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.
The agent is sitting on your holding deposit: the 7-day rule tenant walkthrough (2026)
A holding deposit is the small payment - capped at one week's rent - that a renter hands over to a letting agent to take a property off the market while referencing runs. In a clean transaction it rolls into the first month's rent. In a messy one, the deal falls through and the agent goes quiet. This walkthrough covers the two clocks (the 15-day deadline for agreement and the 7-day refund clock), the four lawful retention categories under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, the three patterns that drive most unlawful retentions, the chase letter template, and the three escalation routes (Trading Standards, small claims, redress scheme).