LONDON — Changes governing rent payments in UK are prompting concerns among some letting agents about what happens when a tenant moves into a property before the first rent payment has been received.
Dean Gill, director of Martin & Co Sheffield and Worksop, says his agency has encountered a small number of cases where new tenants have indicated that they intend to delay their initial rent payment until after they have moved into their homes.
His comments, reported by LandlordZONE, come several months after restrictions on rent in advance were introduced under the Renters’ Rights Act.
The new rules were designed to prevent prospective tenants from being required to hand over large sums of money before securing a tenancy. However, the changes have also altered the point at which landlords and agents can request rent.
New rules changed when rent can be requested
Since 1 May 2026, landlords and letting agents in England have been restricted from requesting or accepting rent before the tenancy agreement has been signed by both parties.
Once the agreement has been signed, a landlord can generally require up to one month’s rent before the tenancy begins where rent is normally paid monthly.
The rules are intended to give renters greater protection from large upfront demands when competing for properties.
Government guidance distinguishes between rent being requested before a tenancy agreement exists and rent becoming due under an agreement that has already been completed.
That distinction has become important for agents managing the handover of properties.
Agent describes delayed payment after tenancy was agreed
Gill said his agency recently dealt with a case in which the tenancy agreement had been signed and the tenant had subsequently been asked to make the first rent payment.
According to Gill, the tenant responded that payment would be made several weeks after the tenancy had started.
He said such cases represented a small minority of tenants rather than a widespread behaviour across the market.
Nevertheless, he argued that the situation can leave landlords exposed because the tenancy may already have been legally established by the time the issue arises.
The agent said that under the previous approach, letting businesses would commonly expect the first payment to have cleared before a tenant collected the keys.
The new restrictions have changed the order in which some of those steps can take place.
Landlords face a different cash-flow position
A delay of several weeks can create a financial gap for a landlord.
Property costs such as mortgage repayments, insurance, management fees and maintenance expenses continue regardless of when rental income arrives.
For a landlord relying on rent to meet those commitments, an unpaid first instalment can therefore have an immediate effect on cash flow.
Gill’s concern is that a tenancy can now reach the point where the agreement has been signed and the tenant is entitled to take possession, while the landlord may not yet have received the money they expected before the move-in date.
That is different from saying that tenants have no obligation to pay.
Once the tenancy begins, rent remains payable in accordance with the terms of the tenancy.
What landlords can and cannot request
The new rules create a clear distinction between different stages of the letting process.
Before the tenancy agreement has been signed, a landlord cannot demand or accept rent.
After the agreement has been signed, the landlord can generally request up to one month’s rent before the tenancy starts where the tenancy is paid monthly.
Once the tenancy has begun, rent becomes payable according to the agreed payment schedule.
A tenant may choose to pay rent early, but the landlord cannot simply rewrite the payment arrangements to require earlier payments than the law permits.
Government guidance also states that landlords and agents must not use prohibited requests for rent as a condition of securing a tenancy.
This means agents need to ensure that their payment procedures comply with the new rules at every stage.
The reforms were designed to reduce upfront barriers
The restriction on rent in advance was introduced partly because of concerns about the amount of money some renters were being asked to produce before moving into a property.
Large advance payments can be particularly difficult for households without substantial savings.
Someone who can afford the monthly rent may nevertheless struggle to find several months’ rent at once.
The government’s approach was intended to reduce that barrier and prevent landlords from effectively requiring large upfront payments as a condition of renting a home.
The rent-in-advance rules form part of the wider Renters’ Rights Act, which has also introduced changes affecting possession, rent increases and rental bidding.
Those reforms are creating significant changes for landlords and tenants across England’s private rented sector. UK Recruits 1,000 Judges as Rental Possession Cases Rise Under New Renters’ Rights Rules looks at another consequence of the wider changes.
A signed tenancy creates obligations for both sides
The concerns raised by the letting agent also highlight an important principle of the new system: signing a tenancy agreement creates obligations for both landlord and tenant.
A landlord cannot rely on a prohibited demand for payment simply because they would prefer to have the money before allowing the tenant to move in.
Equally, a tenant cannot assume that restrictions on rent in advance mean they can choose when to make their normal rental payments.
If rent becomes due and is not paid, the resulting debt can become rent arrears.
The appropriate response then depends on the circumstances and the legal procedures available to the landlord.
What happens when rent falls into arrears?
A delayed first payment can become a straightforward rent-arrears issue once the contractual payment date has passed.
The Renters’ Rights Act has introduced changes to the possession system, meaning landlords must use the applicable legal route when dealing with serious rent arrears.
That makes it important for landlords and tenants to distinguish between a lawful payment arrangement and a payment that is simply overdue.
For landlords, accurate records of the tenancy agreement, agreed payment dates and amounts owed will become increasingly important if a dispute develops.
For tenants, failing to pay rent when it is due can have consequences even though the law restricts how much rent can be demanded in advance.
Letting agents face new administrative challenges
The changes also require letting agents to reconsider some established practices.
An agent needs to know exactly when the tenancy agreement becomes binding, when rent can legally be requested and when the first payment becomes due.
The timing of the tenancy start date and the payment date can therefore have practical significance.
Agents also need to make sure staff understand the difference between collecting permitted rent before a tenancy starts and demanding money at a stage when the law prohibits it.
Failure to comply with the rules can expose landlords and agents to enforcement action.
Landlord concerns come amid wider rental-market pressure
The dispute over first rent payments comes at a time when the English private rental sector is undergoing a substantial regulatory transition.
Landlords are adapting to new requirements while tenants are gaining additional protections around renting.
At the same time, demand for rental homes remains an important issue in the market. UK Tenant Demand Reaches Two-Year High as Landlords Remain Reluctant to Invest reported on the imbalance between tenant demand and landlord participation.
The reforms have also prompted concerns about whether some landlords will reconsider remaining in the sector. Renters’ Rights Act Pushes One in Three UK Landlords Toward Exit examined that issue.
The question of first rent payments is therefore emerging alongside several other changes affecting the relationship between landlords, letting agents and tenants.
Could the rules need further clarification?
Gill has argued that there should be a mechanism allowing a tenancy agreement to be signed while making the commencement of the tenancy conditional on receipt of the first month’s rent.
That is his proposed solution rather than an existing feature of the law.
Under the current framework, landlords and agents must work within the rules governing rent in advance and cannot create contractual arrangements that circumvent those restrictions.
Whether the practical problems reported by individual agents lead to calls for further changes will depend on how the system develops as more tenancies are created under the new rules.
For now, the position is that landlords cannot request or accept rent before the tenancy agreement has been signed. After signing, a monthly tenant can generally be asked for up to one month’s rent before the tenancy begins.
Once the tenancy is underway, the tenant remains responsible for paying rent according to the agreed payment schedule.
The new system therefore changes when landlords can collect rent in advance, rather than removing the tenant’s underlying obligation to pay rent.
The experience of letting agents over the coming months will show whether delayed first payments remain isolated cases or become a more significant issue for England’s rental market.
