Hi all,

Looking for some advice on whether this sounds reasonable.

We rent a property in England which came with a large Smeg 90cm range cooker. The cooker is listed on the inventory and was present when we moved in.

The oven has now failed. British Gas attended, inspected it and their report states: "Unable to get parts, recommend new cooker." The cooker is very old, has no model plate/sticker, and neither we nor the landlord can identify the exact model.

The landlord has said they will not replace the cooker. Their reasoning is that removing the existing range cooker would require alterations to the kitchen/cupboards due to the way it was fitted.

Instead, they have offered a tabletop oven as a permanent replacement and have said there will be no rent reduction.

The gas hob still works, but the main oven does not.

I'm struggling to see how a tabletop oven is equivalent to the full-size range cooker that was supplied with the property and included on the inventory.

Does this sound like a reasonable solution from the landlord ? We only moved in late august ans the cooker hasnt worked since the date we moved in. Unfortunately options fot housing in Brighton and Hove is pretty rough.

This is a question more for UK redditors. I live in social housing and next door rent privately. They have access through my garden which is through a side gate attached to my side. For the first 6 months of living here they've barely used it except for bins and a bike but in the past week she's used it a few times, so I gather this is going to be a common occurrence. The gate isn't very sturdy and is getting harder to open and shut and I barely use it myself and use the front door. My question is if the gate gets to the point where it won't open or shut is she obliged to pay towards it getting fixed?

I want to leave a joint tenancy there is 4 other people on my contract. I wan to give my 2 months notice. This will affect their tenancy because of me ending it. Can anyone offer any advice on breaking the news to my flatmates who I already dont' have a good relationship with. Also if we have joint contract and the total for rent is written 6K will I have to pay the 6k or am I ok with paying 1/5 of that for the next two months?

Hi all, sorry this is a long one, but I'd really appreciate some advice from anyone who knows Welsh renting law.

Me and my partner rented the same house in Wales from November 2016 until this October, so nearly 10 years. It started as a 6 month AST that just rolled on, and it became an occupation contract when the Renting Homes Act came in back in December 2022. Our landlord is a private landlord, registered and licensed with Rent Smart Wales. To be fair to him, the rent was always on the low side and started at £575 and went up to £795, but he only ever did the bare minimum on repairs. We never missed a rent payment in all that time.

When we moved in we paid a £575 bond, and I've got the bank statement showing it. His own bond form says he held it himself, and the amount is left blank on it. It was never put in a protection scheme and we never got any of the information you're supposed to get. The original agreement even says the bond isn't to be used in place of the last month's rent. The fact it wasn't protected also stopped us getting on the council housing list.

The original agreement says rent is payable in advance each calendar month, and our very first rent payment went out a few days before the tenancy even started. We always paid at the end of each month for the month ahead.

After the law changed in 2022 we never got a written contract. Then in February this year I needed proof of rent for Universal Credit, because I'd forgotten to tell them about a rent increase (it didn't change anything, I already get the max housing amount). That's when he got the new Welsh contract done. We all signed it in February 2026, but he dated it all March 2023 to match when the rent went up. On it he's put the deposit as £595 instead of £575, and next to the bit about deposits having to be in a scheme, he's handwritten that the bond was paid before that requirement and is held by him.

Also in February he gave us a notice to leave by November because he wanted to sell, but the council told him it wasn't valid, partly because of the deposit and because the smoke alarms weren't mains wired (we only had battery ones). He booked an electrician to put proper ones in, then cancelled as soon as he found out we were looking at another rental. He was annoyed and rang the council himself to question it, so he definitely knew about all of it.

Even though his notice wasn't valid, we didn't want to make things difficult for him, so we found somewhere else and moved quickly as a favour, so he could get on with selling. Everything happened really fast. We got the keys to the new place at the end of September, moved out in early October and went back a few times to finish cleaning. He agreed in writing we could hand the keys back on 14 October, which we did. He had a quick look downstairs and said it was fine. There was never an inventory, even though the original agreement mentions one.

Because it all moved so quickly, we needed money upfront to start the new tenancy. In September my partner rang him about it. My partner asked if he'd let us off September's rent and give us our bond back, plus lend us a bit extra to make it up to £1,000. He said "yes no problem". We agreed to pay the extra back at £100 a month from November. The call only lasted about 5 minutes, and we sent him our bank details within 5 minutes of hanging up, then he sent the £1,000. Nothing else was put in writing, but now he's saying the whole £1,000 was a loan and the bond went towards the rent.

Universal Credit asked us what the £1,000 was, so we asked him for a breakdown, and this is what he sent:

"Lent you 1000 to be repaid back at 100 per month from Jan. You always paid a month in arrears so end of sept was due 795 but I let you off that month but the bond was part of that, plus then gave you another two weeks rent free."

I replied with the facts, that the agreement and bank statements show we always paid in advance, so September was already covered, and that the bond was £575. Haven't heard back yet.

The way we see it, we don't owe any rent, because September was paid in advance anyway and he says himself he let us off September and two weeks of October. His own agreement says the bond can't be used as rent. So really the £1,000 was our £575 bond plus a £425 loan, and we're happy to pay back the £425.

What's worrying me is that he'll get angry and start picking at things. The house is old, with misted windows, old wiring and pipes that tradespeople told him needed redoing, and damp he knew about. I'm scared he'll try to blame us for stuff that's really just the house's age.

I also feel a bit guilty about claiming after all this time, especially when we moved out early to help him, but he's a licensed landlord and he knew the rules.

So my questions are: are we right that we only owe £425? Can we claim 1 to 3 times the deposit for it never being protected, and does it count as never being returned? Is there anything for the late, backdated contract? Could he realistically come back at us for damage, when there's no inventory and he said it was fine? And has anyone used a no win no fee firm like Tenant Angels for a claim in Wales?

Thanks so much for reading x

My landlord has been trying to get me out for a while. He issued s21 and later followed it with an accelerated possession claim. It turned out the property required a selective license and he didn’t hold one so he discontinued the claim. I had some arrears but not 2 months.

I entered Breathing Space but it ends today. There are still some arrears - under the threshold for mandatory possession.

He has acted dishonestly and in bad faith repeatedly.

Since the S21 he’s indicated he may have to sell. I’m he also had the council carry out an inspection and they’ve issued two prohibition notices.

I suspect he’ll issue a s8 today but rather than having to wait 4 months on mandatory grounds I suspect he’ll chance it and issue ground 11 today for 4 weeks notice, then issue the possession claim before issuing another s8 on grounds 1A and 6B and try to tack them onto the claim.

This seems to me like it would be an abuse of process but what’s the real world view of this by a court?

Referencing through goodlord i have no ccjs ect just default payments will this show on my reference?really want the house so anxious rents and bills household always paid on time.

This is going to be kind of long, apologies in advance - but I really need help and I'm running out of options.

I live in England, so in May 2026 the new Renters' Rights came into place. To start, I'm a student living in a 4-bedroom house with two other students and one person on UC. We aren't on a joint tenancy, so we're each renting our own rooms from our landlord, paying rent on a monthly basis (calculated as 'weekly £' x 52 / 12 = 'monthly £').

Essentially, our landlord told us our rent would increase in the new term back in October 2025. He told me the wrong amount but I didn't notice (said it would go from £105 to £108 p/week, but I was already paying £108). In August 2026, he sent a reminder, and still stated the wrong amount for me, before quickly correcting to the correct amount of £111 p/week (£481 p/month). I told him this was my first time hearing this amount, so it would fall under the new renters rights, and that a minimum 2 months notice was required (he's given us 20 days). He proposed to 'split the difference' and have the increase happen Oct 1st - still not 2 months notice. I explained that he was putting me in a difficult financial position with such little notice as I am a student. I asked that he agree to the full 2 months, and I was happy to consider the email in August as proper notice - even though it should be a section 4a notice.

He told me he couldn't trust that I would pay in November - despite us never having issues prior - and he didn't want to have to wait to serve a section 4a notice. I said I took no issue with the increase, and was happy to sign something to state I would pay the increase in November, to which he never replied. Instead, I received a separate email stated rent for September and October would stay at £468. I replied saying I agreed and asked if that meant November would be moving up to the £481 discussed. He never replied.

A day later, I received a section 4a notice, stated the rent increase would take place December 14th (invalid as increases must take place on the start date of the tenancy - for me, the 24th), and the amount would be £512 - a £44 increase form my current rent and a £26 increase form the previously agreed amount. I asked for clarification as things weren't adding up. He said the increase would take place in November (he'd filled out the notice wrong) and that the amount in the notice was correct - he was increasing my rent 'in line with market rate'.

He essentially did malicious compliance with me - I told him that the Renters Rights means notices should be served via Section 4a, not an email, but that I was happy to count the email as notice in this case to make both our lives easier. But because I was trying to make him observe the 2 months notice, he decided to say 'No, well, you told me it's not valid, so we're cancelling the old offer and have this one now.'

After getting advice from my uni, I replied telling him the Section 4a was invalid because of the start date. I proposed going back to the original £481 starting in November so that he wouldn't have to wait even longer for the rent increase. He never replied. I instead received another section 4a notice - this time with a further increase to £515 p/month (an increase of £3 from the last notice - which feels incredibly childish and petty). I have tried to get advice from my uni but they have basically said they don't know what to do. At this point, he is increasing my rent as a form of punishment for me telling him that he needs to follow the new renters rights.

The rent for the rooms in the property are as follows (they're supposed to be portioned with room size/en-suit in mind):

The largest room (mine) - was £468, now £515

Second Largest - was £416, now £433

Second smallest (with ensuite - has always been the priciest room) - was £498, now £511

Smallest room (by a large amount) - was £450, now £468

The rents are now an absolute mess. The tenant in the smallest room is new, and we weren't able to tell him about the increase as our landlord worked it into the contract. Two years ago, that room was £400. The second largest room is only a door's-width smaller than mine and yet it is £433.

My housemate think sit';s just easier to apologise to our landlord and ask to move back to the £481, but with the way he's been behaving and the amount of frankly illegal things he's tried to do/done, I don't want to do that. I have no clue what to do now. I can't find an easy way to figure out what market rate is for my house without paying the government. I don't like the idea of the risks with a tribunal, where the rent could increase even further. I just don't know what to do. I don't think I'm in the wrong for wanting him to observe the 2 months notice. I made it clear multiple times that I took no issue with the amount of the increase, I just wanted the proper notice. And now he's punishing me for telling him he needs to follow the rules set in place for him.

Again, sorry for the length, but this has been a nearly-3-month situation, and the Student's Union advice people have been absolutely useless.

Hi, I’ve moved out of my one-bed flat, and my landlord wants to deduct £510 from my deposit: £220 for cleaning and £290 for water damage to the bathroom and kitchen floors.

I cleaned the flat quite thoroughly myself, but the landlord is charging for professional cleaning. Can they do this just because I didn't hire professional cleaners?

Then, the leak came from a pipe fitting under the bathtub and eventually affected the kitchen floor too. It was very slow (about one drop every 2–3 minutes) and was discovered during an inspection a few years into my tenancy. We only found it after removing the bathtub panel to access the pipes. The contractor suggested the fitting may have been installed incorrectly and loosened over time, and mentioned that the bathroom flooring wasn't properly water-resistant.

The leak stopped after the fitting was repaired, so I suspect it was a plumbing issue rather than anything I did. However, the contractor only mentioned this during a casual conversation, so I don't have written evidence.

Are these charges reasonable, and is it worth disputing them through the deposit protection scheme? Any advice on how to approach this would be appreciated. Thanks!

So myself and my partner moved in to this apartment around 5 weeks ago, when we went to the viewing everything seemed fine and looked good even. Issues started arising as soon as we moved in:

1- There was no hot water for the first few days, the boiler was so old and they couldn't replace the parts so that was sorted fairly quickly but also after much insistence from our end. Plus apparently there were roaches in the circuit board and that caused the whole thing to stop working. The boiler was replaced but whenever we ask about whether there was a roach infestation, the question gets dodged. Also there's a lot of dead roaches on top of the kitchen cupboards and under the washing machine.

2- Some of the windows are fogged up with condensation and two other windows in a bedroom are broken and not closing properly, which was also reported to the landlord but nothing has been done about it. The property management did send one of their handymen to fix but said it's a "two person job"

3- Now this is the big one: The Oven had no trays and the extractor fan isn't working, property management sent a technician, he said the oven and the extractor fan are quite old and replacement parts (again) would be expensive so they sent the landlord quotes and are still waiting to hear back from him. Mind you this was sent out to the Landlord on the 1st of October, we've called a few times last week and sent an email yesterday and still haven't received a response because they're still waiting on the landlord.

That's just to name but a few, me and my partner are at our wits' end with all this, it's also our first time renting in London so we're not entirely familiar with what can be done in these situations.

Recovering from a broken leg and stupidly left a cardboard pizza box in oven (child put it in there with pizza ) but I didn’t check oven before pre heating. Resulted in abit of a fire and fireman took the oven out and said it’s fine but would replace as precaution. I notified landlord (which is a private company like the council) so not an independent person. They sent someone out the next day to check electrical socket for it and he then put a new oven in (I didn’t request new oven) but he said they had one in stock. No word and then few weeks go by I get a call and invoice from them that it will be £450. I checked online and the oven is only £120 anyway. I haven’t used the oven, never do anyway so told them to take it back and I’ll get my own. They have refused and will not remove it. I can’t see anything in the tenancy that says I have to have landlord appliances. Do I have any rights here in just replacing the oven myself. Or can they charge me for this? I think it’s kind of unfair that they didn’t notify me of the charges upfront.

Living in private rented for 6 years, and LL wanted to increase rent by, i am on lcw ( benefits due to health not a choice), benefit pay 560 rent and left with 350 to live on, recently been diagnosed with more health conditions. I never missed rent payments and always been on time. I hardly bother them ( agent and LL unless it was boiler issue which was once or twice), they have sent a 4a section 13, and only sent contractvand said that if i cant pay and it gets into arrears they will issue eviction, if anyones can give some helpful advice about my situation, i would be grateful.

Context: me and two friends live in a 3 bed flat, one of us has just moved as someone moved out so we are in the process of signing a new contract with my friends name on it. Our landlords have asked me and my other friend (who already live at the property) if we can share our bank details so they can refund our deposits - they said “they no longer hold deposits for big properties” and therefore are returning our deposits in full. When we’ve asked what this means for us in terms of the liability aspects if something goes wrong with the property, they said there is no liability anymore. Our landlords are genuinely very nice, have never batter an eyelid when we’ve asked for repairs etc. but this just feels a little odd and we’re not really sure how to proceed? Any advice would be appreciated.
TLDR: my landlord wants to refund me and my other housemate our deposits as they no longer hold deposits for their big properties, we’re just a bit worried about the liability elements

My mum didn't thoroughly read the tenancy agreement when we moved into our current property seven years ago, which stated that written permission was required from the landlord to have pets. Over the years no issues have been raised by the letting agency or the landlord and routine inspections have shown the dog and their belongings scattered about the house.

We passed from one letting agency to another, and for some reason following our most recent inspection the landlord is only now taking issue with not being asked for permission. I completely understand that this is a breach of the tenancy agreement on our part as tenants, so I apologised and request a pet addendum.

He has agreed to this, but under the condition that we have two additional inspections per year that we are required to pay for ourselves (£100 + VAT). Everything I've read online says that this isn't legal because tenants aren't supposed to pay for routine inspections. I feel like if I don't agree to it, the landlord will try to give us notice and make us leave. I'm really not sure what to do but it seems the letting agency are pushing for it and making it seem as though I'd be unreasonable to decline to pay seeing as the tenancy agreement was breached.

Any advice would be greatly welcomed! Thank you so much

In England, with a Landlord for private whole house hasn’t provided me with a copy of the new Renters Right act. I thought the deadline for this is May 310, 2026.
He’s been absolutely disgusting, and because he lives abroad and thinks he can get away with not instructing repairs.

Is there a fine or any penalty he can suffer because of this?

Hello,

This is my first time renting & I cleaned the oven but I missed off the tray.

This has came back to me and I’m unsure if this is something I can dispute given it’s not the actual oven but the tray?

Never had an issue with our estate agents until now. Renting in north west England, the same place for 3.5 years now.

We have a conifer tree in our back garden that is now overhanging the neighbours fence and is at least 12 foot tall. The neighbour has called the landlord, who used to live in the property, to ask them to get the conifer cut. Very reasonable as it's pushing on their fence and overhanging into their garden.

The estate agents have then called us, the tenants, telling us to deal with the maintenance of this tree ourselves. The tree was already above 6 foot (i.e. would require working at height) when we moved in and in the listing photos, which were likely taken before the previous tenants based on the furnishings etc.

Our contract states:

"to keep the garden, driveways, pathways, lawns, hedges, rockeries and ponds (if any) regularly maintained in good and safe condition and as neat tidy and properly tended as they were at the start of the Tenancy and not to remove any trees or plants."

We've had two property inspections throughout our time here. The estate agents have never raised any issues with garden maintenance throughout our tenancy, or maintenance of the rest of the property for that matter.

When we started trimming the tree, the neighbour stated that the landlord had always managed the tree whenever they'd raised it as an issue in the past. They told my partner to stop and to leave it to the landlord to resolve. However, the estate agent is insisting this is our problem to resolve and we should be the ones to hire a professional to prune the tree.

My question is, are we wrong for thinking the tree maintenance falls to the landlord and not the tenants?

Please let me know if there's any further information needed! First time poster on this sub.

Hi everyone,

I rented a property in Aberdeen, Scotland, and moved out on 4 September 2026. My landlord still hasn’t returned my £350 deposit.

As far as I know, my landlord never protected the deposit in any of the approved Scottish tenancy deposit protection schemes.

I’ve contacted my landlord about getting my deposit back, and they replied saying they would return it ASAP. However, it’s now been several weeks, and I still haven’t received any money.

I’ve since moved to Swindon, England, so travelling back to Aberdeen would be difficult.

I’m not interested in claiming compensation or trying to get extra money. I just want my original £350 deposit back as soon as possible.

I’d appreciate advice on the following:

How do I recover my £350?

Can I apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland remotely from England?

Should I send a formal letter giving them a final deadline before taking further action?

If the landlord continues delaying or ignores me, what should I do next?

I have evidence of the deposit payment, tenancy agreement and messages in which the landlord said they would return it ASAP.

Has anyone experienced something similar in Scotland? I’d really appreciate practical advice on the fastest way to get my money back.
Thanks in advance!

Any help is appreciated- I have ASD. So these things are very confusing.

I'm disputing deductions from my rental deposit, and I'd appreciate some opinions. My deposit is 1850£ for a medium small 1 bedroom flat in London, where I lived for 3 years.

Walls: The landlord proposed charging £2,200 for holes and painting. The holes were small nail holes. We had discussed me doing the work using materials they would provide one week prior the end of tenancy, but the paint was delivered only the day before the deadline to return the keys, and I couldn't finish the job. When pointing out that the late delivery affected the result, they replied I should have collected it myself. At that point I was not living there anymore and I couldn't cancel my job for the late notice. I organised my schedules around the initial delivery date.

House deep cleaning. I, maybe dumbly, accepted the landlord's offer to take care of the end of tenancy cleaning for 240£, deducted from the deposit. Didn't mention that carpet cleaning, just in the bedroom, was charged separately for 170£. Now they claim it was so ruined they have to change it all and will send a separate invoice.

Invoices: I've repeatedly asked for itemised invoices showing labour, materials and the work carried out, but they keep sending invoices without a proper breakdown.

Plus a couple of fair smaller charges, I'm finding myself to possibly have to pay quite a lot and lose the deposit.

What's your opinion on the charges? I feel like they're exagerated, especially considering the lenght of the tenancy, and they should be at least reduced. I don;t think I should pay for the walls painting, given the situation, but probably legally I'm in the wrong?

Thank you all!

Handed in notice however landlord insists notice is 2 months not 1. For context signed tenancy agreement. Before RRA with 1 month notice clause following the end of the fixed term. Landlord argues as new laws came into effect before fixed term was up, my 1 month notice clause is not valid.

Mydeposit has made a public stance that they would deem the notice valid in any disputes, can’t find anything related to DPS’ position.

Has anyone disputed deposit deductions with DPS for this?

Hi everyone,

Just looking for a bit of advice regarding a previous section 21 that was served to me before the rental changes in the UK. I had an intention to buy a property anyway, but required a little bit more time before I moved out, so I verbatim agreed an extra 2 months with my landlord ontop of the 2 months notice period from the section 21.

Fast track to 2 months after the section 21 was initially served, the letting agent just sent me a brand new assured periodic tenancy to sign, I hastily and reluctantly signed as needed the time, and didn't really want the stress of it going through court etc.

Now about 2 and a half months have surpassed since then, and I need to give notice in a few days to move out, however, the letting agent is persistent that I need to give two months notice to leave. The strange thing is that I had a conversation with my landlord in person a few weeks ago, and I asked why she changed her mind about not evicting me, and she said that she still wanted the flat back, but she managed to give me the 2 extra months.

I'm now stuck in a he said she said scenario, as she seems to have forgotten about the initial eviction (it was always about money anyway!)

I will pay the extra 2 months rent if needed, but I could also really do without it. I have also kept hold of the original eviction note, if I need it. What's the best way to handle this?

Thanks in advance!!! :)

This is in England.

We are moving out of our joint tenancy rented house and our deposit is held in the My Deposits scheme. A couple of years ago we were given a deposit cetificate that didn't have the correct amount on it, it was too low. We asked for a corrected certificate and were refused. A year later and there was a tenant shuffle and we were given another certificate that was even lower than the one before, about £1k less than it should be. We complained and were told it was a clerical error just on the certificate and the actual amount was correct.

Now we're moving out, we logged into the My Deposits portal and we can see for ourselves the amount is not correct, it's £1k too low. Our last day of the tenancy is today and we want to request the deposit back via the My Deposits portal tomorrow. What do we do about the incorrect amount?

Yes we have informed the LL twice about it in the past couple weeks, including that she could be penalized for improperly protecting the deposit, and she has ignored us.

I’ve been a tenant in the same apartment for the last 3 years, and asked the landlord that I want to pay month to month as per the new law instead of the 6 month in advance, but he says that based on NRLA (National Residential Landlord Association) and the new law, payment terms of existing contracts signed before May 2026 are remaining valid especially for advance payment. Is that true??

Hi all - apologies if this has been answered in other posts but I’m just trying to gather information and my landlord and I seem to have a difference of opinion when it comes to the required notice period.

My tenancy (Assured Shorthold Tenancy) started in March 2021 and was for an initial term of 6 months. The 6 months ended and we went to a periodic tenancy. We did not receive any written confirmation we were now on a periodic tenancy, but the landlord did tell us via phone call when they asked if we were happy to stay. This is all fine.

Fastforward to October 2026 and we’ve just had an offer on a house accepted and want to prepare giving out landlords notice.

We spoke to them about this, they believe it’s 2 months, whilst I believe it is 4 weeks.

Clause 4.6 of my contract: if the tenancy becomes a statutory periodic tenancy it may be terminate by:

4.6.2: the tenant giving written notice of at least four weeks and expiring on the last day of a rental period of the tenancy.

As we are on a periodic tenancy and this started before the new renters reform, I believe this should be 4 weeks as per the contract but my landlord disagrees and believes the new renters reform rule applies of 2 months. Is any able able to help me confirm which is correct?

If the 4 weeks is correct, is there anywhere online I can point them too to understand this? Please let me know if you need any additional info as this is becoming very stressful!

Thank you!!

I'm renting in England (deposit in DPS). The agent said the flat had been professionally deep cleaned, but it clearly wasn't, so I reported it on day one with photos. The cleaners are coming back a week after I moved in.

The agent says the after-clean photos will be added to the inventory. I've also added my own photos and comments showing the move-in condition, including areas that were missed.

At the end of the tenancy, will the deposit dispute compare the flat to the original inventory (my move-in condition) or the post-clean photos? I'll clean properly before leaving, but I don't want to be deducted for things that were already there.