A room in a modern managed block and a room in a converted terrace are different products with different risks. On the first, the question that catches people out is whether the leaseholder is allowed to let rooms at all — many block leases forbid it, and if the freeholder enforces, you leave. On the second it is licensing and planning. On both, the holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent and there are only four lawful reasons to keep it.
On a room in a managed block, the person letting it is usually a leaseholder — and a great many block leases prohibit sharing, subletting or letting room by room. If the freeholder enforces, the arrangement ends and you move. We ask for the position in writing.
It cannot exceed one week’s rent, the deadline for agreement is 15 days unless varied in writing, and it must be refunded within 7 days or you must be told in writing why it is being kept. There are only four lawful reasons to keep it.
Where a landlord resells gas or electricity they cannot charge more per unit than they pay, and the standing charge must be split fairly across everyone on the supply. A flat weekly figure that exceeds what you actually use is a breach, not a package deal.
Tenant fees have been banned in England since 2019. No admin fee, no referencing fee, no renewal fee. If anyone asks a renter for one, it is unlawful.
And whether you want a room in a managed building with a concierge and a gym, or a room in a house with people you will actually share a kitchen with. They are different products at similar money.
Who is letting it and whether they are permitted to, what the rent includes, whether the house is licensed, the agreement type, and what deposit is lawfully payable.
Licence on the council register where it applies, deposit scheme, gas safety and electrical certificates, and written confirmation of the bills position. A room is the easiest kind of let to get wrong and the cheapest to check.
Most rooms advertised in modern riverside and city-centre buildings are being let by a leaseholder, not by the freeholder. The question nobody asks is whether that leaseholder is permitted to do it. A large proportion of block leases prohibit subletting without consent, prohibit letting the flat room by room, or prohibit sharing with anyone who is not part of a single household.
If the lease forbids it and the freeholder or managing agent enforces, the letting stops and you move — usually at short notice, and usually with an argument about the deposit. It is not a theoretical risk in buildings with concierges and 24-hour security, because those are precisely the buildings where breaches get noticed.
Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 a holding deposit cannot exceed one week’s rent. Taking it starts a 15 day deadline for entering into the tenancy, which can only be varied by written agreement. If the tenancy does not go ahead, the deposit must be refunded within 7 days, or you must be told in writing within 7 days why it is being kept.
It can only lawfully be retained in four situations: you provided false or misleading information, you withdrew, you failed a Right to Rent check, or you failed to take reasonable steps to enter into the tenancy. Anything else — the landlord changing their mind, the room going to someone else, a ‘processing’ deduction — is not a lawful reason.
Where a landlord buys energy and passes the cost to tenants, they are reselling it, and the maximum resale price rules apply. They cannot charge more per unit than their own supplier charges them, and the standing charge has to be apportioned fairly across everyone on the supply — including any part the landlord occupies themselves. Charging each room the full standing charge is a common breach.
This applies to inclusive arrangements too. A fixed weekly figure for electricity is fine as an administrative convenience, but if it exceeds the maximum resale price for what you actually used, it is an overcharge. Where a court finds one, the tenant is entitled to a refund with interest running from the date of the overcharge.
The practical version: ask what the inclusive figure is based on, whether there is a fair usage cap and what happens if you exceed it, and whether the landlord will show you the underlying bill. A landlord who will not is either overcharging or has not thought about it, and neither is reassuring.
A house shared by at least three people from more than one household, sharing a kitchen or bathroom, is a house in multiple occupation. Mandatory licensing applies at five or more people from two or more households, and many councils run additional licensing covering smaller houses. If a property should be licensed and is not, tenants can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 24 months of rent.
There is a separate planning question that catches out newer landlords. A dwelling shared by three to six unrelated people is Class C4; seven or more is sui generis. Changing from a family home in Class C3 to C4 is normally permitted development — but in areas covered by an Article 4 direction it is not, and needs planning permission. Many university towns and London boroughs have them. A house operating as a shared home without the planning position in order is a house that can be required to stop.
Since 1 May 2026 assured tenancies are periodic, section 21 is abolished, rental bidding is banned, and rent in advance is capped at one month. A tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent below £50,000 annual rent and must be protected within 30 days.
The most common problem is that the person letting it is a leaseholder whose own lease does not permit it. Many block leases prohibit subletting without consent, prohibit letting room by room, or prohibit sharing outside a single household. If the freeholder or managing agent enforces, the letting stops and you move at short notice. Buildings with concierges and 24-hour security are exactly where breaches get spotted. Ask in writing whether the lease permits individual room lets and whether the freeholder has consented, and treat a vague answer as an answer.
A holding deposit of no more than one week's rent, a tenancy deposit of no more than five weeks where the annual rent is under £50,000, and no more than one month's rent in advance. That is it. Charges for referencing, inventories, guarantor services, contents insurance or deposit replacement products are prohibited payments under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. If you are asked for any of them, the council can act and a tribunal can order repayment.
Within 7 days if the tenancy does not go ahead, unless one of four things applies: you gave false or misleading information, you withdrew, you failed a Right to Rent check, or you failed to take reasonable steps to enter into the tenancy. If it is being kept, you must be told in writing why, also within 7 days. Taking the deposit starts a 15-day deadline for entering into the tenancy, which can only be extended by written agreement. A landlord changing their mind or letting the room to someone else is not a lawful reason to keep it.
Sometimes, but the arrangement is regulated rather than a package price. A landlord reselling gas or electricity cannot charge more per unit than their own supplier charges them, and must apportion the standing charge fairly across everyone on the supply rather than charging each room the full amount. A fixed weekly figure is allowed as a convenience, but if it exceeds the maximum resale price for what you actually used it is an overcharge, refundable with interest. Ask what the figure is based on, whether there is a usage cap, and whether the landlord will show you the bill.
Three very different positions. With your own room contract you are responsible for your room and your rent, and your deposit is yours. On a joint tenancy everyone signs one agreement, you are jointly and severally liable for the whole rent, and since 1 May 2026 a notice from any one joint tenant ends the tenancy for everybody. If the landlord lives in the property you are a lodger — an excluded occupier, with no requirement to protect your deposit and no court order needed to ask you to leave. All three are legitimate; establish which you are being offered before you pay anything.
