Landlord Compliance Checklist: 46 Actions to Stay Compliant

Section 21 was abolished from 1st May 2026. If you served a valid Section 21 notice before that date, you can only start court proceedings by 31st July 2026 at the latest - or sooner, if six months from the day the notice was served expires first. A notice served in early 2026 can therefore expire before 31st July. Once the earlier of those two dates passes without a court application, the notice can no longer be used - seek independent legal advice.

All existing fixed-term ASTs converted to Assured Periodic Tenancies on 1st May 2026. Fixed-term end dates in existing agreements no longer apply.

Existing tenancies automatically convert to assured periodic tenancies on 1st May 2026 - no new agreement needed for those. However, any new tenancy signed on or after 1st May 2026 must be drafted as an assured periodic tenancy from the start. Fixed-term ASTs no longer exist as a tenancy type. Update your templates now if you let properties regularly.

All new tenancies signed on or after 1st May 2026 must include a Written Statement of mandatory terms before the tenancy is signed. This is a legal requirement.

Section 21 is abolished. All possessions must now use Section 8 grounds. Study the mandatory grounds in Schedule 2 Part I (Grounds 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2ZA-2ZD, 4, 4A, 5-5H, 6, 6A, 6B, 7, 7A, 7B and 8) and the discretionary grounds (Ground 9 onwards), and work out which apply to your circumstances.

From 1st May 2026 you may only increase rent once per year using the prescribed Section 13 notice (Form 4A) with at least two months' notice. Increases must reflect open market rent - if a tenant challenges at tribunal, rent will not be set above market rate. Review your current practices and update any rent review clauses.

From 1st May 2026, landlords cannot require or accept more than one month's rent in advance from new tenants. Existing arrangements are not affected but all new tenancies must comply from this date.

All deposits must be protected in a government-approved scheme and prescribed information served within 30 days of receipt. Non-compliance makes serving a valid Section 8 notice significantly harder.

The How to Rent guide was withdrawn from the private rented sector on 1st May 2026. For existing tenancies (signed before 1st May 2026), the official Government Information Sheet was required to be served on every named tenant by 31st May 2026. Emailing a link is not valid - the PDF itself must be attached to an email or given as a hard copy. For verbal-only tenancies before 1st May 2026, a Written Statement of Terms was required instead. If you have not yet served, seek independent legal advice. For existing tenancies the only consequence of not serving it is a civil penalty of up to £7,000; it does not block any possession ground.

A valid Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) is a legal requirement and a core safety obligation, enforced in its own right. It is not a Section 8 possession precondition - a missing gas certificate blocking possession was a Section 21 requirement (Deregulation Act 2015), and Section 21 was abolished on 1st May 2026.

An Energy Performance Certificate of band E or above is currently required for all privately rented properties (the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) Regulations 2015, which are separate from the Renters' Rights Act). A rise to band C has been proposed and consulted on but is not yet confirmed in law and no date is settled. Begin planning energy improvements for D-rated or below properties as a precaution.

Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, fit a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room containing a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker (for example a gas boiler, gas fire or oil boiler - a gas cooker itself is excluded). On a new tenancy, check every alarm is in proper working order on the day the tenant is entitled to possession. There is no recurring statutory test after that: your ongoing duty is to repair or replace an alarm as soon as reasonably practicable once a tenant reports it is not working. Enforcement runs through a council remedial notice giving 28 days to act, and only failing to comply with that notice risks a civil penalty charge of up to £5,000 - fixing the alarm within the notice period costs nothing.

Right to Rent (Immigration Act 2014) survived the Renters' Rights Act unchanged. Before the tenancy is entered into, check that every adult who will occupy the property (aged 18 or over, whether or not named on the agreement) has the right to rent. For anyone with a time-limited immigration status, the check must fall within the 28 days ending the day before the agreement - checking too early loses your statutory excuse. Keep a clear, unalterable copy of the evidence for at least one year after the tenancy ends, then securely destroy it. A breach carries a civil penalty (the Home Office code sets £5,000 for a first breach involving a lodger and £10,000 for an occupier, higher for repeat breaches, under a £20,000 statutory ceiling per contravention), and a landlord who knew the occupier was disqualified can commit a criminal offence.