Agent Fined £8,600 for Issuing Banned Fixed-Term Tenancy

Letting Agent Fined £8,600 for Issuing Banned Fixed-Term Tenancy Under the Renters' Rights Act

A Chesterfield letting agent has been fined a total of £8,652 (reduced to £7,354 for prompt payment) after issuing a six-month fixed-term tenancy agreement - a type of agreement banned outright under the Renters' Rights Act, which abolished fixed-term assured tenancies.

How it came to light
Chesterfield Borough Council's private housing team received a complaint from tenants about housing standards shortly after they moved in. During the investigation, officers found the agent had issued a fixed-term tenancy despite this being prohibited under the Act.

A second, more serious finding
The council also discovered that when the tenants indicated they intended to complain, they were told to leave the property and moved into alternative accommodation owned by a different, unidentified landlord - triggering a second penalty.

Council's response
Councillor Jean Innes said the council had proactively engaged with local landlords and agents before the legislation came into force to ensure understanding of the changes, and that this case demonstrates enforcement action will follow where duties aren't met. Alongside the fines, the council issued an improvement notice requiring the property to be brought up to the required letting standard.

What this means for landlords
This is a clean example of a basic but costly compliance failure: using old-style fixed-term tenancy paperwork post-reform is now a straightforward Renters' Rights Act breach, regardless of intent. If you use an agent, it's worth confirming directly that their tenancy templates have actually been updated - "we've always used this agreement" is no longer a safe assumption.

Source: LandlordZONE, 2 October 2026