Your rights renting in a shared house

Sharing a house does not mean sharing away your rights. Whether you rent a room or a whole flat with friends, the law gives you real protection, and it changed significantly in 2026. Here is what you can actually rely on.

The big change: no more no-fault evictions

On 1 May 2026 the first phase of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force in England. Section 21, the old rule that let a landlord end your tenancy with two months' notice and no reason, is gone. That applies to new tenancies and to tenancies that already existed.

Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies have been replaced. Every assured tenancy is now periodic, which means it rolls month to month with no end date. You can leave whenever you like by giving two months' notice in writing. Your landlord can only end the tenancy with a legal ground, such as serious rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, or because they genuinely intend to sell or move in themselves.

There is also a protected period. For the first 12 months of a tenancy, a landlord cannot use the selling or moving-in grounds at all, and when they do use them later they must give you four months' notice. If someone tells you that you can be asked to leave for no reason, that is no longer true.

Rent rises have rules now

Rent can only go up once a year, through a formal notice, with at least two months' warning. If you think the new figure is above the market rate you can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal before it starts, and the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one the landlord proposed.

A related change: rental bidding is banned. The rent a property is advertised at is the rent. A landlord or agent cannot invite or accept offers above it.

Repairs: what the landlord must fix

Your landlord is responsible for the structure and exterior of the building, plus heating, hot water, gas, electrics, and sanitation. That comes from section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and it cannot be signed away in a contract. On top of that, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires the home to be free of serious hazards such as damp, mould, pest infestations and dangerous wiring.

In a shared house this covers the communal areas too. A broken boiler, a leaking roof over the kitchen or a rotten stair carpet is the landlord's problem, not something to split between housemates.

Report problems in writing and keep copies. If nothing happens, your local council's environmental health team can inspect and order the landlord to act. Councils have real teeth here, especially in licensed properties.

HMO licensing: most shared houses need a licence

If five or more people from two or more households share facilities, the property must have a mandatory HMO licence. Many London boroughs also run additional licensing schemes that cover smaller shares of three or four people, so a typical flatshare is often licensable too.

A licence comes with enforceable conditions on room sizes, fire safety, and how many people can live there. You can check the public HMO register on your council's website.

If your landlord should have a licence and does not, you can apply to a tribunal for a rent repayment order. Since the Renters' Rights Act, that can be worth up to two years of rent paid back to you. It is one of the strongest levers a sharer has.

Safety basics you are owed

An annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe engineer, with the certificate given to you. An electrical safety report (EICR) at least every five years. A working smoke alarm on every storey. A carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, such as a boiler or gas fire. In HMOs, extra fire safety rules apply, including fire doors and escape routes.

If any of these are missing, ask in writing. If they stay missing, the council can fine the landlord.

Privacy and quiet enjoyment

Once you rent a room or a home, it is yours to live in peacefully. This is the covenant of quiet enjoyment. A landlord or agent should give at least 24 hours' written notice before visiting, visit at reasonable times, and needs your permission to enter. Turning up unannounced, letting themselves in, or pressuring you with constant visits can amount to harassment, which is a criminal offence.

Changing the locks, removing your belongings or forcing you out without a court order is illegal eviction under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. If it happens, contact your council's tenancy relations or housing team and, if you are locked out or threatened, the police.

Deposits, pets and discrimination

Your deposit is capped at five weeks' rent for most tenancies and must be protected in a government scheme within 30 days. There is a full guide to this in deposits in a flatshare.

You now have the right to request a pet, and your landlord cannot unreasonably refuse without a good reason. They cannot charge a separate pet deposit or require pet insurance. The standard deposit cap covers any damage.

Blanket bans are also outlawed. A landlord or agent cannot refuse you simply because you receive benefits or have children.

Where to get help

Shelter and Citizens Advice offer free housing advice. Your council's environmental health and housing teams handle disrepair, licensing and illegal eviction. A new private rented sector ombudsman and a national landlord database are being introduced later in 2026, which will add a free route for complaints.

Knowing your housemates helps too. A house that talks to each other spots problems early and deals with the landlord as one voice. That is half the reason ZoomyRoom exists: live with people you actually chose.