A new law meant to end rental bidding wars in England has produced a strange workaround in London: some landlords are reportedly advertising homes for more than they expect to receive, then considering offers below that price.
London Centric began investigating after renters said asking prices had jumped since the new rules took effect. The outlet calls the practice an “inverse bidding war.”
The Renters’ Rights Act requires landlords and letting agents to advertise a specific rent and bars them from asking for, encouraging, or accepting more than that amount. The rental-bidding rules took effect May 1, 2026.
On the other hand, the law does not prohibit landlords from accepting less. That leaves room to advertise high, then let prospective tenants compete beneath that ceiling.
The Asking Price Became the Ceiling
Before the change, landlords could advertise a lower rent and then encourage interested tenants to offer more. The Renters’ Rights Act was designed to stop that by making the advertised price the maximum a landlord can accept.
23-year-old Lucy Giles told London Centric that she noticed much higher advertised rents while searching for a home after the law took effect.
“[The agent] said to me that landlords were putting the rent higher,” she shared, “either expecting a lower offer or just taking a stab in the dark and hoping that people would pay.”
The higher listings can create another problem for renters. Giles said she normally searches only within her budget, meaning properties whose landlords would accept less may never appear affordable to her in the first place.
Renters can still wind up competing. The difference is that the bidding must stay below the advertised price.
Reporters Put the Workaround to the Test
London Centric called more than a dozen letting agents while posing as prospective renters. Reporters said they were allegedly encouraged to view properties advertised above their stated budgets and told landlords would consider lower offers.
London Centric also reported on 25-year-old Michelle, who got a front-row seat to how that competition can play out. She viewed a flat advertised for £2,900 a month—about $3,960—and initially offered £2,500, or about $3,410, according to CurrencyRate.
“We went back and forth twice,” she recounted, “and eventually maxed out at bidding £2,700.” Then, she got the disappointing news: someone had ultimately outbid her. Because the offers remained below the advertised £2,900 rent, they did not run afoul of the new rental-bidding limit.
Mairi MacRae, director of policy and campaigns at housing charity Shelter, has urged the government to prevent the private rental market from using “cynical workarounds, writes Novara Media.
For renters, the result is that an advertised price may no longer tell them what a landlord actually expects them to pay, and they can be shouldered out of rental options they’d been hoping to pursue.