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The 2026 landlord compliance checklist for England

Guide · about 7 min read · Reviewed on

Letting a property in England comes with a long list of legal duties, and with the Renters' Rights Act 2025 reshaping the rules, keeping on top of them matters more than ever. This is a plain-English checklist of the main things to have in place, split into what to sort before you let and what to keep up during the tenancy. It is a summary rather than a complete legal guide, so treat it as a starting point and check the current rules on GOV.UK. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is being commenced in stages, so if you are reading this after August 2026, confirm the current position on GOV.UK.

Before you let

  • Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). You need a valid EPC to market and let a property, and you must give a copy to the tenant. The current minimum rating is E under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, though the standards and their timetable have been subject to change. A higher minimum of C has been proposed for future years but has been under review, so check the latest MEES guidance on GOV.UK before you rely on E. For the detail, see what EPC rating you need to rent out a property.
  • Gas safety record (CP12). If the property has gas, you need an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the record given to new tenants before they move in.
  • Electrical safety report (EICR). A satisfactory Electrical Installation Condition Report, with any C1, C2 or FI issues put right.
  • Right to Rent checks. Following the Home Office Right to Rent guidance, check that every adult who will live in the property has the right to rent in England before the tenancy begins, including any repeat checks for time-limited status. If a tenant proves their status digitally, they may use a Right to Rent share code. This is a simplified overview, so use the official guidance for the document lists and method.
  • Deposit protection. If you take a deposit, protect it in a government-approved scheme within 30 days and give the tenant the prescribed information. Getting this wrong can affect your ability to recover possession and may lead to penalties, so it is worth doing carefully.
  • "How to Rent" guide. Give the tenant the latest version of the government's How to Rent guide.
  • Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. A smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, all working at the start of the tenancy.
  • Legionella risk. Assess and manage the risk from legionella bacteria in the water system in line with HSE guidance. For most domestic lets a simple, proportionate risk assessment is enough.

During the tenancy

  • Renew the gas safety check every year and give the tenant the new record.
  • Renew the EICR at least every five years, or sooner if the report says so.
  • Keep the home in good repair. Your existing repair obligations apply now, and serious hazards have long been enforceable under the Housing Act 2004 through tools such as improvement notices and prohibition orders. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 amended that Act to add a further option, commenced on 22 June 2026 so far as it relates to financial penalties for category 1 hazards. A local housing authority may now impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 where qualifying residential premises contain a category 1 hazard and, in the authority's opinion, it would have been reasonably practicable to secure its removal. A category 1 hazard is the more serious of the two hazard categories used when councils assess housing conditions, and ordinary private rented homes can come within scope, so if a property has a serious hazard this is one of the routes a council may consider. "Qualifying residential premises" is a statutory term with its own detail and exclusions, and whether the penalty is used at all is for the council to decide, so check the current GOV.UK guidance for how this applies to a particular property.
  • The Decent Homes Standard extension and the hazard timescales are still to come. These are separate from the penalty described above. The Act makes provision for extending the Decent Homes Standard to private rented homes, and for new timescales for dealing with serious hazards, and neither of those two measures is in force yet. Both depend on further regulations, so check GOV.UK for what applies and from when.
  • Handle rent increases correctly. Since 1 May 2026 increases are limited to once a year and must follow the statutory process, as we cover in how a landlord can increase rent under the Act. There is also a cap on rent in advance of one month's rent. Contractual terms in older agreements can work differently, so check the current position before you serve a notice.
  • Watch for the database and redress scheme. The Act makes provision for a Private Rented Sector Database and a landlord Ombudsman scheme. Neither is operating yet, and the scope, phasing and any exemptions will be set out in regulations, so check GOV.UK when they launch rather than assuming they will apply to you in a particular way.
  • Keep your records and notices in order. Now that Section 21 has gone, possession depends on the grounds set out in the legislation, and your safety and information documents can be relevant to those. Keeping them current is good practice. This is not guidance on how to end a tenancy, so take professional advice on any possession step.

Why records are the thread through all of it

Almost every item on this list produces a document with a date on it, and almost every problem landlords run into comes from a document that expired without anyone noticing, or one that could not be found when it was needed. With fixed terms giving way to rolling tenancies, there is no natural renewal moment to jog your memory, so the responsibility to track the dates sits squarely with you.

Keeping every certificate, date and document in one place, with a reminder before each date you have added falls due, is what turns this checklist from a source of worry into a set of small, routine tasks. That is exactly what VEYLO X is built to do. It is a record-keeping tool: it keeps your documents together and reminds you ahead of the dates you add. It does not give legal advice or decide whether you meet your obligations, and the decisions always stay with you. Reminders are an organisational aid rather than a compliance guarantee, so your own deadlines remain yours to check.

Sources

The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts. How we write these guides.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and it is a summary rather than a complete list. It reflects the position as at August 2026: the main Renters' Rights Act 2025 tenancy changes took effect on 1 May 2026, and the Housing Act 2004 amendment described above was commenced on 22 June 2026 so far as it relates to financial penalties for category 1 hazards, rather than to the wider standards those provisions will eventually support, while some further measures, including the extension of the Decent Homes Standard, the new timescales for dealing with serious hazards, the database and the Ombudsman, are still to be commenced. For the current requirements, see the GOV.UK guidance for landlords and consider taking professional advice for your situation.