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Do Normal Renting Rules Apply if You Rent From Family?

Usually, yes. In England, if a relative or friend lets you a home they don’t live in and you pay a proper rent, you can have an assured tenancy like anyone else, so your deposit must be protected and they must meet normal landlord duties such as gas safety and repairs. The main exceptions are very low or no rent, a casual arrangement nobody meant to be legally binding, or living with them in their home.

When renting from family is a normal tenancy

The law looks at the arrangement, not the relationship. GOV.UK says a tenancy in England is an assured periodic tenancy (APT) if all of these apply:

  • the landlord does not live in the property
  • it is the tenant’s main home
  • the tenant has their own room (they might share a kitchen or bathroom with other tenants).

Nothing in that list depends on whether your landlord is your aunt, your brother or a stranger. So if your uncle owns a flat, lives elsewhere and charges you rent, you are likely to have the same tenancy rights as any other private renter.

When it might not be a tenancy

There are three common situations where you could have fewer rights.

Very low or no rent. GOV.UK says a tenancy is not an APT if the rent is less than £250 a year, or less than £1,000 in London. Shelter’s legal guidance puts it as £250 or less outside Greater London, or £1,000 or less in Greater London. Shelter also says people with no liability to pay rent can be excluded from protection.

No intention to make a legal agreement. Shelter’s legal guidance says arrangements with no intention to create a legal relationship are likely to be licences, not tenancies. It gives accommodation provided by family members, or out of generosity or friendship, as examples. Shelter says people who live with friends or family have a type of licence called a bare licence.

They live there too. GOV.UK says a tenancy is not an APT if the landlord lives in the property. If you share a kitchen or bathroom with them, you are probably a lodger, and you can be asked to leave with less protection from eviction. Read lodger or tenant: what’s the difference? to check which you are.

What your family landlord still has to do

If you have an assured tenancy, GOV.UK says a landlord must:

  • keep the property safe and free from health hazards
  • make sure gas and electrical equipment is safely installed and maintained
  • provide an Energy Performance Certificate
  • protect your deposit in a government-approved scheme
  • fit and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms
  • check you have the right to rent, if the property is in England.

Repairs work the same way too. For who fixes what, see who pays for repairs when renting?

GOV.UK also says a landlord with a mortgage must get the lender’s permission to rent the property out. It is worth your relative checking this, as it can matter if they ever fall behind on payments.

The deposit still needs protecting

GOV.UK says your landlord must put your deposit in a government-approved scheme if you rent on an APT, within 30 days of getting it. In England and Wales the schemes are the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. This applies even if someone else pays it, such as your parents.

Shelter adds that lodger deposits do not need to be protected, and that your total deposit cannot be more than 5 weeks’ rent.

Use the tenancy deposit calculator to check the most a landlord can ask for. Afterwards, you can check your deposit is protected.

Worked example (fictional)

Priya rents her aunt’s spare flat in Leeds. Her aunt lives in another town. They agree £700 a month.

Step Figure
Yearly rent (£700 × 12) £8,400
Above the £250 low-rent limit? Yes
Weekly rent (£8,400 ÷ 52) £161.54
Deposit cap (£8,400 ÷ 52 × 5) £807.69

Her aunt asks for £700. That is under the cap, and it must go into a scheme within 30 days. If Priya’s aunt instead let her stay for £20 a month (£240 a year), the rent would be under the low-rent limit outside London, and it would not be an assured tenancy.

Put it in writing, and other nations

Shelter says tenancy terms can be agreed verbally, and texts or emails can form part of a written agreement. Even so, write down the rent, when it is due, what bills are included and how much deposit you paid. It protects both of you if things change.

Tax is your landlord’s matter. GOV.UK says landlords may have to pay Income Tax on rental income. If your relative lets a room in their own home, the Rent a Room Scheme lets them earn up to £7,500 a year tax-free (£3,750 if they share the income). They should check this themselves.

Scotland. Rules differ. mygov.scot says a landlord renting to a family member, not including cousins, does not need to use a deposit scheme. Shelter Scotland says such landlords also do not have to register with the council. See tenancy deposit rules in Scotland.

Wales. Wales has its own renting law, where tenants are called contract-holders. See tenancy deposit rules in Wales.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Report a possible error.