Tenant Fees Schedule

To reserve a property, we ask for a holding deposit equivalent to one week's rent. This is a permitted payment under Schedule 2 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

Once we receive the holding deposit, the law requires the necessary paperwork to be completed within 15 calendar days.

The holding deposit will be retained by Harvey W James if, during that period, you decide not to proceed, unreasonably delay responding to any reasonable request made by us or by the referencing agency, provide materially false or misleading information as part of your application, fail any of the Right to Rent checks required of the landlord under the Immigration Act 2014, or fail to sign the tenancy agreement (or any Deed of Guarantee) within the 15 calendar days.

If the landlord decides not to offer you a tenancy for reasons unconnected with the above, the holding deposit will be refunded within 7 days. If you are offered and accept a tenancy, the holding deposit will be credited against the first month's rent.

Where, for any reason, the holding deposit is neither refunded nor credited, you will be provided with written reasons within 7 days.

You will not be asked to pay any fees or charges in connection with your application for a tenancy.

The security deposit is capped under the Tenant Fees Act 2019:

Annual rent under £50,000

five weeks' rent.

Annual rent £50,000 or above

six weeks' rent.

The deposit covers damages or defaults on the part of the tenant during the tenancy. It is registered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) within 30 days of payment, under Part 6 of the Housing Act 2004.

The first month's rent is paid at or before the tenancy start. This is expressly permitted under section 4B(2)(c) of the Housing Act 1988 (as inserted by section 8 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025) as "initial rent due during the permitted pre-tenancy period".

Rent for the second month onwards is paid on the rent-due date each month. Multiple months' rent (for example 6 or 12 months) cannot be required in advance as a condition of granting the tenancy, even where the applicant offers it. The compliant route for an applicant who would otherwise have wanted to pay upfront rent is the Goodlord Guarantor service — your application route will indicate whether this applies to you.

Landlords and agents cannot cover costs by charging higher rent for the first month, or any other month.

Interest at 3% above the Bank of England Base Rate, calculated from the rent-due date until paid, in order to pursue non-payment of rent. This will not be levied until the rent is more than 14 days in arrears.

The reasonable cost of replacement, supported by receipts. Charged at cost — not a fixed fee.

£50 (Inc VAT) per agreed variation. This covers our cost of taking the landlord's instructions and preparing and executing new legal documents.

£50 (Inc VAT) per replacement tenant, or any reasonable costs incurred if higher. This is the permitted payment under Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 paragraph 5.

The fee covers our administrative work in setting up the new tenancy: taking the landlord's instructions, referencing and Right to Rent checks for the new tenant, deposit re-registration, and preparation and execution of the new tenancy agreement.

The legal effect of a change of sharer is a surrender of the original tenancy and the grant of a new tenancy to the new combination of tenants. It is not a tenant swap or transfer.

Since 1 May 2026 every tenant of an assured periodic tenancy has a statutory right under HA1988 s.5 (read with s.4A inserted by RRA s.1) to end the tenancy at any time by serving 2 months' written notice. No fee is payable by the tenant for exercising this right. The notice must end on a day on which rent is due, or the day before.

Where you wish to leave faster than the statutory 2 months' notice would allow, we operate an optional Assisted Tenancy Replacement Process (see Essential Terms §68.1). That process is voluntary, agreed in writing in advance, and never charged as a compulsory early-termination fee. The pre-RRA framing of a compulsory exit charge no longer applies.

Where the tenancy agreement permits, the actual cost of a default — supported by an invoice — may be recovered from you under Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1, paragraph 4. Default fees are limited to the actual loss; they are not fixed administrative penalties.

The two situations this most commonly applies to in practice are:

• A contractor call-out charge that the contractor was entitled to invoice because you turned them away or did not attend a confirmed appointment. The actual amount paid is recoverable on production of the contractor invoice.
• An upgraded contractor appointment (an exact-time slot or out-of-hours visit) that you have elected to take above the standard working-hour rate. The additional cost above the standard rate is invoiced to you after the work is completed. Payment is due within 14 days of invoice; unpaid amounts may be recovered from the deposit at end of tenancy on production of the contractor invoice.