r/rentingUK

Currently living in a student house in Durham and have been told that if we renew the rent will go up to £240pppw from July (for a 6 bed house which is currently £125pppw for 3 of us living in it). Obviously can’t afford this as we’re all PhD students and the UKRI stipend is not enough. Is this sort of rent increase challengable with the new renters right act or can we do anything to get them to knock at least £100pppw off?

[removed]

I was issued with an invalid Section 13 notice that I was planning to send to tribunal. In looking up the process and how tribunals have gone for others in my city, I have found the full proceedings of another case - including the current address of the tenant in that case. I am concerned that if I file my case with a tribunal, my address will also be fully googleable. I am concerned about this both in terms of my personal safety, and it negatively impacting my ability to rent in the future. I have also heard conflicting things about if I am supposed to inform the letting agency about the invalidity of the notice.

Do I contact the agency to tell them there are issues with the notice (and do I let them know what those issues are) prior to potentially submitting it? Is there a way to request the proceedings not be publicly available? Does anyone have any other advice about refuting an invalid Section 13 notice?

I moved into a 2-bedroom flat on 1 October and paid my first month's rent. Within the first couple of days, I realised the living environment is not suitable for me and it has already started affecting my mental wellbeing. Because of this, I informed the landlord that I want to leave as soon as possible.My tenancy agreement says I must give two months' notice, but I asked the landlord if they would agree to an early termination given how recently I moved in. The landlord's response is that I should forfeit the one month's rent I have already paid.My question is:

Is it reasonable for a landlord to keep the first month's rent in these circumstances, and what would be the best way to negotiate an early exit from the tenancy?
Has anyone been in a similar situation, and what outcome did you reach regarding rent, notice periods, and the deposit?

Hello! I don't usually come to the internet for advice, but given the situation I just need a perspective from someone with more experience renting in the UK.

(TLDR if you don't wanna read the whole thing: We've been dealing with mildew/mould in the bathroom for a whole year. Our bathtub recently started leaking water and flooding the bathroom floor, it got fixed but now the whole bathroom stinks of mildew and the floor vinyl is bubbled up. We've reached out about the bathroom mould/paint before this happened and are concerned they are going to brush it off again.)

My partner and I are international students that moved into this flat about a year ago. For the most part the flat is great, but we recently have been noticing that some of the concerns we've raised seem to be getting ignored.

At the beginning of our tenancy last year the realtors had an inspector come in to check the apartment. We had mentioned to her that the bathroom has been growing a lot of mould around the ceiling edges and that some of the paint on the walls was bubbling up and peeling off. She then told us she would let the office know so they could have it looked at/fixed. We never heard back for the entire year and we resorted to just treating the mould as best as we could. Now it's been a year and there are huge parts of the wall where the paint is just flaking off and peeling. Mould still grows everywhere. Just in case, we usually try to keep the bathroom well ventilated by keeping the door and window open during and after showering and also having the extractor fan on. (The inspector came again, I'm guessing cuz its a new leasing year, and when she saw the bathroom seemed confused and surprised cuz she said she had told them about the issue but it had just gotten worse.)

A couple days ago, we went to shower and as soon as the water started draining it began leaking from under the tub and flooding the bathroom floor. We called the after hours number because we had no idea what was happening and they scheduled to come fix it in the morning. They came and fixed the leaking issue, but now the concern is with the water having soaked into the wooden side panel of the tub, the vinyl flooring now bubbling up, and the mildew smell covering the bathroom and spreading throughout the house. I'm not sure if there's water damage or if the mildew/mould will now spread to the wooden panels/underneath the vinyl flooring.

I don't want to sound silly cuz I know mould can be a common issue in high humidity places (like the UK), but I've lived in other high humidity places (Puerto Rico & Texas) and it's never been like this before. Is it common for these kinds of issues to be ignored since they're technically not huge renting factors? What should I do if there is mould growing under the tub and on the wooden side panels? We are slightly nervous we will be seen as problem tenants or get completely ignored again if we raise another concern regarding the same mould/mildew issue.

We have been facing issues with our landlord and lettings agency for the last couple of months. We rented out our property on the 20th of December 2025 and in July of 2026 our landlord informed us that they were going to sell the flat we were living in and asked us to organise photos for the following Monday (it was then Thursday at 9pm) I stated that we both have full time jobs and that preparing the flat for photos on Monday was going to be a bit of a lengthy process as I would need to remove some stuff that cannot be photographed, clean up and also still continue with my weekend plans. My landlord said that I wasn’t being amicable. She was perfectly happy to discuss all of this over the [hone but as soon as we mentioned that we would also be looking for other flats to rent (as we didn’t want to live in a flat that was going to be flooded with strangers every week for viewings and we also wanted to get ahead of the situation of moving out)  she got very cagey and said that it was inappropriate to be discussing this without the letting agency in on the call. 

The photography went ahead and my partner agreed to manage the viewings schedule as I was the one uncomfortable with people in our house and he also works from home so would be present for the viewings. We discussed with the landlady and she said that her agent would make a group with my partner and myself to organise viewings. And we said that either Mondays or Fridays would be best as he would be home and we wouldn’t have to give up our lives and also potential viewings on our behalf.

A while later we asked if we could have 30 days of notice rather than 2 months as this would mean that we have more certainty over our living arrangements and would also mean that they would have free reign on viewings once we were out. We asked before our rent date was due (with ample time so that if they did give us 30 days we would be able to move out by September) Our landlady took 2 weeks to reply to our email (meaning that our move out date would be 20th November as we had passed the 20th of August) to state that she declined our request and we would have to Give two months of notice. 

The first week they asked for viewings was on a bank holiday Friday and we unfortunately couldn’t do these viewings as we had to travel to see my partners parents for a birthday. The letting agent (C) sent a message to my partner which he didnt see asking about other potential dates. Four days later (after the bank holiday) our landlord sent a bit of a threatening email basically stating that we didnt let a viewing happen that previous Friday and that we have taken 4 days to respond to Cs email and that now it would be more likely to be 2 weeks till the next viewing. She also quoted clause 6.2 of our tenancy that states under mutually acceptable times viewings will be allowed with 24hrs of notice. 

Following this and knowing that the landlady is a lawyer I decided that it would be best to go through out original lettings agents (P) as we were a bit uncomfortable with how threatening she was being in the emails. I spoke to P on the phone and he said that the best thing we could do is to consent to viewings (which I never really wanted in the first place as I feel as though if I am paying full rent for a property I shouldn’t have to have strangers coming in every week per my quiet enjoyment) and it would become their problem to fill the dates and they couldn’t bully us into arbitrary times and multiple days. 

It has been a while now but in this time we have had two booking confirmed for Friday and then cancelled within an hour of the allotted time; meaning my partner has rescheduled meetings to allow them to come in and they have subsequently been cancelled. And we have also been told that our hours are unreasonable and that it is difficult for the sellers to organise viewings as they viewers are restricted by work (which we are as well!) 

Last week they asked for a special accommodation be made for one viewer for three days at different hours (as options for us) however my partner had an extremely stressful week at work and was in meetings all day - at home and was unable to make the timings fit in with his schedule. 

Following on from this, P has now said that they will give us a time and date with 24hrs notice as we havent been amicable and that the ‘prior mutually agreeable’ part of the clause in our contract will be ignored as we havent bee reasonable or amicable. 

We also have the added problem that my partners grandmother has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and his parents have had to leave the country to go see her for three weeks and they have a dog we need to look after. Our contract says we aren’t allowed dogs (however our building is dog friendly) so we have asked if we can have the dog with us in our flat in London however if they say no or take their time to reply(which I think they will do as per previous requests) we will have to stay up north looking after the dog and we wont be present in our flat for at least a month and I have a feeling they will just conduct viewings while we are gone (as they have already requested a viewing for this Friday) 

I am also tempted yet again to ask if we can move out early with this in mind (even though packing and moving in flat A when we have to be home in house B for the dog will be incredibly difficult and have financial implications) however I dont think they will accept this either.

I was under the impression that we have right to quiet enjoyment but it seems that our landlord and letting agent are going to just let themselves in even though we have expressed that we do not want people inside our home when we aren’t present. We are thinking of setting up a cat camera pointing at the door so that we know if they are entering the property without our permission. 

Do we have any rights? I am too scared to be arguing with a lawyer and it is also now just incredibly stressful waiting for a weekly email that is filled with bullying or harassment about how we aren’t amicable even though we are quite literally trying our best. If we could do viewings after our working hours we would but I dont think the agents will be working at these times.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

I am also happy to provide quotes from the emails we have sent and recieved

Bit of a weird title, sorry.

I have a lodger moving in on Monday. I have a small 4 bed house (two of the rooms are so small that they don’t count) and I’ve lived here alone for past two years while I’ve been having cancer treatment but now because of financial pressures and because it’s lonely alone it’s time to house share again.

However, I just got a call earlier today that I have been moved on waiting list and I will have reconstructive surgery this week. It’s a big operation and someone cancelled so I got their slot. This is great but the timing with the lodger is bad.

I can’t clean the room before because I don’t have time - I need to tie many things up before I go under from blood tests to work stuffs, and then afterwards I won’t be able as it’s quite a big operation. I feel I’ve really messed this up and shouldn’t have gotten a lodger yet. I thought I’d have the surgery next year. I felt ready but my house isn’t ready!

It would not be the right thing to cancel with such short notice as my city (Bristol) has a housing crisis. I have managed to find a local cleaning lady who clean on the day I have surgery while I’m out, and said she would change the sheets and help with laundry, bless her. But she will not empty cupboards or do anything like that. I’m worried the room won’t be empty to a good standard and he won’t have space in the kitchen or his bathroom cupboards. There is an empty double wardrobe and a small storage unit (I think it’s called a tall boy), but I’ve stored my cleaning equipment and linens in the chest of draws and the en-suite cupboard has my stuff in.

If you were to move to a new home and this was the situation when you moved in, what would make it right for you? Ultimately I’m looking to share a home with someone so it’s not so much about the money and I want things to be right. I don’t want him to move in and think I’m taking the p\*ss. He knows about my health issues btw.

The rent is very reasonable for an en suite for the area (average is £800 for my postcode on spareroom and this is £640), and it includes bills, sky tv, steaming services in shared living room, cleaner every other week, and it’s generally a well equipped house with nice appliances and new kitchen, bathrooms, carpets etc (to give you an idea, my mortgage is £850 and bills are about £400 pcm not including insurance, cleaner is another £90 pcm).

Would you offer a rent reduction? How do I make this right? Would it be awful to ask him to empty the stuff into boxes and carry them into my bedroom? I could get a friend to help do it but not before he moves in.

What a mess.

Thanks for any advise and please don’t comment if you have something mean to say. I am very stressed out about this and want this to be a good experience for him and me, but obviously not being in good health is unfortunately impacting all of it.

I am considering to join a startup in London which would employ me as self-employed with a year-long contract with renewal clause at the end of the year. I am currently based in the EU, but I hold full Settled Status as I worked in the UK before.

As I have been out of the loop for a while, I wonder if the proposed contract is enough of a guarantee to get a tenancy agreement or more guarantees are required?

Thank you for any info!

Don't really use Reddit, sorry if I miss some etiquette and for the shit picture. Agents came round recently to inspect the property, and said that there should be a CO alarm near our boiler. If we can't find it we'll have to buy a replacement ourselves. This is the only thing that even looks like it could have a CO detector in the area, but I have a feeling it's something to do with the thermostat. Does anyone know if it is? Or if you know of a more relevant subreddit I could be asking, that would be amazing as well. Don't know anything about this kind of stuff so apologies if it's a dumb question.

Boiler to the right

Hi, I’ve been renting a 2 bed apartment for 8 years and it was brand new when we moved in. We’re a family of five and it’s my first inventory check when we move out. I’ve booked an end of tenancy clean but I’m worried about how fair they will be in regards to fair wear and tear. The landlord knows the developers have bad quality walls super thin easily scratched etc. The walls have not been painted and the carpet not replaced in the bedrooms as landlord chose not to despite us requesting walls to be painted before. I’m worried because the flat was brand new when we moved in what the expectation is when we’ve lived here so long as a family with young kids. Any tips would be appreciated. Unfortunately my little one has scribbled a little bit on the walls so thinking to paint over those and on the carpet there is some sticky stuff stuck in some places that I need to remove with stronger carpet cleaner. I’ve treated this place like my own and always had regular cleaners. The shower room has a little mould in some of the tile grout because the extractor fan hasn’t effectively worked but I’ve tried my hardest to keep the place clean over the years. Appreciate your input to ease my worries!

I am moving out of a rental flat, and the other two tenants (it's a joint tenancy) are choosing to remain in the flat and replace me. We have done this previously (approx 1 year ago) and the landlord charged the outgoing tenant a flat £50 fee which I was anticipating. We entered a new joint tenancy in March this year, so this will be the first name change on this official tenancy.

When I informed the landlord of my plans, they stated that I would be expected to pay

• £22.50 replacement tenant referencing – for the incoming tenant
• £50 Change of Tenant / Deed of Assignment and administration - which I was anticipating, however thought would encompass the incoming tenant referencing
• Mid-tenancy Change of Sharer Condition Report - for a currently unspecified charge

So this is the first time they seem to be charging separately for referencing and a condition report.

A quick Google has suggested that the referencing fees and the condition report are unlawful to charge to tenants, but I'd like some advice before I go back to the landlord and argue this - does anyone have any experience with this, especially under the new Renters Rights as our last name change happened before this kicked in?

Hi All

I’m thinking of renting out a spare room in my home.
I’m disabled, receive PIP, and I’m unable to work. I currently get a Council Tax discount because I’m a single person, as well as an additional disability-related reduction due to my PIP.

I was told I rent out a room to someone who works full-time, would I actually lose my Council Tax discount?

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or knows someone who has? I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experience.