Letting a home comes with a list of certificates, checks and paperwork that keeps growing. This checklist sets out what a private landlord in England needs to do, in the order you meet it: before you let, at move-in, during the tenancy, every year and every five years. After that come the dates already announced, and what is different in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Before you let
Most of the work happens before anyone moves in. In England, check each of these before you advertise the home or agree a tenancy.
The energy rating
The home must have an EPC rating of E or above to start or continue a tenancy, unless an exemption is registered on the PRS Exemptions Register. This has applied to new tenancies since 1 April 2018 and to all tenancies since 1 April 2020, in England and Wales. Penalties reach £5,000 per property per breach (GOV.UK).
Gas and electrics
Gas appliances and flues need a safety check every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and a new tenant must get a copy of the record before they move in (HSE).
The electrical installation must be inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, or sooner if the last report says so. New tenants get a copy of the report before they move in, and a prospective tenant who asks in writing gets a copy within 28 days (legislation.gov.uk).
Licences
Check whether the home needs a licence from the council. An HMO with five or more people forming two or more households always needs one, and councils can also license smaller HMOs, or every privately rented home in an area. Our HMO licensing guide explains how each scheme works.
Advertising and choosing tenants
Every written advert, including listings, social posts, emails and texts, must state one specific rent, not a range. You cannot ask for, encourage or accept offers above it, even after signing, and the fine is up to £7,000 (GOV.UK).
You also cannot do anything that makes it less likely that someone with children, or on benefits, rents the home, such as withholding information or blocking viewings. Affordability checks and referencing are still allowed (GOV.UK).
Right to Rent
Check that every adult who will live in the home, including lodgers and anyone not named on the agreement, has the right to rent before the tenancy starts. Checking only people you think are not British is against the law. If someone’s permission to stay is time-limited, do the check within the 28 days before the tenancy starts (GOV.UK).
You can check original documents yourself, use the Home Office online check with a share code, or use a registered Digital Verification Service for British and Irish citizens’ documents. The landlord’s guide and the code of practice were both updated on 1 October 2026. A first breach can cost up to £10,000 per occupier, and a repeat within three years up to £20,000 (code of practice).
Money before the tenancy starts
A holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent (GOV.UK). No rent can be requested or accepted before the tenancy agreement is signed, and between signing and the start date the most usually allowed is one month’s rent, or 28 days’ rent if rent is not monthly (GOV.UK).
Written terms
Before the tenancy is signed or agreed, including verbally, give the tenant written information on its key terms. The fine for not doing so is up to £7,000 (GOV.UK).
One document you no longer hand over: the How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and is not something to issue at the start of a new tenancy. It is kept only for tenancies where a section 21 notice was served before that date (GOV.UK).
At move-in
- Test the alarms. There must be at least one smoke alarm on each storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance, other than a gas cooker. Check that they work on the day the tenancy starts (GOV.UK).
- Hand over the safety papers. The tenant should have the gas safety record and the electrical report before moving in.
- Take a deposit within the cap. No more than five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks’ rent at £50,000 or more (GOV.UK).
- Protect it within 30 days in one of the three schemes: the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and give the prescribed information in the same 30 days (GOV.UK).
- Assess legionella risk. It does not need to be in-depth and most landlords can do it themselves. Testing is not usually required, and the law does not require a legionella test certificate (HSE).
During the tenancy
- Give existing tenants a copy of each new gas safety record within 28 days of the check, and of each electrical report within 28 days of the inspection.
- Finish any electrical remedial work within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, then confirm it to the tenants and the council within 28 days of completion. Send the council a copy of the report within 7 days if it asks in writing (legislation.gov.uk).
- Repair or replace an alarm once a fault is reported.
- Raise the rent no more than once a year, and not in the first year, using Form 4A with at least two months’ notice. Form 4A is needed even if the tenant has already agreed the increase (GOV.UK).
- Reply to a written pet request within 28 days. You need a fair reason to refuse (GOV.UK).
- Deal with serious hazards. Since 22 June 2026, councils can fine up to £7,000 where a Category 1 hazard could reasonably have been removed (legislation.gov.uk).
- Return the deposit within 10 days of agreeing the amount (GOV.UK).
If you need the home back, section 21 is no longer available. Possession now needs one of the section 8 grounds, served on Form 3A with the notice that ground requires. Moving in yourself or selling, for example, needs four months’ notice and cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy (GOV.UK).
Every year
The gas safety check is the one that comes round every 12 months. You can have it done up to two months early and keep the original due date. Keep records for at least two years, or until two further checks have been done if you use the early option. For stays of under 28 days, such as holiday lets, display the record instead (HSE).
If your rent and self-employed income is over £50,000, you are also sending quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital. Our Making Tax Digital guide has the dates.
Every five years
- A new electrical inspection and report, or sooner if the last report says so.
- A renewed exemption from the energy rating rules, if you rely on one: most last five years (GOV.UK).
- A renewed licence for HMOs and homes in licensing areas, which last up to five years.
What is changing
| Date | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Nov 2026 | Electrical amendment: no fresh pre-tenancy inspection if a report from the last five years is still current | Passed, due in force |
| 15 Dec 2026 | The PRS Database opens in the West Midlands, then region by region to 14 Nov 2027. London’s window is 15 Jul to 14 Oct 2027 | Planned, regulations awaiting approval |
| 18 Dec 2026 | Consultation closes on extending Awaab’s Law to private tenancies | Proposed |
| 2028 | Landlord Ombudsman membership expected to become compulsory | Expected |
| 1 Oct 2030 | EPC C or equivalent for all private tenancies, with a £10,000 cost cap | Proposed |
| 2035 | The new Decent Homes Standard applies to private rented homes | Proposed |
For the database, landlords will need their own details, each home’s details, occupant numbers, any licence numbers, the rent and which bills are included, and safety evidence: the gas safety record, the electrical report, the EPC and any energy exemption. The government’s campaign site gives a fee of £65 per property per year, but the draft regulations leave the fee to the database operator (Housing Hub). Our PRS Database guide has the full timetable.
For energy ratings, the government has confirmed one compliance date of 1 October 2030 for all tenancies. Homes rated C or above on the current rating before 1 October 2029 will count as compliant until that EPC expires. The £10,000 cap covers 10 years, homes worth under £100,000 get a lower cap of 10% of their value, and a 10-year exemption is available if the cap is reached. The government aims for the regulations to come into force in 2027 (GOV.UK).
The four nations at a glance
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own rental systems. Right to Rent checks apply in England only (GOV.UK).
| Duty | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenancy | Assured periodic tenancy | Occupation contract | Private residential tenancy | Private tenancy |
| Registration | PRS Database planned from Dec 2026 | Rent Smart Wales | Each council you let in | Landlord Registration Scheme |
| Electrical report | At least every 5 years | Valid report, up to 5 years old | At least every 5 years | At least every 5 years |
| Smoke alarms | One on every storey | Mains-wired and interlinked, every storey | Interlinked, plus a kitchen heat alarm | Interlinked, plus a kitchen heat alarm |
| Deposit | Capped at 5 or 6 weeks, protected in 30 days | Protected in an approved scheme | Capped at 2 months, protected in 30 working days | Capped at 1 month, protected in 28 days |
Wales
- Tenancies are occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, in force since 1 December 2022. Give the written statement within 14 days of the occupation date (Welsh Government).
- Homes must be fit for human habitation, with a mains-powered, interlinked smoke alarm on every storey, a carbon monoxide alarm in each room with a gas, oil-fired or solid fuel appliance, and a valid electrical condition report of up to five years, copied to the contract-holder within 14 days.
- Every landlord must register with Rent Smart Wales, which costs £60 online or £102 standard and lasts five years. Landlords who let or manage themselves need a licence and approved training, or must appoint a licensed agent (Rent Smart Wales).
- A no-fault notice needs at least six months and cannot be given until six months after the occupation date.
- Since 1 June 2026, refusing tenants because they have children or receive benefits has been against the law in Wales too.
- The EPC band E minimum applies in Wales, and the planned move to band C by 1 October 2030 covers Wales as well.
Scotland
- Most tenancies since 1 December 2017 are open-ended private residential tenancies, which can only be ended on one of 18 grounds (Scottish Government).
- Register with every council you let in, every three years. The fee is £85 plus £20 per property (Scottish Landlord Register).
- Meet the repairing standard: weather tight, free from damp and mould, adequately heated and insulated, safe electrics with an RCD and an inspection at least every five years, an annual gas safety check, interlinked smoke alarms in the living room, hallways and landings, a heat alarm in the kitchen, carbon monoxide detectors where needed, and a legionella risk assessment (mygov.scot).
- Since 6 October 2026, reports of damp or mould must be investigated within 10 working days, with a written summary within 3 working days of finishing and repairs started within 5 working days if substantial damp or mould is found (Scottish Government).
- Deposits are capped at two months’ rent and protected within 30 working days with SafeDeposits Scotland, Letting Protection Service Scotland or mydeposits Scotland (mygov.scot).
- Rent can rise once in any 12-month period, with at least three months’ written notice (mygov.scot). Adverts placed from 1 April 2026 must include rent information.
Northern Ireland
- For tenancies from 1 April 2023, deposits are capped at one month’s rent, protected within 28 days, with the prescribed information within 35 days (Department for Communities).
- Rent cannot rise within 12 months of the tenancy starting or of the last increase, and three months’ written notice is needed (Department for Communities).
- Give a free Tenancy Information Notice within 28 days of the tenancy starting, and written receipts for cash payments (nidirect).
- Electrical installations must be inspected before a new tenancy starts and at least every five years, with copies to tenants within 28 days (legislation.gov.uk).
- Homes need smoke alarms in the main living room and every hallway or landing, a heat alarm in the kitchen and carbon monoxide alarms wherever there is a fixed combustion appliance or flue, with smoke and heat alarms interlinked.
- Every private landlord must join the Landlord Registration Scheme. One fee of £70 online or £80 on paper covers all properties for three years (nidirect).
- Longer notice-to-quit periods were consulted on from January to March 2026, but had not been made when this guide was checked.
Work through the list home by home, and keep the evidence for each step. That record is what protects you if anything is ever questioned.
Where software helps
Every date in this checklist can be tracked for you: certificates read and filed, copies to tenants logged, and reminders sent to you, your agent or your engineer before anything lapses, with each home set up for the nation it is in.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Domestic private rented property: minimum energy efficiency standard · updated 5 May 2026
- HSE, Gas safety check records and what to keep · updated 23 Sep 2024
- legislation.gov.uk, Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, regulation 3 · checked 23 Oct 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, draft electrical safety amendment 2026 · approved by Parliament 20 Oct 2026
- GOV.UK, Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm regulations: guidance for landlords and tenants · updated 29 Jul 2022
- GOV.UK, Tenancy deposit protection · checked 23 Oct 2026
- GOV.UK, Tenant Fees Act 2019: statutory guidance, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 · updated 1 May 2026
- GOV.UK, Code of practice for landlords and their agents: the right to rent scheme · 1 Oct 2026
- GOV.UK, How to rent (withdrawn) · updated 1 May 2026
- HSE, Legionella and landlords' responsibilities · updated 30 Sep 2024
- Welsh Government, Renting homes: frequently asked questions for landlords · updated 29 Apr 2026
- mygov.scot, Repairs and standards · updated 6 Oct 2026
- nidirect, Private rent and tenancies · checked 23 Oct 2026
- Government Housing Hub, Get ready to register · checked 23 Oct 2026
This guide summarises the law and official guidance as we understand it on 23 October 2026. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual situations differ, so check the sources above or take advice from a solicitor, accountant or your trade body before acting.