UK landlord compliance checklist (England)

Right to Rent checks completed for all adult occupiers, with copies retained.

A Gas Safe registered engineer checks every gas appliance and flue each year, and the tenant is given the record (CP12) before moving in, or within 28 days of each later check.

An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is in place, renewed at least every five years, and supplied to the tenant.

The property holds an Energy Performance Certificate of band E or better, or a registered exemption, and the tenant has a copy. Letting below band E can cost up to £5,000 per property.

The written information the law requires about the tenancy is given before it is agreed. A tenant whose written tenancy began before 1 May 2026 should have been given the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. The fine for missing either is up to £7,000.

Smoke alarms are fitted on every storey and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with fixed combustion appliances, tested on day one.

The deposit is no more than five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks' rent at £50,000 or more (Tenant Fees Act 2019), and it is protected in one of the three government-approved schemes within 30 days of receipt, with the prescribed information served.

No prohibited fees are charged; only permitted payments under the Tenant Fees Act are taken.

If an agent handles money, client money protection membership is in place and disclosed.

No rent is taken before the tenancy agreement is signed, no more than one month's rent after that, and no offer above the advertised rent is invited or accepted.

HMO licensing, and any selective or additional licensing operated by the local council, is checked and held where required.

A legionella risk assessment has been considered and recorded.

Repairs are handled within reasonable timescales and records kept, including under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act.

Rent goes up no more than once a year, by the statutory section 13 notice (Form 4A) with at least two months' notice, and to no more than the market rent.

Possession is sought only on a statutory ground, with the prescribed notice. Most grounds need four months' notice, and the grounds for selling or moving in cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy.