Tenants
Renting with Harvey W James, plainly explained. Whether you are applying for a property, moving in, mid-tenancy, or thinking about giving notice, this page is the starting point. It covers your rights under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, how our application process works, what you pay (and what you do not), and how to reach us if something goes wrong.
The short version
Since 1 May 2026, every assured tenancy in England has been periodic by operation of section 4A of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by section 1 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025). That means: no fixed terms, no Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, no rental bidding above the asking rent, and a statutory right for you to end the tenancy at any time on 2 months' written notice. The only payments we can require before your tenancy starts are a holding deposit of one week's rent, a tenancy deposit of 5 or 6 weeks' rent (depending on annual rent), and the first month's rent. Anything else is unlawful.
If you want the full fee position, it is set out on the Tenant Fees Schedule. If you want to raise a concern, the route is the Internal Complaints Procedure. Everything else is on this page.
Your rights at a glance
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 gives every tenant of an assured periodic tenancy in England the following rights. Each one is operational at Harvey W James from 1 May 2026.
- A periodic tenancy with no fixed end date. Your tenancy continues automatically until you end it or the landlord obtains possession on a Section 8 ground.
- The right to end the tenancy at any time on 2 months' written notice. No break clause needed. No fee. The notice must end on a day on which rent is due, or the day before.
- Protection from "no-fault" eviction. Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 has been abolished. A landlord can only seek possession on a Section 8 ground.
- A single fixed asking rent, not a bidding war. The rental bidding ban (RRA s.56) makes the advertised rent the ceiling. No agent or landlord may solicit, encourage or accept offers above it.
- No rent in advance beyond the first month. The rent-in-advance ban (RRA s.8, inserting HA1988 s.4B) prevents anyone from requiring you to pay multiple months up front as a condition of being granted the tenancy.
- Rent reviews via Section 13 only. Any in-tenancy rent increase must follow the statutory Section 13 procedure under HA1988 s.13 (as amended by RRA s.6). You can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal.
- Statutory hazard-response timeframes. Awaab's Law (extended to the private rented sector by section 100 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025) is expected to apply from 2027 once the Secretary of State makes regulations under HA2004 s.2A. Until then, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 reasonable-time standard applies.
- Protection from discrimination. It is unlawful for a landlord or agent to refuse a tenancy or treat an applicant less favourably because they receive benefits or have children (RRA 2025 Part 1 Chapter 3, sections 33–43).
- A right to request a pet. Under section 11 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (inserting sections 16A and 16B into the Housing Act 1988), you can request a pet and the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse.
- Two redress routes. Complaints about us as the letting agent go to the Property Redress Scheme. Complaints about the conduct of the landlord (from late 2026) go to the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman.
How to apply
Our application process runs on Goodlord, an FCA-regulated lettings platform. The same workflow applies to every applicant regardless of income source, in compliance with section 25 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (which prohibits discrimination by income type) and the Equality Act 2010.
Step 1 — Make an offer at the asking rent
The asking rent is the ceiling, not the starting point. We do not invite bids above the advertised price and we do not run "best and final" rounds. Where more than one acceptable offer comes in at the asking rent, applications are processed strictly in the order received. The first applicant whose holding deposit clears and whose application progresses to a passed reference is offered the tenancy.
Step 2 — Pay the holding deposit
To reserve the 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 it, the law gives us 15 calendar days to complete the paperwork.
The holding deposit is fully credited against your first month's rent if the tenancy proceeds. It is refunded within 7 days if the landlord decides not to offer you a tenancy for reasons unconnected with the application. It is retained only in a narrow set of circumstances set out on the Tenant Fees Schedule — broadly, if you withdraw, fail to respond reasonably, provide false information, fail a Right to Rent check, or fail to sign the agreement within the 15 days.
Step 3 — Pass referencing and Right to Rent
Goodlord runs a credit reference check, a previous-landlord reference, and an affordability calculation: monthly rent multiplied by 30 must not exceed your gross annual income. The same multiplier is applied regardless of whether income is salary, self-employed earnings, pension, benefits, or other sources. Where the affordability ratio sits just outside the threshold, the Goodlord Guarantor professional guarantor service is the compliant route.
The Right to Rent check verifies your legal residency status in England, as required by the Immigration Act 2014. Since April 2022 the check is done digitally through Home Office-authorised online services for most non-UK applicants, using a share code. UK and Irish citizens can verify with a passport or other UK identity document. We do not ask you to send documents by post.
Referencing typically takes 3–5 working days. If something is delaying it, we will tell you what it is.
You will also receive a Verification of Tenancy Application letter from Harvey W James Ltd as part of our anti-fraud protocol. This step exists to counter rising rental ID fraud in the London market. Confirm receipt within the timeframe given in the letter.
Step 4 — Sign the tenancy agreement
Once references pass, the tenancy agreement must be signed and dated by all parties before the deadline (within 15 days of the holding deposit being paid). If you miss the deadline, the holding deposit may be retained and the property goes back on the market.
Step 5 — Pay deposit and first month's rent, then move in
The tenancy deposit is capped under the Tenant Fees Act 2019: five weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks' rent where annual rent is £50,000 or above. It is registered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) within 30 days, under Part 6 of the Housing Act 2004.
The first month's rent is paid at or before tenancy start. This is the only rent payment we can require in advance: section 4B(2)(c) of the Housing Act 1988 (inserted by section 8 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025) expressly permits "initial rent due during the permitted pre-tenancy period". Anything beyond the first month would be a breach of the rent-in-advance ban.
What you pay before moving in
Three payments, all permitted, nothing else:
- Holding deposit: one week's rent, credited against your first month.
- Tenancy deposit: 5 weeks' rent (annual rent under £50,000) or 6 weeks' rent (annual rent £50,000 or above).
- First month's rent.
No application fee. No referencing fee. No admin fee. No contract-negotiation fee. No check-in fee. No guarantor fee. Asking for any of those is a breach of the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The full fee position — including the narrow set of permitted in-tenancy payments — is on the Tenant Fees Schedule.
Moving in
On the day of move-in you will receive your keys and an independent inventory and condition report. The inventory is compiled by a member of the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) — not by us, not by the landlord. Independence is the point: a report compiled by one of the parties to the tenancy can be biased toward that party. An AIIC report cannot.
You have 7 days from move-in to review the inventory and flag anything that is inaccurate or missing. Use this window. The inventory is the document the inventory clerk will compare against at check-out, and the basis on which any deposit deduction is assessed at end of tenancy. Photograph anything you are unsure about and send it through with your comments.
Two further inspections happen during a normal tenancy:
- Interim inspection. A regular review (typically every 6 months) to check the property is being kept in reasonable condition and that no maintenance issues are unreported. You will be notified in advance and can be present if you wish.
- Check-out inspection. At the end of the tenancy, the inventory clerk compares the current condition against the original inventory. We strongly recommend you are present. Being on-site lets you witness any flagged issue first-hand, which prevents disputes later.
Check-in hours: Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 16:00 only. Sundays and public holidays, closed. Outside that window is by exception and at our discretion.
Paying rent
Rent is paid monthly by Standing Order or Direct Debit. Where two or more sharers are on one tenancy agreement, we treat the share group as a single entity: one joint payment, not individual shares. Joint tenants are jointly and severally liable for the whole rent and all obligations under the agreement.
Our rent collection runs through Goodlord's Lettings Accounts platform. Tenants pay into a designated Goodlord client account; the platform performs daily reconciliation and flags any missed payment within 1 working day.
If a payment is going to be late, tell us in advance. Interest on unpaid rent runs at 3% above the Bank of England Base Rate from the rent-due date, but is not levied until the rent is more than 14 days in arrears. The point of the interest charge is to mirror the landlord's lost-cash cost, not to punish you for a delay you have communicated.
Repairs and hazards — how to report them
Use the email route on the property's tenancy pack, or the contractor-direct route where one has been set up for managed properties. Include a description of the issue, the date you first noticed it, and (if possible) photographs.
For emergencies — loss of heating, water, electricity; uncontainable leaks; gas leaks; security failures (a door or window that will not lock) — call our emergency line at any hour. Do not wait until business hours.
From 2027, Awaab's Law (extending to private rented properties under section 100 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, inserting sections 2A and 2B into the Housing Act 2004) sets statutory hazard-response timeframes:
- 24 hours to investigate and begin emergency-hazard repair (loss of heating, water or power; uncontainable leaks; security failure).
- 10 working days to complete repair of significant hazards (damp, mould, structural defect, unsafe electrics).
- 7 days to make a property safe to occupy if a hazard makes it temporarily uninhabitable.
Until the regulations are made, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 reasonable-time standard applies, and we operate to the Awaab's Law timeframes voluntarily.
If a hazard is reported and the response falls outside the timeframe without a documented reason, the route is the Internal Complaints Procedure and then the Property Redress Scheme.
Pets
You have a statutory right to request a pet under section 11 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (inserting sections 16A and 16B into the Housing Act 1988). The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. A request is made in writing, and the landlord has 28 days to respond. Where consent is given, the landlord may require you to maintain pet damage insurance for the duration of the tenancy, or the landlord may take out the cover and pass on the cost.
If consent is refused, the refusal must be reasonable and given in writing with reasons. An unreasonable refusal can be challenged through the same redress routes as any other complaint.
Insurance
Building insurance is the landlord's responsibility. Tenants are responsible for their own contents and any liability for accidental damage to the landlord's property and fixtures.
Goodlord offers a Defaqto 5-star rated Tenants Liability and Contents Insurance through the referencing platform: up to £5,000 of tenant-liability cover and up to £10,000 of contents cover. The product is purchased and paid for by you; Harvey W James does not underwrite the cover and does not earn a commission on it. You are free to take out an equivalent or better policy with any provider.
Section 13 rent reviews
Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the concept of "tenancy renewal" no longer applies to assured tenancies. Your tenancy continues automatically until you end it or the landlord obtains possession on a Section 8 ground. We do not issue renewal notices.
Any in-tenancy rent increase has to go through the statutory Section 13 procedure under HA1988 s.13 (as amended by RRA s.6). Approximately two months before each anniversary of your tenancy start, we will contact you to discuss whether a Section 13 rent review is proposed. That conversation is a discussion, not a notice. The formal Section 13 notice (Form 4A) is only served if a rent change is agreed in principle or instructed by the landlord. You have the right to challenge any Section 13 notice at the First-tier Tribunal.
Ending your tenancy
You have 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 on the landlord. No fee is payable for exercising this right. The notice must end on a day on which rent is due, or the day before.
Notice can be served by email — under section 82 of our terms, an email received counts as a letter. We recommend you also send a copy by post or hand-deliver, and that you ask us to acknowledge receipt in writing.
If you want to leave faster than 2 months
This is optional. You are never required to use it. We operate an Assisted Tenancy Replacement Process where, if you proactively help us find a replacement tenant, the tenancy can end earlier than the statutory 2 months. The conditions are agreed in writing in advance and there is no compulsory early-termination fee. The pre-RRA framing of a contractual exit charge no longer applies under the periodic regime.
If you are one of several sharers on a joint tenancy
A single sharer leaving a joint tenancy is not a tenancy transfer or swap. Legally, the original tenancy is surrendered and a new tenancy is granted to the new combination of tenants. The remaining sharers must either find a replacement and consent to the new tenancy, or demonstrate that they can carry the rent on their own going forward. A £50 administrative payment applies, permitted under Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 paragraph 5 (see Tenant Fees Schedule).
Deposit return at end of tenancy
Where both parties agree on deductions (or that none are required), deposits are typically returned within 10 days of check-out. Where there is a dispute, the timeline extends because the matter goes to the deposit scheme's adjudication process. We work to keep adjudication a last resort: most disputes resolve through documented negotiation against the AIIC check-in and check-out reports.
If something goes wrong
The first step is to raise it with us in writing. The full procedure is on the Internal Complaints Procedure page. In brief: an acknowledgement within 3 working days, a substantive written response within 15 working days, and a final response within 8 weeks.
If our final response is unsatisfactory, you have two external routes:
- Complaints about us as the letting agent go to the Property Redress Scheme, where Harvey W James are a member (PRS010914 — verify on the PRS register). The Scheme enforces the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and can direct repayment of any prohibited payment, plus financial penalties.
- Complaints about the conduct of the landlord, separate from the agent, can from late 2026 be escalated to the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman established under Part 2 Chapter 2 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (sections 64 onwards). The Ombudsman can direct apologies, compensation up to £25,000, and remedial works.
There is also the Rent Repayment Order route under Part 2 Chapter 4 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Where a landlord has committed certain housing offences (illegal eviction, harassment, breach of a banning order, failure to license an HMO, breach of an improvement or prohibition notice), a tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal to recover up to 24 months' rent (the RRA extended the cap from 12 months to 24 months). Detailed conditions are in ETC v2.1.5 §75 and on the Internal Complaints Procedure page.
Useful contacts and registers
- General enquiries: 020 3865 1500, info@harveywjames.com
- Aftercare and complaints: aftercare@harveywjames.com
- Office address: Harvey W James Ltd, registered office E15 4QZ.
- Property Redress Scheme (agent redress): membership PRS010914 — verify here.
- Propertymark CMP (client money protection): membership M0243538 — verify here.
- Information Commissioner's Office (data protection): registration ZA312485 — verify here.
For the legal background, you may also want to look at our Tenant Fees Schedule, Internal Complaints Procedure, Landlord Terms of Business, and our Landlords page for the operational picture of how Harvey W James manage the property you are renting.
This page reflects Harvey W James' operational understanding of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, the Housing Act 1988 (as amended), the Housing Act 2004 (as amended), the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (as amended), the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (as amended), the Immigration Act 2014, and the Equality Act 2010. It is not legal advice. For the published Act text refer to legislation.gov.uk; for your specific situation seek independent legal advice. Last reviewed against Essential Terms and Charges v2.1.5 (7 May 2026).