Rental bidding ban for letting agents: what an advert must say and what to do with an offer above the asking rent

An advert for a let in England must now carry one asking rent, and you may not invite, encourage or accept an offer above it. That has applied to assured periodic tenancies since 1 May 2026. The penalty for a breach is up to £7,000, and it falls on the landlord and on anyone acting for the landlord, which includes your agency.

The rule is short, but the breaches tend to come from habit: a "guide price", a reply that mentions another applicant, a negotiator who says the landlord "might go for a bit more". This guide sets out what the rule covers and how to answer an applicant who offers more.

What the advert must carry

GOV.UK's guidance for councils says a landlord or agent who publishes a written advert must include an advertised price. Written adverts include online listings, printed adverts, social media posts, emails, texts, direct messages and handwritten notices. A "to let" sign outside the property is not counted.

So the rule reaches further than the portal listing. A message to a mailing list of waiting applicants, or a post on the agency's social media page, is an advert and needs the price.

What you cannot do

The GOV.UK guidance lists five things. You cannot:

1. publish another advert with a higher advertised price for the same letting;
2. publish a price range for the property;
3. invite, encourage or accept a higher offer;
4. tell someone you have received other bids, to encourage them to bid more than the advertised price;
5. act in any way that leads a person to believe they need to bid above the advertised price.

The second and fifth are the ones that catch a routine advert. "£1,200 to £1,250 a month" is a range. "Offers invited", "best and final" and "£1,200 pcm, viewing essential as interest is high" are all open to the fifth. Our website audit lists the wording to search for on your own site.

What you can do

The same guidance says a tenant may offer less than the advertised price, and the landlord may accept it. A tenant may offer the advertised price. A landlord may refuse a higher offer, and that is the only safe answer to one.

Raising the rent is not banned as such, but a higher figure cannot be added to a live listing's price after applicants have seen it as a way of collecting bids. If the landlord truly wants a different rent, withdraw the advert, set the new price and publish once, so that every applicant sees the same figure. The guidance does not say how long a withdrawn advert must stay down, so do not republish a different price on the same day as a way of testing the market.

Replies to copy

When an applicant offers more by email or phone, a short, fixed reply protects you and the landlord.

Thank you for your interest in [address]. The rent is £[amount] a month, as advertised. We are not able to accept an offer above the advertised rent. If you would like to go ahead at the advertised rent, we can send you the application details.

When an applicant asks whether others are interested:

We can tell you the property is available at the advertised rent of £[amount] a month. We cannot comment on other applicants.

When an applicant asks whether the rent is negotiable:

The advertised rent is £[amount] a month. If you would like to propose a lower figure, please put it in writing and we will pass it to the landlord.

File each reply with the applicant's message. If a council ever asks, a dated reply that declined the offer is your evidence.

A routine for the office

1. Check each new advert has one price per rent period and no range, "offers over" or "best and final".
2. Tell negotiators the replies above and that they should not hint at other interest or at the landlord's flexibility upwards.
3. Ask landlords to tell you, not applicants, if they are tempted by a higher offer, and explain why the answer has to be no.
4. When the rent is changed, withdraw and republish once.
5. Review the last month's applicant enquiries for any reply that mentions competing applicants.

What the penalty is measured against

The first breach can bring a civil penalty of up to £7,000. GOV.UK says a landlord fined twice within 5 years for the same type of breach has made a repeated breach. A penalty of up to £7,000 can be issued for the second breach and an additional penalty of up to £7,000 because it is a repeat. That is up to £14,000 for the second breach.

Against that, put what an accepted bid is worth. A £1,250-a-month let advertised at that price and accepted at £1,300 yields £50 × 12 = £600 a year. £7,000 ÷ £600 is 11.7 years of the extra rent. £14,000 ÷ £600 is 23.3 years. Tenancies are periodic and can end on two months' notice, so the extra rent is unlikely to last that long.

The guidance for councils does not cover tenant compensation or repayment of the excess rent, and does not state a time limit for councils to issue penalties, so we do not give either here.

Where it sits in the rest of your paperwork

The bidding ban is one of several changes on 1 May 2026. The others that touch the start of a tenancy are the limit on rent in advance and the holding deposit rules; see our new tenancy checklist and the guide to holding deposits. For the full list of what changed and when, use the 2026 compliance checklist.

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant that answers applicant enquiries with the advertised rent and the fixed replies above, and passes anything about price negotiation to a person. It does not decide whether to accept an offer; that stays with the landlord and your team.

This is general information for England, not legal advice.