Blog
Expert guides on tenant rights, rent increases, and the Section 13 process in England.
Mislabelled as a lodger: tenant status walkthrough 2026
Some landlords write 'lodger agreement' on a document and assume that settles the question. It does not. Whether you are a lodger (excluded licensee) or a tenant (with full statutory protection) is a question of legal substance, not the label on the page. If the landlord does not actually live in the property, you are very probably an assured tenant whatever the agreement calls you. Here is the tenant walkthrough, with an assert-status letter template.
Landlord access without 24-hour notice: tenant refusal walkthrough 2026
Your landlord owns the bricks, but you have exclusive possession of the home. They cannot turn up unannounced, let themselves in with their key, or send agents and contractors round without your permission. This walkthrough is the tenant-side procedural instrument for refusing landlord access without proper notice, with statutory references and a cease-and-desist letter template you can adapt.
RRO for a banning order breach: tenant claim guide 2026
A banning order stops a landlord letting property. If they let to you anyway, that breach is a qualifying offence for a rent repayment order, and from 1 May 2026 the ceiling rose to 24 months' rent. You can claim even if you were not the tenant when the order was breached, and continuing to let after a council penalty is itself an offence. Here is the tenant claim walkthrough, with a First-tier Tribunal application template.
Refused for benefits or children: tenant complaint guide 2026
From 1 May 2026 a landlord or agent cannot refuse you a tenancy, or make it harder to rent, because you claim benefits or have children. That includes blanket no DSS adverts, hiding availability, or blocking viewings. Councils must enforce it, with fines and rent repayment orders. Here is how to recognise it, capture the evidence, and complain, with a council and ombudsman template.
Landlord not on the PRS Database: tenant walkthrough (2026)
The Renters' Rights Act creates a Private Rented Sector Database every private landlord and property in England must be on. An unregistered landlord cannot serve a valid Section 8 notice, cannot lawfully market the property, and exposes themselves to a rent repayment order of up to 24 months. Here is how to check the database, what non-registration means for a tenant, and how to report it, with a council-report template.
Deposit not protected: the 1-3x counterclaim during possession (2026)
If your landlord never protected your deposit, or never served the prescribed information, you can claim a penalty of 1 to 3 times the deposit. Raised as a counterclaim inside a rent-arrears possession claim, that penalty can be set off against the arrears, which on a Ground 8 case can pull the debt below the mandatory threshold. Here is the plain-English walkthrough with a counterclaim paragraph and a worked set-off calculation.
How to suspend or postpone a possession order: tenant walkthrough (2026)
If a possession order has been made, or you expect one, the court has powers to postpone the date, suspend the order or vary its terms. There are real limits: 14 days as standard, up to 6 weeks on exceptional hardship, and the powers do not apply to mandatory grounds like Ground 8. The single biggest mistake is leaving it too late. Here is the walkthrough with an N244 grounds paragraph and a worked exceptional-hardship statement.
Section 8 Ground 16 (former employee): the tenant defence walkthrough (2026)
Ground 16 is the former-employee ground: possession because the home was let in consequence of employment that has since ended. It is discretionary, the notice period is 2 months, it cannot take effect during a fixed term, and most cases turn on whether the let was genuinely tied to the job and on the reasonableness test. Here is the plain-English walkthrough with a request-for-particulars letter.
Section 8 Ground 7A (mandatory serious anti-social behaviour): the tenant defence walkthrough (2026)
Ground 7A is the mandatory anti-social behaviour ground. If the threshold is met the judge has no discretion. But the threshold needs a relevant conviction — not an allegation, not a caution, not a community resolution. Spent convictions, conditional discharges, pending appeals and the 12-month notice window all attack the conviction limb. Plus the Article 8 / Equality Act overlay for vulnerable tenants. Here is the plain-English walkthrough with templates.
Equitable set-off and disrepair counterclaim: the tenant defence to Ground 8 possession (2026)
Ground 8 is the single mandatory rent arrears ground — at threshold, the judge has no discretion. But the rent that counts is the rent lawfully due, and where the landlord is in breach of repairing obligations the tenant has an equitable set-off that reduces lawfully due rent. Calculated correctly, set-off can defeat a Ground 8 claim at the notice date. Here is the plain-English walkthrough of Baygreen Properties, the connected-cross-claim test, the procedural filing order, and a templated defence and counterclaim paragraph for the N11R.