Blog
Expert guides on tenant rights, rent increases, and the Section 13 process in England.
The bidding war ban under the RRA: the tenant walkthrough for rejected-bid evidence and the GBP 7k civil penalty route
A renter walks into a viewing and the agent says, casually, 'we have a few people interested, so we are taking best and final offers by Friday'. The advert listed GBP 1,650. The renter offers GBP 1,650, gets a polite 'sorry, you have been unsuccessful', and watches the property re-appear two weeks later at GBP 1,750. From 1 May 2026 that is a civil penalty case under the new bidding war ban - up to GBP 7,000 per breach via local council Trading Standards. This walkthrough covers what counts as evidence, the three patterns we are seeing, the complaint template, and the parallel routes via redress scheme and PRS Ombudsman.
Rent bidding ban: the tenant recognition checklist and report-to-council walkthrough (RRA Day 5, May 2026)
Since 1 May 2026, every advertisement and written offer for a rented property in England must contain a specific asking price, and landlords cannot accept or encourage offers above it. This post is the tenant-side tool for that ban: a recognition checklist for the patterns that count as bidding, a step-by-step report-to-council walkthrough, and what realistically happens after you report.