Private Rented Housing

Private rented housing involves renting a home from an individual landlord who has one or more properties or a company. You can rent from the landlord direct or through a letting agent.

You may rent a room in a shared home with other renters or rent a self-contained home.

You will pay a market rent and will usually be required to pay a month's rent in advance and a deposit. If a deposit is taken, it must be lodged with a protection scheme.

Historically, private rented housing has been less secure than social housing, but the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which came into effect from May 2026 intends to give renters stronger rights.

Information about private renting can be found at Private renting: Your rights and responsibilities - GOV.UK.

Finding private rented housing

You can use different resources to find a private rented home including:

searching property listing websites, such as rightmove
check local letting agent websites or telephone or visit their officers
check local social media platforms, as some landlords advertise on local networking forums such as Facebook
local shops and newspapers, where adverts may be placed
through friend and family contacts

Most landlords will carry out checks on you before deciding whether to rent a home to you, so think ahead.

Consider how much rent you can afford to pay in rent.

Do not agree to rent a home that you cannot afford.

If you are on a low income, you may receive help to pay your rent through housing benefit or the housing element of universal credit. There are free benefit calculators at:

Benefits Calculator - entitled to - independent | accurate | reliable

Turn2us Benefits Calculator

A landlord may:

carry out their own affordability assessment
complete credit checks on you
ask for a guarantor

A guarantor is someone who agrees to pay your rent if you fail to do so. The landlord will want to carry out checks on them. If the guarantor fails to pay your rent the landlord can take them to court.

Referencing; most landlords will want to check your tenancy history before deciding to offer you a tenancy, so may ask for references from previous landlords or other people who know you.

Up front costs; most landlords will ask you to pay rent in advance and a deposit. Do not pay any money without meeting the landlord or agent acting for them, and viewing the property.

More information about private renting and what landlords can and cannot ask for when seeking a tenant can be found at:

Private renting: Your rights and responsibilities - GOV.UK

Where to look for a private rented home - Shelter England

The Renters' Rights Act 2025, which comes into effect in phases from May 2026 is intended to give tenants stronger rights.

Renters' Rights Act 2025

This page is being kept under review and will be updated and information is released.

The Renters' Right Act comes into effect in phases from 1 May 2026 and is intended to give tenants stronger rights.

From 1 May 2026

When a landlord or letting agent is seeking a tenant, they must not:

Ask for or accept payment of more than 1 month's rent in advance (unless the payment is from a council helping the prospective tenant)
accept more than the advertised rent
discriminate against people who claim benefits or have children

If a landlord or letting agent wishes to rent to you:

A prospective tenant can be asked to pay a holding deposit of one week's rent, which can then be used as part of the first month's rent.
After successful referencing if the landlord agrees to let you the property, the prospective tenant signed the tenancy agreement and pays the deposit, which is limited to 5 weeks rent (unless the payment is from a council helping the prospective tenant).
The landlord signs the tenancy agreement.
The tenancy has been 'entered into' and the landlord can ask for the initial rent.
The tenant pays the initial rent (less any holding deposit). The initial rent cannot be more than one calendar month's rent.
the tenant moves into the property on the first day of the tenancy.

If you are a tenant already renting privately on 1 May:

By 31 May 2026 a landlord or anyone acting on their behalf should have sent each tenant named on the tenancy with a government information sheet The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 - GOV.UK
All new and existing tenancies become Assured Periodic Tenancies (Section 4A periodic tenancy), but there is no need for a new written tenancy to be issued.
A section 21 notice cannot be served to end a tenancy from 1 May. If a section 21 was issued before 1 May, the tenancy remains an Assured Shorthold tenancy and the landlord has until 31 July to initiate court proceedings. If the landlord fails to commence proceedings before 31 July, the tenancy becomes an Assured Periodic Tenancy, and the landlord has one month to provide the Government Information Sheet.
A landlord can only end a tenancy under specified grounds and must use a section 8 notice, including if they wish to sell or move into the property. there are mandatory and discretionary grounds for ending a tenancy Assured tenancy forms - GOV.UK
A tenant has the right to ask for permission to keep a pet and their landlord cannot unreasonably refuse.
A tenant can seek to end the tenancy from day one, but will need to give two months' notice that must expire at the end of a rent period, unless the landlord agrees for the tenancy to end sooner.
the landlord can only put the rent up once a year, must give 2 months' notice, and use a section 13 notice Assured tenancy forms - GOV.UK

Further provisions that do not yet have an implementation date are:

Abolition of assured shorthold tenancies for social rented housing.
Creation of a new private landlord ombudsman.
Landlords required to register on a private landlords database.
Changes to how private landlords must respond to disrepair.

The Renters' Rights Act does not apply to people lodging with a resident landlord.

More information can be found at:

Guide to the Renters' Rights Act - GOV.UK

Renters Rights Act: private tenants - Shelter England

If you are a tenant or landlord concerned about your rights or responsibilities, you can contact us online Contact us - Section 1 - Customer Self Service | Torridge District Council.

If you are concerned about disrepair in a rented property, further information about how the council can help is available at: My rented property is in poor condition, what can I do? | Torridge District Council

Renting from a Resident Landlord

A resident landlord is landlord who rents out part of their own home, such as a spare bedroom to a lodger. Generally the landlord will share some facilities or space with their lodger such as a kitchen or bathroom.

If you are living with a resident landlord, you will be an excluded occupier, and not a tenant. This means that you have limited rights and can be evicted with 'reasonable notice' and without a court order.

More information about renting from a resident landlord can be found at:

Lodgers - Shelter England

If you are interested in becoming a resident landlord, more information is available at:

Rent a room in your home: The Rent a Room Scheme - GOV.UK