The building you have rented since the 1980s has been sold, and the new owner is talking about a market rent, offering cash for you to leave, or calling your tenancy a normal one. If you have rented the same home from a private landlord since before 15 January 1989, you probably have a regulated tenancy under the Rent Act 1977. It gives you more security than the assured tenancy a private landlord grants a new tenant today.
Your rent can be capped at a fair rent registered by a rent officer, and the landlord needs a court order and a Rent Act ground to get you out. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 did not convert these tenancies, so the rules for newer assured periodic tenancies do not apply to yours.
What is a regulated tenancy?
Section 1 of the Rent Act 1977 makes most private lettings of a home a protected tenancy. When the contract ends, you keep your home as the statutory tenant for as long as you live there, under section 2. Section 18 calls either kind a regulated tenancy.
Part I of the Housing Act 1988 took effect on 15 January 1989, and section 34 stops most tenancies granted from then being protected. A tenancy granted since then is usually an assured tenancy, with a market rent and the 1988 Act's eviction grounds.
How to check if your tenancy is regulated
A start date before 15 January 1989 is the main test, but section 34 keeps a later tenancy protected in a few cases.
- It was agreed in a contract made before that date.
- Your existing landlord granted you a new tenancy when you were already a protected or statutory tenant, unless your earlier tenancy was a protected shorthold.
- A court ordered possession on the basis of suitable alternative accommodation and directed that the new home be let on a protected tenancy.
Some lettings were never protected. If your tenancy was granted on or after 14 August 1974 by a landlord living in another part of the same building, not a purpose-built block of flats, and every owner since has lived there too, section 12 usually excludes it.
The public fair rent register shows whether a fair rent has been registered for your home. Check the date matches your own tenancy, because an entry can belong to an earlier letting. An old rent book helps too.
How much can rent go up on a regulated tenancy?
If a fair rent is registered, only up to that figure. It changes only when someone applies again, normally no more than once every 2 years. You, your landlord or both of you can apply to the rent officer to register one (section 67).
Under section 70, the rent officer looks at the home's age, character, location and state of repair, and ignores your personal circumstances. They must assume that demand for similar homes locally is not substantially greater than supply. That assumption, and the cap below, are the main reasons a fair rent usually sits below the market rent. Your own improvements, and disrepair you caused, are left out.
Neither of you alone can apply again within 2 years unless something significant changes, though a joint application can come sooner. A landlord can apply in the last 3 months, but the new rent cannot start before the 2 years are up (section 72). A re-registration is usually capped by the Maximum Fair Rent Order at the rise in the Retail Prices Index plus 5%. The cap does not apply to a first-ever registration, or where the landlord's repairs or improvements raise the fair rent by at least 15%.
If you disagree with the rent officer's figure, object in writing within 28 days of the rent officer's notice. The rent officer must then refer it to the First-tier Tribunal under Schedule 11. The Section 13 challenge for assured tenants does not apply to you.
Can you claim back rent charged above the fair rent?
Yes, for up to 2 years. Under sections 44 and 45, rent above the registered figure cannot be recovered from you, whether your original contract is still running or has ended. As a statutory tenant, your rent only goes up to a newly registered figure if the landlord serves a valid notice of increase. Without one, the increase is not recoverable.
Section 57 lets you claim the excess back from the landlord who took it, or deduct it from rent you owe that same landlord. If the register says £120 a week and you have paid £150, that is £30 a week, or £3,120 over 2 years. Each overpayment drops out 2 years after you paid it, so claim promptly. If the home has been sold, claim what you overpaid the old owner from the old owner. Unpaid rent is a possession ground, so get the figure right and tell the landlord in writing before you deduct anything.
Who can take over a regulated tenancy when the tenant dies?
The tenant's spouse, civil partner or a partner living with them as one, if living in the home at the death, becomes the statutory tenant and keeps the fair rent, under Schedule 1 to the Act.
If there is no partner, a family member who lived with the tenant in the home for the 2 years before the death is entitled to an assured tenancy instead, under section 39 of the Housing Act 1988. It is no longer a fair rent, so the landlord can propose a market rent with a Section 13 notice. Since 1 May 2026 it follows the Renters' Rights Act rules for assured tenancies. A landlord who could have used Rent Act Case 11, 12 or 20 against the tenant can still use it against the successor.
When a partner who succeeded later dies, one more family member of both, who lived in the home with that partner for the 2 years before, can succeed to an assured tenancy. Nobody succeeds after that. In Wales the family member gets a secure contract instead. Our guide to what happens to a tenancy when the tenant dies covers the assured side.
Can a regulated tenant be evicted?
Only with a court order. Under section 98, the court must think it reasonable to evict you and either find suitable alternative accommodation available or find that one of the Cases in Part I of Schedule 15 applies. Those cover rent arrears and other breaches, nuisance, damage, and a landlord needing the home for themselves or close family in limited circumstances.
Cases 11 to 20, where the court must evict once the Case is proved, mostly depend on the landlord having given you written notice when the tenancy began. They include a returning owner-occupier and a retirement home. A new owner who would rather have the home empty has no Case for that.
Cutting off services, threats or repeated visits meant to make you give up the home can be harassment, which your council can prosecute.
If your landlord is charging more than the register shows, or pushing you to sign something, Remedy can check your rent against the register, work out what you may be owed for the last 2 years, and help you reply in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Almost. Section 18 uses "regulated tenancy" for both the protected tenancy, which is your original contract, and the statutory tenancy that follows it. A "protected shorthold" is a kind of protected tenancy, a fixed-term 1980s let that a landlord may be able to recover under Case 19 if strict notice rules were followed.
It does not convert them, so your fair rent and Rent Act protections stay. Since 1 May 2026, section 35 makes most "no children" and "no benefits" terms in a regulated tenancy of no effect. The new landlord database, due to open region by region from 15 December 2026 if Parliament approves it, and the landlord ombudsman are set to cover your landlord (section 63).
Yes, if you freely agree, but giving up a regulated tenancy is permanent, and a new private tenancy elsewhere will usually mean a market rent and less security. An offer that comes with threats or pressure can be harassment. Weigh the offer against the fair rent and security you would lose before you sign.
Yes, the tenant can apply alone, using the forms in GOV.UK's fair rents guidance. Check registered rents for similar homes nearby first. The rent officer can register more than you pay now, a first registration is not capped, and your landlord can then raise your rent to that figure.
