Advice for landlords

Landlord accreditation

This scheme aims to improve and maintain standards across the Royal Borough’s private rented sector. There are several advantages to joining this scheme:

in-depth training on housing law
guidance on how to comply with the law and changes in legislation
details about the availability of grants for repairs, improvement, energy efficiency and bringing empty properties back into use
ability to use the accreditation logo on letters and correspondence
access to the rent deposit scheme

There are two key stages of the accreditation process:

The landlord attends a one-day development course. Topics could include landlord-tenant law, preliminary requirements, how to prevent problems occurring during a tenancy and information on housing benefits.
The landlord must agree to adhere to the Landlord Accreditation Scheme code of conduct. This is a simple process to follow and simply sets out in general terms what is expected of a competent and conscientious landlord.

In addition, a landlord should have no prosecution or similar action against them for breaches of certain requirements, including harassment, racial discrimination or offences concerning property conditions.

What happens next?

For more information, please contact the Environmental Health Housing Team on 020 7361 3002 or email [email protected].

Housing Association leasing scheme

The Housing Association Leasing Scheme (HALS) offers homeowners the opportunity to place their properties into a leasing scheme with a housing association. This scheme is supported by the Council and can offer:

full management of the property, with the housing association responsible for the day to day management
a guaranteed rent, even if the property is empty
replacement or repair of any damage to furniture, fixtures and fittings to the original standards

If you are interested in this scheme, please call us on 020 7361 3116 or email [email protected]

Private Licence Agreement (PLA) Scheme

Our PLA scheme is a guaranteed rent scheme which offer homeowners the opportunity to place their self-contained properties into a leasing scheme with housing associations and private letting agents.

Whilst our preference is for accommodation within the Kensington and Chelsea borough boundary, realistically we cannot procure enough accommodation to meet demand, and are seeking accommodation in all areas of London.

All accommodation must have valid gas and electricity certification, and generally would be expected to reach category D in terms of Energy Performance.

Kensington and Chelsea currently has over 1,300 families placed in PLA accommodation throughout London. There is a high demand for flats and houses that can be utilised on a relatively long-term basis under the scheme.

For further information, please call one of the team to discuss how the scheme works, or alternatively email [email protected]

Chris Scott 020 7361 3116
James Akinwale 020 7361 3956
Stephanie Coleman / Abayomi Ajayi 020 7361 2328

Prohibited and permitted fees

Potential tenants should have all the information they need from the start so that they are able to make informed decisions. This helps avoid entering into contracts they cannot afford.

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 a landlord or agent can only charge permitted fees, therefore any payment which is not permitted is a prohibited payment.

The only payments you can charge in connection with a tenancy are:
the rent

a refundable tenancy deposit capped at no more than five weeks’ rent. The annual rent is less than £50,000. Or six weeks’ rent where the total annual rent is £50,000 or above
a refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than one week’s rent
payments to change the tenancy when requested by the tenant, capped at £50, or reasonable costs incurred if higher
payments associated with early termination of the tenancy, when requested by the tenant
payments in respect of utilities, communication services, TV licence and council tax
a default fee for late payment of rent and replacement of a lost key/security device, where required under a tenancy agreement. If the fee you are charging is not on this list, it is a prohibited payment, and you should not charge it. A prohibited payment is a payment outlawed under the ban.

A landlord or agent found to have breached the requirements could be issued with a financial penalty of up to £5,000, however if a second or subsequent breach has been committed within 5 years of a previous penalty, a landlord or agent could be prosecuted or receive a penalty of up to £30,000.

Display of fees

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, letting agents are required to publish their relevant fees, charges and penalties payable to the letting agent by a landlord or a tenant:

in respect of letting agency work or property management carried on by the agent, or
otherwise in connection with an assured tenancy of a dwelling

The following fees do not have to be published:

tenancy deposits
any fees, charges or penalties that the letting agent receives from a landlord under a tenancy on behalf of another person
any other fees, charges or penalties specified in regulations

Display requirement

Letting agents must display, in a conspicuous place, a list of relevant fees:

in each of their premises where they deal with clients or potential clients face-to-face
on their website (if they have one)

Where a letting agent advertises property to let on a third-party website, that agent must either:

display a list of their relevant fees on that website, or
provide a link on that website to a part of the agent's website where a list of those fees is published.

Fees content

The list of fees must include:

an adequate description of each fee and its purpose
whether the fee relates to the property as a whole or is payable by each tenant
the total amount of the fee inclusive of all taxes
the method of calculating the fee, if the fee cannot be determined in advance

Failure to comply with the display requirements can result in a penalty of up to £5,000. Further, if you give misleading information about fees or omit to tell a client everything, you may be in breach of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, for which you could be prosecuted.

For more information visit displaying your fees on the Business Companion website.

Tenancy and Holding deposits

Tenancy deposit

A tenancy deposit is a sum of money that a landlord or letting agent can request at the beginning of a tenancy as security against non-payment of rent, damage to property, or similar.

An agent can require a tenancy deposit of:

up to 5 weeks’ rent for properties where the annual rent is below £50,000.
up to 6 weeks’ rent for properties with an annual rent of between £50,000 and £100,000.

A tenancy deposit must be protected in a government approved scheme.

Holding deposit

Potential tenants can be asked to pay a deposit to hold the property whilst reference and pre-tenancy checks are undertaken. The maximum holding deposit that can be requested is equivalent to 1 week’s rent.

The maximum deposit amount is per tenancy not per tenant, for example, if several potential tenants want to share a flat on the same tenancy agreement, they would pay a total of 1 week’s rent between them.

Refunding the holding deposit

A holding deposit must be refunded unless the tenant/s:

fails a Right to Rent check
withdraws from the application process
does not respond or contact you to progress the tenancy
gives false or misleading information that affects their suitability as a tenant

If the tenant signs the tenancy agreement, the holding deposit must be refunded. If you do not return it, you may receive a financial penalty.

Landlords, letting agents and property management companies | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Letting agents and landlords advice

In this guide

Advice for landlords

See also