Your landlord told you the property had no damp issues. Or that it was fully licensed. Or that the boiler was recently serviced. You signed the tenancy, moved in, and discovered none of that was true. In many cases you can claim for that gap.
Misleading information can be a false listing, a spoken assurance that proved wrong, or a half-truth that creates a false picture. Staying silent about a problem is usually not enough on its own. For most private renters the main route is consumer protection law. The Misrepresentation Act 1967 covers cases those rules miss, and a Rent Repayment Order can apply where licensing is involved.
What counts as misleading information from a landlord?
If your landlord said the area was 'quiet' and there is a pub next door, that is probably an opinion. If they told you the flat had a valid HMO licence and it did not, that is a specific, checkable false statement that could ground a claim.
The false statement has to be a real reason you signed. It doesn't have to be the only one. Claims often turn on planning permission, which bills are included, licensing, or the state of the appliances or the building.
What evidence proves landlord misrepresentation?
Start with the original listing, and screenshot it before it comes down. Add the landlord's or agent's messages, the tenancy agreement, and anything they wrote after you moved in. If it was said aloud, write down what was said, who was there, and the date. Courts accept spoken promises, but a witness or a later message makes one harder to deny.
Next, show the gap between the claim and reality. If the landlord said the boiler had been serviced but the service certificate is three years old, get the certificate. If they said it was licensed, screenshot your council's public register. For disrepair, take photos and get a contractor's written quote.
Which laws cover a landlord who lied about the property?
Consumer protection law. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans misleading marketing by businesses, and a landlord or agent letting as a business counts. If a false advert or sales pitch was a significant factor in your decision to sign, rules kept from the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 let you unwind the tenancy, which means ending it and getting money back. Or you can claim a discount on the rent. You can also claim damages for other losses and for distress or inconvenience, unless the landlord proves the problem came from a mistake, from the agent or someone else, or from a cause beyond their control, and that they took all reasonable precautions.
These rules apply to an assured tenancy in England or a standard contract in Wales. They cover what the landlord said or did, not something they left out. Social housing, council homelessness placements and landlords who are not letting as a business fall outside them. See tenant remedies for unfair trading practices.
Misrepresentation Act 1967. Under section 2, you can claim damages for a false statement of fact that got you to sign, unless the landlord proves they had reasonable grounds to believe it and did. But section 2(4) bars those damages if the consumer protection rules give you redress. So this is the damages route where those rules give you no redress for that statement. A claim of £10,000 or less normally goes on the County Court small claims track.
On either route, you can still ask the court to cancel the tenancy, which lawyers call rescission. If the tenancy agreement itself says bills are included, that is also a breach of contract claim. Once one route compensates you for what the landlord said or did, you cannot claim for it again under another.
Rent Repayment Orders in England. If your landlord let an unlicensed property that needed a licence, the First-tier Tribunal can order them to repay rent. This comes from the licensing offence itself, but a false "yes, it's licensed" suggests the landlord knew a licence was needed. That can count against them on conduct and against any "reasonable excuse" defence. Wales has a separate system. Read our guide on how to apply for a Rent Repayment Order.
Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 sets one up for England, but landlords are not expected to have to join until 2028. If a letting agent was involved, you can complain to the agent's redress scheme now. See our guide to Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman complaints.
How much compensation for landlord misrepresentation?
On the consumer protection route, you can unwind the tenancy within 90 days, counted from the later of the day you signed and the day the tenancy began. Reject it within a month of the tenancy starting and you get all your money back. After that, the landlord can usually deduct what the place was worth for the time you lived there, unless their conduct and its effect on you make that unfair.
If you found the problem later, or want to stay, claim a discount instead. The discount is nothing if the misleading claim was minor, then 25, 50, 75 or 100 percent as it gets more serious. Where the total rent under the tenancy is over £5,000 and there is clear evidence the place was worth less, the discount is the actual percentage difference instead. Say you pay £1,400 a month for a flat advertised with its own entrance, and it shares a hallway. If similar flats with a shared entrance let for £1,300, the discount is likely to be about 7 percent of the rent you pay.
Where the Misrepresentation Act applies instead, damages aim to put you back where you would have been without the false statement. In the same example, £100 a month times the months you rented is your starting figure.
In England, Rent Repayment Orders have the clearest ceiling, but it depends on the dates. For an unlicensed home, only rent paid while the offence was being committed counts. Section 44 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 allows up to 12 months for offending before 1 May 2026 and up to 2 years for offending from that date, so a full 2 years cannot build up until 2028. Six unlicensed months at £1,200 a month gives £7,200 of rent to consider, less any part paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit. That is a ceiling for that period, not a promised award.
How to write a letter before action for misleading information
Before you start a court claim, send the landlord a formal letter before action. It is not a legal precondition, but courts expect one and can penalise a party who skips it, and it often settles things. Say what the false statement was, who made it and when, why it mattered to your decision, what it cost you, and how much you want.
Give 14 days to reply. If the deadline passes, you can start your claim, but stay open to any offer to settle or mediate. Our guide to writing a letter before action to your landlord covers the rest.
If you're not sure whether you have a claim, Remedy can weigh what you were told against what you found, help you organise the evidence, and draft the letter.
