Landlord: need to know.

Assured periodic tenancies replaced qualifying assured shorthold tenancies on 1 May 2026. Other tenancy types have their own rules.

For covered rent increases, use section 13 and Form 4A with at least two months’ notice. Increases are limited to once a year and cannot take effect during the first year. A tenant can challenge a rent above the open-market level.

New section 21 notices cannot be served from 1 May 2026. Use an applicable possession ground, the correct section 8 notice and its notice period. If the tenant remains, follow the court process; the ground determines the requirements.

A holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent. The tenancy-deposit limit is five weeks where annual rent is below £50,000, or six weeks at £50,000 or more.

Where protection rules apply, protect the deposit and give the required scheme information within 30 days of receiving it.

Do not ask for, encourage or accept rent before both sides sign. Between signing and the start date, the usual limit is one month for monthly rent, or 28 days for other rental periods. Specified exceptions apply: check the government guide before taking payment.

Arrange annual checks of relevant landlord-provided gas appliances and flues by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Give new tenants the gas-safety record before occupation and existing tenants a copy within 28 days of the check.

Have fixed electrics inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, or sooner if the report requires it. Give the report to new tenants before occupation and existing tenants within 28 days.

Complete required electrical remedial or investigative work within 28 days, or the shorter period stated in the report. Keep the resulting evidence.

Provide a smoke alarm on each storey with living accommodation. Provide a carbon-monoxide alarm in each living-accommodation room containing a fixed combustion appliance, excluding a gas cooker.

Check the alarms work when a new tenancy starts. Repair or replace a faulty alarm once notified and the fault is established.

Keep records of repair reports, access arrangements and completed work. Damp and other hazards need a response appropriate to their seriousness. The private-rented Awaab’s Law proposals have a separate timetable, noted below.

Check whether an EPC and the minimum-energy rules apply to the property. Review the current certificate and the evidence for any exemption.

Government has announced a future equivalent-C standard for 1 October 2030, with further legislation planned. That future policy does not make C the current minimum.

Shared accommodation with five or more people forming more than one household usually needs mandatory HMO licensing. Local additional-licensing schemes can cover smaller HMOs.

Selective licensing can cover other rented homes in designated areas. Check the address, intended use and council requirements before relying on another property’s position.

For relevant residential lettings in England, complete right-to-rent checks on every adult occupier before a new tenancy, including adults not named on the agreement. Apply checks consistently; time-limited permission may require a later check.

Before agreeing a new assured tenancy, give the prescribed written key terms. For most qualifying written tenancies already in place before 1 May 2026, the official Information Sheet was due by 31 May 2026: that deadline has passed.

The Information Sheet must be supplied as the official PDF in print or as an electronic attachment; a link alone is not sufficient. Older verbal-only tenancies needed written key terms instead. Transitional cases can have different timing.

For covered assured lets, written adverts must state a specific rent. Do not encourage or accept rental bids above that amount.

Do not discriminate because applicants have children or receive benefits. Check the official guidance for the scope and limited exceptions.

Consider written pet requests fairly and respond in writing, normally within 28 days. Requests for further information can affect the deadline. The rules do not require every pet request to be accepted.

Registration and a licence perform different jobs. Check which party will carry out each letting or management activity.

Council and HMO licensing can apply separately to the property.

Use the correct contract and current terms for the circumstances. Ending a contract or changing its terms needs the Welsh procedure.

Changes concerning discrimination against people with children or receiving benefits took effect on 1 June 2026. Check the current government contract guidance.

Keep the payment date, scheme record and evidence of the information supplied. Ask the scheme or a qualified adviser about an unusual or historic arrangement.

Use the Welsh fitness guidance to check the property’s requirements and the records to provide. Do not assume that England’s alarm wording is identical.

Keep repair reports, inspection records and evidence of work together, and check any additional council/HMO conditions.

Keep registration information current and confirm which council covers the property. A registration does not replace the other duties for the letting.

For private residential tenancies, rent can normally be increased no more than once in a 12-month period. Use the current official process, including the tenant’s challenge route.

Different tenancy types can have different rules. Check current guidance before serving a notice or seeking possession.

This is a working-day deadline. Keep the tenancy start date, scheme evidence and information provided in the letting record. Check the statutory scope and exemptions.

Use the Scottish responsibilities and repair guidance for the property’s checks, records and tenant rights.

Take repair reports seriously and keep evidence of inspections, access arrangements and work. HMO licence conditions can add requirements.

Give the tenant a free Tenancy Information Notice within 28 days of the tenancy starting.

Check the current information requirements and any separate HMO licence needed for the property.

Record the date the deposit arrives and treat protection and information as separate tasks. Use an approved scheme and retain the relevant evidence.

The rules also normally prevent a rent increase during the first 12 months of the tenancy.

Use the current Northern Ireland process for the tenancy. Ending a tenancy has separate notice requirements; do not use an England section 21 or section 8 template.

The fixed-electrical rules require inspection at least every five years. They applied to new private tenancies from 1 April 2025, with existing tenancies required to comply by 1 December 2025. Those transition dates have passed.

Use the Northern Ireland safety guidance and the property’s reports. HMOs are covered through their separate licensing scheme.