrown out on a whim. Due to rules and regulations that landlords and letting agents must abide by – tenants’ rights are strictly upheld.
In England, the Renters’ Rights Act became effective in May 2026, and has introduced major changes with the aim of giving tenants more rights. The rules make it more difficult for landlords to evict a tenant, tenancies have become periodic tenancies with no fixed end date, rent increases are more regulated and there are new rights around pets.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate rental rules, so your exact rights depend on where you live.
Landlord accreditation
All landlords are required to uphold tenants’ rights. However, there are some landlords who will violate these!
To ensure your landlord is ‘legit’, you can start by checking their accreditation. Belonging to a relevant industry body means they’re obliged to adhere to a code of practice which outlines standards of behaviour. There are also voluntary membership schemes like the National Residential Landlords Association and other professional bodies.
Such schemes also usually offer an independent arbitration should something go wrong.
- In England, there is not yet a national landlord registration scheme, although some properties may need selective, additional or HMO licensing, and a national Private Rented Sector Database is expected in a later phase of the Renters’ Rights Act reforms.
- In Wales, landlords must register with Rent Smart Wales, and landlords or agents carrying out letting or management work must be licensed.
- In Scotland, private landlords must register with their local authority, and property adverts must include the landlord registration number or state that registration is pending.
- In Northern Ireland, all private landlords must register with the Landlord Registration Scheme.
Letting agent accreditation
For letting agents in England, there’s no compulsory registration stipulations. But, professional letting agents should all be registered with either the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) or the National Approved Lettings Scheme (NALS). As well as the Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPOS) or Property Redress Scheme (PRS).
In Wales, agents carrying out letting or property management work must be licensed through Rent Smart Wales.
In Scotland, letting agents must be registered with the Scottish Government and comply with the statutory Letting Agent Code of Practice.
For Northern Ireland, there is currently no equivalent statutory letting agent registration, redress or client money protection requirement.
Some of these schemes are statutory requirements, while professional membership schemes are voluntary. But they can provide an independent means of redress for disputes between tenants and letting agents.
There may also be local accreditation schemes specific to the area in which you plan to rent. A list of these can be obtained from the relevant local authority.
What rights do tenants have?
While you have many responsibilities you also have certain rights as a tenant. Again, the regulations differ in each country so check on the resources linked below for specific rules.
You can expect your landlord or letting agent to act in a professional and timely manner in regards to returning your calls/emails. Particularly if they concern repairs.
One of your basic rights as a tenant also includes feeling safe in your rented property.
Your landlord or letting agent’s responsibilities include:
- attending to any repairs in the property within a timely manner of your report
- dealing with emergency repairs as soon as possible
- acting as a buffer between yourself and the landlord in the event of a dispute concerning the property, ie. the landlord is taking too long to give the go-ahead for a particular repair, etc
- issuing a receipt or invoice for every payment received (for rent, a deposit, refund etc)
- issuing you with a signed tenancy agreement
- going through the inventory with you
- providing a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate for you to view, as well as certificates showing recently completed gas and electric safety checks
What if the landlord or letting agent is failing to act in my interests?
In the event your landlord or letting agent are:
- not responding to your requests for repairs
- entering the property for inspections without informing you
- attempting to increase the rent in a way that does not follow the rules,
then there are organisations you can turn to. Landlords and letting agencies cannot ignore tenants’ legal rights! Particularly if you live in a HMO.
This includes some of the accreditation bodies we previously mentioned, but there are others.
If you feel the property is unsafe or uninhabitable, you can speak to the local council’s environmental health officers.
In the event you believe the rent has been increased unfairly then you can ask the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to review it.
If there’s vandalism or unreasonable noise in your block of flats/neighbourhood, you can ask the council’s anti-social behaviour team to investigate.
Helpful guidelines for tenants
You’ll find the legal obligations of landlords and letting agencies in England on the UK government’s website under Private Renting or Shelter. Here you can find out what you can expect as a tenant, what responsibilities your landlord has and who to appeal to if you believe your rent has been increased too much.
For Wales, use the Welsh government website under Renting Homes Wales, Rent Smart Wales or Shelter Cymru guidance.
For Scotland head to the Scottish government website under Private Renting or Shelter Scotland for detailed regulations.
In Northern Ireland, use nidirect, the Department for Communities or Housing Rights.
Your landlord should present you with the correct documents and prescribed information for the country you rent in. This will show they’re aware of the current government legislation regarding renting and inform you of the law around your tenancy or occupation contract,deposit protection, rent increases, repairs, and giving notice if you want to move out.
Renting in a new area? Phil Spencer’s Property Report contains information on everything from local planning applications and local amenities to school ratings.
Last Updated: June 1st, 2026
