Question

England | Start of a Tenancy (England) | Tenant Fees (England)

Deposit as last months rent

27 Jul 2022 | 3 comments

We have had a request from a landlord that wants to take the first and last months rent at the start of a tenancy in place of a deposit but I am unsure if this is permitted under the tenant fees act.

Answer

3 Comments

  1. guildy

    No, you can’t do that!

    The definition of “deposit” is “any money held”.

    The payment would be money being held to secure the performance of paying the last rent, which is an unknown date. As a result, the amount would be a deposit requiring protection, so it doesn’t avoid the deposit protection rules in any way.

    By taking the payment that way, the landlord could serve no section 21 and be liable to a penalty of between one and three times the amount.

  2. Property2008

    I thought so, that’s great, is this displayed in the tenant fees act document so I can evidence this? I have had a look through the document but I couldn’t see it.

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