Commentary on provisions of Act Section 1: Prohibitions applying to landlords
This section provides that a landlord of housing in England must not require a tenant or other relevant person to make a payment or a loan in connection with a tenancy.
	This section also provides that such a landlord must not require, except in the case of utilities, or communication services, a tenant to secure and pay for services from any third party in connection with a tenancy, for example a reference provider, an inventory service or an insurer.
	This section sets out that a landlord is considered to have required a relevant person to make a payment, a loan or enter into a contract with a third party in connection with a tenancy if they have:
required the person to do any of those things in consideration of the grant, renewal, continuance, variation, assignment, novation or termination of a tenancy;
entered into a tenancy agreement that requires, or purports to require, the person to do any of those things;
required the person to do any of those things pursuant to a provision of a tenancy agreement in the event of an act or default by a relevant person or if the tenancy is varied, assigned, novated or terminated;
required the person to do any of those things as a result of an act or default of a relevant person relating to the tenancy unless pursuant to, or for the breach of a tenancy agreement; or
charged the person in consideration of providing a reference in relation to occupation of housing.
	This section provides that a landlord can require a relevant person to make a payment, enter into a contract or grant a loan if it is an alternative to another requirement that is not unreasonable or prohibited. It must not simply be a different means of requiring a relevant person to do any of those things.
	This section and Section 2 apply to a tenant as well as a person acting on behalf of a tenant and a person guaranteeing a tenant’s rent. Tenants and such persons are referred to collectively in the Act as "relevant persons".
	Subsection 10 sets out that ‘’relevant persons’’ when used in this Act excludes local housing authorities, the Greater London Authority or persons acting on their behalf. Such local authorities and persons can make payments in connection with a tenancy when acting on behalf of a tenant or guaranteeing their rent.