The Tenant Fees Bill has passed its final stage in Parliament before Royal Assent, meaning it will become law on 1st June.

The new law will ban letting agents from charging fees to renters, a practice which currently forces renters to pay £160 million a year in unfair and uncompetitive fees, said Citizens Advice.

The only money renters will have to pay when they move into a new home from June will be their deposits and advance rent.

There are now 4.7 million households in the private-rented sector, the second largest tenure in England behind home ownership.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “This is a landmark moment for the millions of people who rent privately.

“For too long families and other renters have had to hand over hundreds of pounds on unfair and uncompetitive letting fees every time they moved home.

“We look forward to working with the government to do even more to strengthen the hand of the growing number of renters in a market where they have little bargaining power.”