Since 1 May 2026, a lettings advert in England must give one specific rent and must not invite offers above it. That applies to portal listings, your own website, print, social media posts, emails, texts and direct messages. An advert must also avoid any wording that suggests you will refuse people with children or people on benefits, and anything that implies a blanket ban on pets.
These changes came from the first phase of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. Alongside them, the Tenant Fees Act caps on deposits and holding deposits apply, and a new cap on rent in advance started on the same day.
This guide covers the advert itself, including the caption and on-screen text of a lettings video, and ends with a checklist to run before you publish.
Renters' Rights Act phase one: what started on 1 May 2026
The government's implementation roadmap (13 November 2025) lists these Phase 1 changes from 1 May 2026:
- a ban on rental bidding
- a cap on rent in advance
- a ban on discriminating against people with children or people on benefits
- new rules on pets, under which the landlord has 28 days to decide on a request and needs valid reasons to refuse
Each of these affects what you can write in an advert. For the information sheet tenants receive, see Renters' Rights Act information sheet.
Rental bidding ban: state one specific rent
The government's rental bidding guide for councils (13 November 2025) says every written advert must state a specific rent. A "written advert" includes:
- online adverts, including portal listings and your website
- "a social media post"
- emails, texts and direct messages
"To let" boards are excluded.
The guide also rules out:
- price ranges, such as "£1,200 to £1,300 pcm"
- a second advert for the same property at a higher price
- inviting or accepting bids above the advertised rent
In practice, remove wording such as "offers over", "offers invited", "best and final" and "rent from". Use the same figure in every advert for the property, wherever it appears.
The civil penalty for breaking these rules is up to £7,000. Portals that only host adverts are not liable, so do not rely on a portal to catch a problem with the wording.
A lettings video posted on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok is part of a social media post. Our reading is that the post, as a whole, needs the specific rent, and the safest way to meet that is to show it on screen and in the caption.
We found no statutory rule on whether to show rent per month or per week. Pick one and use it consistently across every advert for the property.
Letting fees and the advertised price
The ASA's note, Renters Rights Act May 2026, what does it mean for your ads? (14 May 2026), says quoted prices must include non-optional fees. If the tenant must pay a charge to take the property, it belongs in the price you advertise.
The government's guidance on fees you can charge as part of a tenancy (published 1 May 2026) says agents must publish their fees on their website. On Rightmove, Zoopla or Facebook adverts, you must list the fees or link to them. For a video post, put the link to your fees page in the caption or description.
Deposit cap, holding deposit and rent in advance
The same fees guidance sets these limits:
| Item | Limit |
|---|---|
| Tenancy deposit, annual rent below £50,000 | 5 weeks' rent |
| Tenancy deposit, annual rent £50,000 to £100,000 | 6 weeks' rent |
| Annual rent above £100,000 | The Tenant Fees Act does not apply |
| Holding deposit | 1 week's rent |
| Rent before the tenancy is signed (from 1 May 2026) | None |
| Rent in advance after signing (from 1 May 2026) | At most 1 month |
As a worked example, a rent of £1,300 a month is £15,600 a year, so one week's rent is £300. The deposit can be no more than £1,500 and the holding deposit no more than £300.
If you show a deposit figure in an advert, make sure it fits the cap. The full rules on taking, keeping and refunding one are in Holding deposit rules. Remove lines such as "6 months upfront considered" or "rent in advance preferred", which ask for something the rules no longer allow.
No DSS and no children wording
The government's guide to the Renters' Rights Act (6 November 2025) says the Act targets "overt discriminatory practices, such as 'No DSS' adverts". From 1 May 2026, discriminating against people with children or people on benefits is banned.
The ASA's note says ads must not imply anything that breaches the new rules on benefits, children or pets. Remove:
- "No DSS" or "no benefits"
- "no children" or "no kids"
- "suit a professional couple" or "working professionals only" where it could be read as excluding people on benefits or families
The courts and the Property Ombudsman had already taken this line before the Act, according to the House of Commons Library briefing SN07008 (modified 8 July 2026):
- York County Court, 2 July 2020: rejecting Housing Benefit applicants was unlawful indirect discrimination on grounds of sex and disability
- Birmingham County Court, 8 September 2020: a blanket "No DSS" policy was unlawful
- 2023: the Property Ombudsman found that a "no kids" requirement breached its code
Renters' Rights Act and pets
From 1 May 2026, a landlord has 28 days to decide on a tenant's request to keep a pet and needs valid reasons to refuse. The ASA says ads must not imply anything that breaches the new rules on pets. A blanket "no pets" line suggests requests will be refused regardless, so remove it. A neutral line such as "pet requests considered" fits the new process.
Registering on the PRS Database
The guide to the Act says the Private Rented Sector Database rolls out "from late 2026". Letting or advertising a property before the landlord has registered can bring a penalty of up to £7,000.
Once registration opens, ask each landlord for confirmation of registration before you publish an advert. The published guidance we checked does not settle whether adverts must display a registration number. Treat that point as open until the database guidance says otherwise.
Penalties mentioned in the guidance
| Breach | Maximum penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rental bidding rules (no specific rent, ranges, bids) | Civil penalty up to £7,000 | Rental bidding guide, 13 November 2025 |
| Letting or advertising before PRS Database registration | Penalty up to £7,000 | Guide to the Renters' Rights Act, 6 November 2025 |
Pre-publish checklist
- The advert states one specific rent, on screen and in the caption for video posts.
- There is no range, no "offers over", "best and final" or "rent from" wording.
- The rent matches every other advert for the same property.
- The quoted price includes any non-optional fees.
- Your fees are listed in the advert or linked from it.
- Any deposit shown is no more than 5 weeks' rent (or 6 weeks where annual rent is £50,000 to £100,000).
- Any holding deposit shown is no more than 1 week's rent.
- The advert does not ask for rent before signing or more than 1 month in advance.
- There is no "No DSS", "no benefits", "no children" or wording that implies them.
- There is no blanket "no pets".
- Once the PRS Database is open, the landlord has registered.
- You have kept a dated copy of the advert as published.
This guide explains the published rules as of 30 October 2026 and is not legal advice.