r/rentingUK

Hi everyone, I would like some advice. Me and my partner have been living in our rental house for 4 years now. We have been good tenants, there has never been any issues. It is a three bedroom house with a large garden, and yet the original rule when we moved in was no pets, and no kids.
This was fine for us originally but I have been desperate to get a dog, I grew up with them in my family home and miss them.
After the rule change on the 1st May, we realised there is no legal reason that the landlord has given us to deny us having a small dog. However, after requesting this yesterday our letting agent rang me to tell me our landlord is adamant on no pets. Apparently he had tenants before us who had a pet and had to replace all the carpets in the property. Aside from the landlord obviously not liking pets, this is the only reason given for the refusal.
Today I am planning on sending a more official request to the letting agent. Is there any way I can word the email to be firm, yet also understanding of the landlords worries? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We have been told our landlord is selling our house , it has now sold & we need to be out by September.

I know a lot of us are in the same position, just wondering how everyone else is finding things? There doesnt seem to be many rental options about right now & its all feeling quite stressful. Have any of you had any luck? How are you all approaching the situation?

Estate agent send me this email is that valid after renter act 2026

Thank you for your email below.

Before the East Team revert to you further, I would ask that you please note the following in relation to the current tenancy regulations under the Renters’ Rights Act.

Under the new legislation, you cannot ordinarily end a tenancy within the first six months unless agreed by the landlord. Thereafter, a minimum of two months’ notice is required.

As your tenancy commenced on 7 April 2026:

• The earliest date notice can be served would be 7 October 2026; and
• With the required two months’ notice, the earliest lawful vacation date would therefore be 7 December 2026.

Hi all, on behalf of father in law on this one- he was living with his partner, she was the only one on the tenancy but she has recently passed away. There are longer term plans afoot (we have bought him a flat), how long is it likely to be before the council try to evict him? What process would they engage?

Thanks in advance, any info welcome 😁

Hi all.  Need a bit of advice please.

My husband and I have been privately renting a house for ten years in England.  The landlord issued us with a Section 21 notice 2 days before the 1^(st) May rule change deadline.  We aren’t sure of the validity of the Section 21, but are struggling to find a straight answer.  We went initially to Citizens Advice, who referred us to the Council, but the council only wanted us to apply for council housing (we have no children, and have no reason to think we would qualify – both employed, no benefits).

The reasons we are questioning the validity, are:  My husband’s name is not correct on the notice (not real name, but think Terry Smith instead of Toby Smith); the landlord’s name is spelt incorrectly (this is just a typo we think); we’ve had no information about our deposit or where it is protected, and we haven’t received a copy of the EICR certificate (landlord has never had an EICR carried out before, but had one done before giving us notice, and has until Saturday this week (16^(th)) to give us the certificate).

If anyone can please point us in the right, and not too expensive direction please?  We will happily move out, but we are really struggling to find a house within our budget and on the timeframe we have – i.e. have to be out of this house by 30^(th) June.  Also if anyone can point us to the best place to get some solid advice – we know we can speak to a solicitor, but have limited funds!  Thanks.

Hi everyone! Me and my house want to hand in our two month notice as per the new rights installed. Our original end date to the contract is 4/9/2026 but we would like to leave a month early. If anyone has handed in their notice, how did you go about it and do you have any advice for us in which way to go about this? Any help would be much appreciated thank you!

I served my notice on May 1 and my agent told me that 21 July would be the surrender date. Now he had previously told me it would be July 1 but anyways said it was a ‘misunderstanding’ and that he can’t let me leave till July 21, which is in line with the rent cycle.

Under the new law, tenants can ask for a shorter notice. I brought this us up to which he said the landlord has agreed to this in principal, subject to reasonable access being provided and a clean and tidy apartment being presented'. I said okay and have been complying with the agent for viewings and keeping the place tidy but he is not telling me when I can move out if I satisfy this very vague condition. Moreover, in the email from the property management team there is no mention of the possibility of an early surrender. I think he is being vague and leaving my hanging by a thread, how can he set such an ongoing-vague condition? Moreover I believe he is bluffing about an early surrender when he is not providing me a date in writing. What should I do?

My landlord put my rent in November which they can do with new agreement, but has allowed the new tenant in the flat below (flats are the same and everyone else pays same as me now there are 5 flats) who moved in last month to pay less. When I asked him about this he went and told the new guy not to discuss rent with me! Are they allowed to do this? Why would my landlord do this?

Im looking for a place to rent for the first time with my partner, and recently, as I'm sure most people are aware, the new renters rights act has come in, meaning landlords aren't allowed to do a blanket ban on pets. Despite this, we had a viewing a few days ago and I have a cat, and when asking about this, the landlord said no pets. I wanted to push it and at least ask for a reason why, as required with the new laws, but my partner and family advised not to, as it may make the estate agents label us as difficult and not want to deal with us, and the landlord could just deny us for a different reason. My question is, what do you think the best way is for tackling this issue and using the new laws to my advantage without ruining my chances for a place, as I dont see the point in the new laws, if I cant even request to know a specific reason as to why they won't allow pets, as is required. What is the best way to go about this when looking for a place and wanting a cat with these new laws?

As the title says, I want to get a dog and have done for 10 years. I’m a uni student so it may be a little diff?? But I am renting with Winkworth for uni student.
Do I call them and just TELL them?
Do I email and ask permission?
Helpppp

Edit:
Thank you for considering the welfare of the dog, and thank you dog owners for advice.
I have talked to dog owners that I know and that know my situation, and they have no issue with me getting a dog. I already have a part time job and am keeping up with my studies so there is no issue there.
Please know I have been considering this for a while, it is not a spur of the moment descision and I have accounted for the time it will take for training and the money I will have to put towards a dog.
Commenting stuff like ‘don’t get one’ isn’t helpful, it’s not what I asked.

I would just like to know how to phrase my email in the most efficient way so they will let me.

I am planning to move, and viewing properties recently. I found that after RRA, some of the landlords/ agencies required tenant to provide a Guarantor now, regardless you meet income and affordability or not.

They said previously you can offer upfront rent, but now after RRA, they can't and so require a guarantor.

Has anyone noticed this change recently? Or from your experience, most still don't require a Guarantor?

Is there any property still does not require a Guarantor ?

Honestly, I don't want to bother anyone to be a guarantor or cause them stress.

What do you think? Will you rent a flat that requires a Guarantor? Or you will choose one that does not?

Thank you.

The housing market is savage and we’re looking for a 3 bed for three sharers and none of them have a HMO.

Unsurprisingly the HMO ones are of worse quality and often more expensive.

So we found one place that we could technically afford as 2 sharers but wouldn’t want to just drop our friend. How likely would someone actually find out there’s a third person?

What counts as a household? Can we be in a couple and count as one household?

Hi , I paid my landlord council tax as apart of my bills for 13 months. Then the council came after me saying I owe them 13 months council tax. Which I paid. Does the landlord have to return my money that I paid to him as he did not pay the council. I have all the evidence, of my payments to him.

He’s saying he will refund me once the council refunds him but that’s not my problem. I’m thinking of taking him to small claims court

Hey! I am currently renting in Glasgow with my lovely flatmate and dog, but I need to move out in July. I know how bad the renting situation is in Glasgow is right now so wanted to jump on it early. This is my first time moving since adopting my dog, and I have noticed almost no properties will even give me a viewing if I so much as mention my furry pal, saying the landlord doesn’t allow pets. I know the renters rights bill came in here in 2025, but I’m wondering if this still applies if you haven’t signed a tenancy agreement?

This is making it a real struggle to find a new place to live and my deadline is slowly approaching. Any ideas or suggestions would be super appreciated!

For any further info: I’m a young professional with a decent job, decent savings, good credit score, and years worth of glowing landlord references. My dog is older, medium sized, fully house trained, doesn’t shed, and quiet with exception to people knocking on my door.

Hi, I have a question about renting. I am planning to move out from my parents’ house soon for at least a few months. I don’t know how long I will actually end up staying at the new place before moving again (either to somewhere else, or back in with my parents), but for various reasons it is likely to be under a year and could be under 6 months. This is something which I now know is possible under the renters rights act.

My question is, if I move somewhere to rent and then declare after a few months that I will be ending the tenancy, is this something which might come back to bite me when looking for my next place to rent? Am I likely to get a bad reference based on this alone which could hinder my chances at all when I need to give a reference from my last place? (assuming I am a good tenant otherwise in all the normal ways).

I don’t have much experience with renting, as for reasons I’m not going to go into I have mostly lived at my parent’s place until now, aside from a few years at university. I am in my early 30s and have a full-time job which I will have until at least the end of 2026 (it’s a contract role that might be renewed). I’ve been employed through the majority of the 2020s, though I did have a period of unemployment until relatively recently. I’m in England and would probably look for a one bedroom place.

I'm seeking help/advice when one of the tenants leaving a joint (two) tenancy when perhaps the other doesn't want to.

Assuming 2 joint tenants A & B. Under the new Renters Rights Act 2026 either can serve a Quit Notice to the landlord to give 2 months notice to end the tenancy for both (prior to May both would have had to give notice together). So far so good.

So if A wants out, under normal circumstances any of the following could come next …

- B could take on a new tenancy agreement alone (with landlord’s permission)

- a replacement C is found and starts a new joint tenancy agreement for B & C (with landlord’s permission)

- the landlord evicts B and re-lets the property

However under the last scenario, if B refuses to move out and A has left and stopped paying rent, then my understanding is both A & B are liable for the unpaid rent. The landlord would have to get a section 8 notice approved by the court to evict B and choose which one or both (or the guarantor) he wants to pursue through the courts for the rent arrears. This is no different from pre-May rules and the new legislation has not done anything to help this particular scenario. 

Therefore although the new legislation allows one of two tenants to terminate the rental agreement, in practice this only works if the other tenant (and landlord) is willing to move out to or take up a new tenancy agreement. If the other tenant refuses to comply then the tenant that wants to leave is effectively still held hostage and to account for the rent. Have I understood this correctly ?

Unfortunately I can't think of an easy solution either. From what I can see rental agreements will likely be “joint & severally” which means both tenants are liable for rent/damage/etc. regardless of who the originator is. So one option could be to ask the landlord to remove the word “severally” . The other option is put in place a side agreement with the landlord that if B refuses to leave once A’s notice period has run out, then the landlord will only pursue B for unpaid rent. Neither option works in the best interests of the landlord, in fact it curtails their options for getting their money back, so why would they agree ?

Perhaps an odd scenario, but one which I as an inexperienced and risk averse renter could face as I am about to enter into a joint tenancy agreement with another party.

I sent this (not my entire email):

My understanding is that the notice period is two months. As today is the 4th of May and a bank holiday, I appreciate this may not be picked up until tomorrow, the 5th of May. However, I wanted to ask whether my landlord would be willing to accept my notice as running from the 1st of May, with the tenancy ending on the 30th of June.

I am asking because I have suddenly lost a significant amount of income and I am no longer in a position to afford the rent beyond the next two months. I wanted to be upfront about this as early as possible so that there is as much time as possible to make arrangements.

They responded:

We can confirm under the new law you can give notice to quit in relation to the property.

However, it must end on a rent due date and your rent due date is the 1st Month therefore your end date would be the 31st July.

I know it's not by the book but it's an emergency. I literally can't afford it. The rent is astronomical. So wondering if there's a way to negotiate. I've never had any direct contact with my landlord and I don't think I'm able to. Any helpful insight here would be most appreciated.

Hey guys, hoping for a bit of help as my shower has been broken (huge crack and leaking into the cafe downstairs, totally unusable without flooding my bathroom and downstairs) for over two months now (since Feb 28th) and I have spoken to the estate agent on the phone regarding compensation. I said to them that last time something similar happened, (the bath/shower cracked right down the middle and was leaking into the room downstairs) that they fixed it in less than two weeks and gave us 50% off the rent for those two weeks so essentially had a weeks rent for free.

I said this was a breach of the fitness for habitation act, as well as the Landlord and tenant act 1985. They asked for me to email them in writing to formally ask for a reduction and to quote the advice I was given from citizens advice.

Can you help me cite the sources etc or let me know if there's anything I don't know about my rights, having not had anywhere to bathe for over two months. I only have a shower in the house and no bath so it's the only place for me to wash - I have been visiting friends and paid for a gym membership which has just renewed for the third month in a row.

What should I include in my formal request?

Any help or advice would be massively appreciated

(Do not tell me to withhold rent pls that is the opposite of what I want to do)