The rules about asking rents and rental bidding in Renters’ Rights Act

Section 56 of the Renters’ Rights Act introduced a ban on “rental bidding” which makes it compulsory for landlords and letting agents to set a proposed rent or asking rent for a rental property and state that proposed rent in any listings, adverts and offers.

In essence, once the proposed rent is stated in a listing or advertisement, it acts as a cap, and letting agents and landlords must not ask for, accept or encourage prospective tenants to pay more rent than this advertised rent. The rule is that although the asking rent can always be reduced, it can only be increased in very specific circumstances, which I outline below.

If landlords or letting agents break these rules, the local authority can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a single breach.

The rules are quite complicated, and are not well understood. Also, we won’t ultimately know what the rules mean in practice until the courts interpret key terms such as “proposed letting” and “stated rent”.

In this blog post I go through the rules in detail and explain how I interpret them. I also refer to government guidance. Finally, nothing in this post is legal advice (note my disclaimer). It is my interpretation of the legislation and, like government guidance, I might also get it wrong.

What is rental bidding?

Rental bidding happens when tenants offer to pay more rent than the advertised rent for the property, a bit like bidding on house by offering more than the asking price. They might do this of their own volition, or under pressure from a landlord or letting agent.

This was fairly common after the pandemic, when demand outstripped supply, and some landlords or agents would hint at, encourage or explicitly ask those who wished to rent the property to bid over the asking rent.

For instance, the agent or landlord asking for this informally, or even going so far as to ask for sealed bids and “best and final offers”, as with a house purchase.

Sometimes the tenant just offered to pay a higher rent, in the hope that they would be successful.

Rental bidding like this was viewed as ratcheting up rents, and moving the goalposts for applicants when they are looking for properties to live in.

The Renters’ Rights Act banned rental bidding from 1 May 2026.

The purpose of the ban on rental bidding

The purpose of the ban on rental bidding in the Renters’ Rights Act was to ensure that those looking to rent a property would have certainty that the rent stated in any adverts is the maximum rent that the landlord could charge, and that they would not be required to make bids over the asking rent in order to secure the property.

As the official Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act published on 6 November 2025 put it: “The Renters’ Rights Act will end the unfair practice of pitting renters against each other in bidding wars. By outlawing rental bidding, we will level the playing field for renters and crack down on the minority of unscrupulous landlords who make the most of the housing crisis by forcing tenants to bid for their properties.”

It is useful to know the purpose of the law, in order to act within the spirit and intent of the law. This is the best way to avoid falling fail of the law, and enforcement by your local authority.

How does the Renters’ Rights Act ban rental bidding?

Section 56 of the Renters’ Rights Act bans rental bidding in two steps, each of which involve separate obligations:

1. The proposed rent must be stated in adverts or offers

Since 1 May 2026, it has been compulsory for any advertisement or written offer for a proposed letting of rental property under an APT in England to state a specific “proposed rent”.

The proposed rent must be a specific figure for a specific period of no more than one calendar month, such as a weekly rent or a monthly rent.

Unlike with the sale of properties, the figure must be a precise amount, and not refer “offers above £x” or state “price on application”.

Once the proposed rent is stated in a listing or other advert, Section 56 refers to it as the “stated rent”. The stated rent is a concept that is taken through to step 2.

Note that the stated rent is commonly referred to as the “asking rent” or the “advertised rent”, and they are used interchangably.

In practice, the asking rent needs to be on anything that advertises the property online or in print. This includes the following:

• listings on the portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla
• social media posts, eg on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
• websites such as Gumtree
• adverts in letting agent windows and on their websites
• printed particulars
• emails and text messages, for instance alerts to a database of applicants that a new property is available to let
• other adverts such as cards on noticeboards at student accommodation offices, in shop windows or in workplaces

The asking rent must be the same across all platforms.

The asking rent does not, however, need to be stated on a “To Let” board outside the property which merely advertises that the property is available for let.

2. The asking rent must be the maximum

The asking or stated rent acts as a cap, and Section 56 RRA bans landlords or anyone acting on their behalf from going above this figure, as that is “rental bidding”.

This means that the asking rent must be the maximum rent that the landlord or agent asks for, encourages someone to pay, or even accepts.

Section 56 also says that a landlord or letting agent must not do any of the following once a “proposed rent” is stated for a “proposed letting”:

• invite or encourage anyone to offer to pay an amount of rent above the stated rent. or
• accept an offer from anyone to pay rent that is more than the stated rent.

This means an agent or letting agent must not ask for “best and final offers” above the asking rent, or to ask an applicant informally to increase their offer above the asking rent.

They also cannot accept an unsolicited offer by an applicant to pay more.

Once set, the asking rent is the maximum the landlord can receive.

Can landlords or agents change asking rent after listing?

As the screenshot from a listing on Rightmove shows, the Chrome extension Property Log makes it easy to see how the asking rent changes over time. Rightmove will also state if the asking rent is reduced.

Here is a list of frequently asked questions about changing the rent once the property is listed, and the proposed rent is stated.

Once the asking rent is stated, can it be reduced?

Yes. The ban on rental bidding only stops landlords and letting agents from “inviting or encouraging” offers above the stated proposed rent. The rental bidding ban is designed to stop the asking rent from increasing, and it is not a breach to reduce the asking rent.

The official guidance, Rental bidding: a guide for local authorities and councils, gives the example where a landlord advertises a property with a price of £1,300 per calendar month, and is offered £1,000 per calendar month, which the landlord accepts. The guidance states: “rental bidding has not taken place because the offer was below the original advertised price”.  

Can a landlord increase the asking rent after listing a property for let?

No. Once the “proposed rent” is stated in a listing for a “proposed letting”, it would breach Section 56 to “invite or encourage” anyone to offer to more, or accept an offer from anyone to pay more for the same letting.

This is because increasing the rent in a listing would be inviting or encouraging prospective tenants to offer more than the stated rent. The effect would be to move the goal posts for the applicant by increasing the stated rent in the advertisement, which goes against the purpose of the rental bidding ban.

Can a landlord increase the asking rent if something changes?

Possibly. The rules refer to the “proposed letting”. If the proposed letting changes, it may be possible to increase the asking rent, depending on the circumstances.

The Renters’ Rights Act doesn’t define the “proposed letting”, but here are a few examples where the proposed letting changes:

• The landlord advertises the property as unfurnished, but the tenant asks for it to be fully or partially furnished. It would be possible to increase the asking rent by a fair amount to reflect that this is a different proposed letting. The government guidance for local authorities gives the example where a property is advertised as £700 pcm if unfurnished and £750 if furnished. Here, “rental bidding has not taken place as there is a difference between the two offerings”.
• The listing is without access to a garage. An applicant asks if they can also rent the garage behind the property, and the landlord increases the rent to reflect this. As with the case above, this is not rental bidding as “there is a difference between the two offerings”.
• The original listing did not include bills, and the tenant would like the landlord to include bills. In that case the proposed letting would change, and the landlord or agent could increase the rent by an appropriate amount to reflect the payment of bills. However, this should not be used as a loophole to artificially increase the rent, beyond the amount that would be reasonable.

It makes no difference at what stage the change happens, whether before any offers come in, after an offer is made, or once a holding deposit has been taken.

What matters is whether it is the same proposed letting: if it is, the asking rent can’t be increased, and if the letting has genuinely changed, it can.

Can the asking rent be increased for another letting?

It depends.

If it is an entirely different letting, then the answer is yes. For instance, if the property is advertised, an offer at the asking rent is accepted after a lot of interest. It the tenants decide they don’t like the property, and serve a notice to quit shortly after the tenancy starts. The landlord can then increase the asking rent for the next letting, if they wish.

However, if it is the same proposed letting, the answer is no. For example, a landlord receives multiple offers at the asking rent, and takes a holding deposit from one applicant who fails referencing. When the landlord goes to the next person on the shortlist, they should not increase the asking rent.

If there is an error with the asking rent, can it be corrected?

This is a grey area, and we ultimately won’t know until the courts decide.

If there is an obvious error, for instance a property is advertised at £500 per calendar month instead of £500 per week, then it may be that the local authority decides that this is not rental bidding, provided that the letting agent or landlord rectifies the error as soon as possible, and they don’t use this as a “bait and switch” tactic to stimulate interest.

Why landlords should not artificially inflate the asking rent

Although landlords can accept offers below the asking rent, they should not artificially inflate the asking rent to get around the rental bidding ban, by inviting bidding up to the asking rent.

This is because a prospective tenant could accept the inflated asking rent, and then challenge the rent at the First-tier Tribunal on the basis it is above the open market rent. The Renters’ Rights Act changed Section 14 of the Housing Act 1988 Section 7 RRA, and gave tenants increased rights to challenge the amount of rent in the first six months of a tenancy at the First-tier Tribunal, referred to as “initial rent determinations”.

Also, from a practical point of view, a listing with an artificially high asking rent is likely to reduce the number and quality of applicants.

It’s far better to set the asking rent at the fair market value, and be straightforward about it. This helps create trust at the start of the “customer journey” with a tenant.

The support you need is here!

The rules in the Renters’ Rights Act are complicated. The Independent Landlord Hub for the tools and support you need to take it all in your stride:

🔹 Structured step-by-step courses
🔹 Practical checklists and downloadable templates
🔹 Twice‑monthly live Q&As with me
🔹 A thriving and supportive community
🔹 Independent – no sponsored content or ads

Annual membership with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Join the Hub

How can landlords choose between applicants who all offer asking rent?

If landlords have more than one applicant offering the asking rent, they are free to choose between them, so long as they don’t break the rules on rental discrimination.

The rental bidding ban stops landlords asking for or accepting more than the stated rent. It doesn’t require landlords to accept the first offer, or to let to anyone in particular. They can pick the applicant they think is the best fit, for instance on the strength of their references or affordability, as long as they don’t breach the rules on discrimination.

What landlords can’t do is play applicants off against each other to push one of them above the asking rent, or hint that the property will go to whoever offers most. That’s rental bidding, even if the landlord or agent never names a figure.

>> Related Post: How to select good tenants

>> Related Post: The rules about rental discrimination in the Renters’ Rights Act

The civil penalties for breaches of the rental bidding rules

Section 57 entitles the local authority to impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 on a landlord or letting agent if they are satisfied on a balance of probabilities that there has been a breach of either the duty to state the proposed rent, or the ban on rental bidding.

What does a balance of probabilities mean?

A “balance of probabilities” means that councils will need to be satisfied that, based on the evidence provided, a breach is more likely to have occurred than not.

It is a lower standard of proof (ie easier to prove) than the “beyond reasonable doubt” required for most other breaches in the Renters’ Rights Act, for instance the duties which Section 13 of the RRA inserted into a new Section 16E of the Housing Act 1988.

How much will a civil penalty be for rental bidding or not stating proposed rent?

The maximum civil penalty that a local authority can impose for a single breach is £7,000. However, according to the statutory guidance for local authorities, the starting points are as follows:

• Failure to specify proposed rent within a written advertisement or offer (s.56(2) RRA): £3,000
• Inviting, encouraging or accepting any offer of rent greater than the advertised rate (s.56(3) RRA): £4,000

The local authority will then take into account other factors such as:

• Aggravating or mitigating factors, such as the harm caused, “culpability” (eg any previous history of non-compliance, any admission of guilt, and whether and how quickly the non-compliance has been remedied)
• The total penalty for the same circumstances, to ensure it is “just and proportionate”.

>> Related Post: Renters’ Rights Act landlord fines and penalties explained

What if a landlord or letting agent repeats a rental bidding breach?

Unlike most of the other duties in the Renters’ Rights Act, a repeated breach of the ban on rental bidding or failing to state the proposed rent is not an offence, but an additional civil penalty may be imposed by the local authority.

Final thoughts

The ban on rental bidding is one of those rules that sounds simple: state a proposed rent in the listing and don’t go above it.

However, it’s a bit more complicated than that.

My advice is straightforward. Set the asking rent at a fair market figure from the start, state it clearly in every advert and don’t increase it. If you do that, you are unlikely to fall foul of the rules.

Where it gets genuinely uncertain, for instance whether a change to the letting justifies a higher rent, the honest answer is that we won’t know for sure until the courts interpret terms like “proposed letting” and “stated rent”.

Until then, the safest course is to ask yourself whether what you’re thinking of doing complies with the spirit and intent of the law. If it doesn’t, don’t do it.

Finally, when looking for new tenants, the focus should be on finding the right tenants, and not on trying to squeeze every last bit of rent out of them. I’d rather let to good tenants who stay a long time, and who have enough left over after paying the rent and their living expenses to be able to save.

If you’d like to ask me questions, you can do so at my twice-monthly livestreams in my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub.