How to find and manage tenants

Lettings and property management agents

Some landlords use lettings agents to find tenants for their property and/or property management agents to manage the rental (including rent collection, repairs and maintenance checks).

Agents who are members of a professional organisation are required to operate to standards recognised by their organisations. These include the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, the Incorporated Society of Valuers and Auctioneers, and the National Association of Estate Agents.

Landlords should be aware that any agent they appoint will be bound by the actions of their agent if they act within the authority given to them. Landlords should ensure their agent is reputable and that there is a clear agreement of what they are authorised to do.

Letting agents in Scotland must comply with a Letting Agent Code of Practice and join a Register of Letting Agents. The Register of Letting Agents is administered by Scottish Ministers to ensure that every letting agent is suitable to do the job and has met minimum training requirements.

Estate Agent redress scheme (England only)

Lettings agents and property management agents in England must be members of a redress scheme. The scheme enables landlords and tenants (who have an assured tenancy) to make complaints about lettings agents, and/or property management work.

Advertised rent (England only)

Landlords (or their agents) must set out the amount of the rent and the frequency of the payments in all advertisements for letting the property, and cannot ask for, or accept, offers above it.

The advertisement must state the monthly rent for the property, even if it will eventually be paid more frequently in the tenancy agreement, such as weekly (if rent is paid weekly, the monthly rent will be: weekly rent x 52/12).

Note that landlords can no longer request rent to be payable quarterly or yearly - the rent period must now be no longer than a month.

Theoretically, a landlord could advertise an inflated rent with the expectation that potential tenants will then offer less and the landlord then accepting the highest bid. However this is not advisable because any rent cannot be above the market rate for the area where the property is located.

Tenants can challenge above-market-rate rents within the first 6 months of a new tenancy at a First-tier Tribunal, who may then order the rent to be reduced.

Local authorities have the power to fine landlords up to £7,000 for accepting bids above the listed price.

Discrimination when selecting a tenant (England, Wales and Scotland only)

Note: Though the Renters' Rights Act mainly only affects tenancies in England, the new rules on discrimination were made to include Scotland and Wales.

The Renters' Rights Act has made it unlawful for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants because they:

• Claim income-based benefits from the government
• Have children under 18 who will live with or visit them at the property.

A landlord or their agent cannot prevent a prospective tenant from doing any of the following:

• Enquiring whether the property is available to let
• Accessing information about the property
• Viewing the property to consider whether to rent it
• Entering into a tenancy for it.

For example, it is unlawful to withhold information about the property (including its availability) or to stop someone from viewing it because they receive benefits.

Landlords must consider their application but can still refuse a prospective tenant if they cannot afford to pay the rent.

Landlords can defend claims that they've breached this requirement by showing:

• That their conduct is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. For example, if giving them a tenancy will breach room overcrowding rules as the property is too small for the number of children living in it, or if it will breach the terms of an HMO licence.
• They're required to comply with the terms of an existing insurance policy (taken out prior to 1 May 2026) that contains a term preventing the landlord from letting to tenants who receive benefits or have children.

Any tenancy agreement that includes terms preventing landlords from letting to tenants who receive benefits or have children will not be unenforceable unless one of the above exceptions applies.

Landlords must also ignore any terms preventing them from letting to tenants who receive benefits or have children, in:

• A mortgage agreement
• An insurance policy taken out or renewed on or after 1 May 2026
• A superior lease.

For more information about this, see the government guidance.

Tenant fees ban (England, Wales and Scotland)

Agents and landlords cannot charge tenants certain fees in relation to a letting. See Fees ban for more information.

Local authorities and housing associations

Some local authorities and housing associations lease property from private landlords if they don't have enough properties to let. For more information, get in touch with the housing department of the local authority for where the property is located.