EXPERTS have warned of a “headache” for first-time buyers as they are hit with a hidden bill of at least £1,800 under new renting rules with one saying “the Government has scored an own goal”.
Renters hoping to escape the rental market have been handed an expensive parting gift under the Renters’ Rights Act.
Tenants in England must give their landlord at least two months’ written notice to end a tenancy, double the single month most renters gave before.
The change came into force on 1 May 2026, and four months on, brokers say its side-effect is starting to bite.
Mortgage advisers report that first-time buyers are now reaching completion day only to discover they must keep paying rent, council tax, energy and water on a home they have already left.
That extra month of outgoings lands at exactly the moment they are paying legal fees, moving costs and their first mortgage payment.
The typical cost of that extra month, based on official average figures, is £1,800. In London, where the average rent alone is £2,317 a month, the bill climbs to more than £2,700.
Experts warn that a tenant cannot safely hand in their notice until contracts have exchanged, because until that point the purchase can still fall through.
Serve notice early and a collapsed sale could leave a buyer with no home to move into and no tenancy to stay in.
Serve it at exchange, the earliest moment the purchase is legally certain, and with completion typically following within a few weeks, the tenant is committed to paying for their rented home for well over a month after they have moved out.
Own goal
Toby Quanstrom, Director at Quanstrom Financial, said it is an expensive mistake in the Renters’ Rights Act.
He added: “The Government has scored an own goal against the very renters it set out to protect. A purchase takes roughly three to four months from offer to completion, so buyers who offered after the Act arrived on 1 May are only now completing and discovering the damage.
“Notice cannot safely be served until exchange, so new buyers are paying their first mortgage payment and setting up bills in their new home while still owing up to two months of rent, council tax and utilities on the one they have left. That overlap typically costs £1,800 per month, and we now warn every buying client who rents, so they are braced for the monstrous bills that land following completion.
“This, paired with April 2025’s cut in the first-time buyer stamp duty threshold from £425,000 to £300,000, has made it even harder to get on the ladder. The fix is simple: let tenants give one month’s notice where exchange of contracts can be evidenced.”
Stephen Perkins, Managing Director at Norwich-based Yellow Brick Mortgages, said first-time buyers need to budget for the extra month overlap.
He added: “The difficult part for first-time buyers is timing their notice. Giving two months’ notice before their purchase is certain risks leaving them without a home if the transaction is delayed or falls through, but waiting for that certainty can mean paying rent and a mortgage at the same time.
“That overlap needs to be budgeted for alongside legal fees and moving costs. For buyers already stretching every pound to get onto the ladder, another month of rent and household bills could be a painful final hurdle.”
Tracey Dixon, Buy-to-Let Mortgage Specialist & Owner at Cardiff-based Pure Mortgage and Protection, said it makes moving more complicated.
He added: “This could become a real headache for first-time buyers. Buying a home rarely comes with a guaranteed completion date, so giving two months’ notice on a rental property can be difficult to time. Give notice too early and a delay in the mortgage, valuation or legal work could leave you without somewhere to live. Wait until completion is certain and you could face paying rent alongside your first mortgage payment and all the other costs of moving.
“For buyers who have spent years saving a deposit, an unexpected extra £1,800 or more at the finish line is significant. My advice would be not to give notice simply because you have a mortgage offer or an expected completion date. Protecting yourself from being left without a home has to come first, but buyers now need to budget for the possibility of an overlap.”
Headache
David Stirling, Independent Financial Adviser at Belfast-based Mint Wealth, said many are shocked at the extra month of notice.
He added: “This is catching first-time buyers completely off guard. They’ve saved for the deposit, sorted the mortgage, budgeted for legal fees and moving costs. They then discover they’re on the hook for a full extra month of rent, council tax and bills on a home they’ve already left, because notice now has to be given two months out.
“It’s not just an unwelcome surprise, it’s a genuine affordability cliff-edge that nobody factors into their moving budget. The ones who don’t see it coming are the ones who end up having to delay completion or scramble for a bridging solution they didn’t plan to need.”
Harry Goodliffe, Director at Winchester-based HTG Mortgages, said the result will be slowing down the housing market.
He added: “The final rent payment is for a home nobody lives in. First-time buyers are getting the keys to their new place, then realising they still owe a month of rent, council tax and bills on the place they’ve left, right when legal fees, moving costs and the first mortgage payment all hit at the same time.
“Blame the Renters’ Rights Act, which doubled notice periods without anyone in Government thinking about people leaving renting for good. It doesn’t destroy the market on its own, but buyers are now starting to time completions around notice dates, which, as a result, slows down chains.”
