Rent in Advance Ban – Are Freelancers, Students and Start-ups Being Frozen Out?

🏡 The Renters’ Rights Bill: Why This Reform May Hurt More Than It Helps

There’s plenty of buzz in the lettings world this month, and most of it circles around the Renters’ Rights Bill 2024. It’s being pitched as a landmark shift for tenant protections — and yes, there are elements of it that probably were overdue. But when you run a lettings agency and talk to real tenants every day, you start to spot where some of these ideas look great on paper but trip over themselves in practice.

Let’s talk about one of the most talked-about (and misunderstood) points — rent in advance.

🚫 No More Rent in Advance? Hold On…

The current proposal basically says: landlords and agents can’t ask for more than one month’s rent upfront.

Now at face value, I get it. It’s meant to protect vulnerable tenants who’ve been asked to pay 6–12 months upfront just to get through the door. But here’s the catch…

What about the people who want to pay up front?

Not just students — although international students are a big part of it — I’m talking about:

• Founders of start-ups

• Creators and YouTubers

• Crypto traders

• Self-employed consultants

• Anyone with a decent income but no UK-based guarantor

We see these tenants regularly in the Kensington market. They don’t have a traditional 9-to-5 with a payslip and P60. But they do have savings, cashflow, and the confidence to say: “Here’s six months’ rent upfront. Let’s go.”

What are we supposed to say to them now? “Sorry, that’s illegal”?

🎓 International Students Are Being Forgotten

The other huge issue is international students. Many arrive in the UK with family support, but no credit history, no UK guarantor, and no references. For years, the workaround has been simple: pay six months upfront. Everyone wins. The landlord gets peace of mind, and the student gets a good place to live.

Now? They’ll be boxed out of much of the market.

Let’s not forget — not every student is in halls or purpose-built accommodation. Plenty rent through us, through independent landlords, through private listings. And they’re being penalised for their lack of paperwork, not their reliability.

💼 The World’s Moved On — The Law Hasn’t

The problem is that this bill assumes a very narrow view of what a “safe tenant” looks like. It’s stuck in a 2010 mindset of employment contracts and 12-month fixed ASTs. But the world’s moved on.

People don’t always want long-term fixed contracts anymore. People don’t always have a predictable payslip. People do want flexibility — and they often back it up with rent in advance.

If we’re serious about modernising lettings, we have to modernise how we assess tenants, not just put up guardrails that trip them up.

🧠 So What Do We Do?

If common sense prevails — and I hope it does — we’ll see some sort of compromise. Here’s what that might look like:

• Letting agents and landlords can’t demand rent in advance.

• But if a tenant wants to pay it and offers, it’s legal and acceptable.

• Proper records are kept, and it’s all transparent.

That way, we stop exploitation but preserve flexibility.

🤝 At Jeremy Jacob, We Get It

We’re a letting-only agency based in Kensington, and we see all walks of life. We understand that no two tenants are the same — and we believe the lettings process should reflect that.

Let’s keep pushing for reforms that help people — without shutting the door on the good ones who just don’t tick the old-fashioned boxes.