For renters

What should I look for when I view a rental property in England?

Guide · about 4 min read · Covers the law as at November 2026 · Last checked on 1 November 2026

Look hardest at what you cannot change once you have signed, and ask for the documents the law already entitles you to see. Most viewing advice stops at the first half. The second half is the part with deadlines attached: the energy performance certificate is normally due to you by the viewing at the latest, the gas safety record before you move in, and the electrical report within 28 days of a written request.

These are the rules that attach to an assured tenancy, which covers most private renting in England. Sharing with a resident landlord, social housing, supported housing and accommodation a council arranges are each outside it or treated differently, so check which kind of arrangement you have first.

The documents you can ask for, and when they are due

These are not favours. Regulation 6(2) of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 requires a valid energy performance certificate to be made available to a prospective tenant free of charge at the earliest opportunity, and in any event no later than the earlier of two moments: the first time written information about the property is given to somebody who asked for it, or the moment a person who asked to view it views it. So by the time you are standing there it is normally already due, subject to the narrow exceptions in regulation 6(3). Our guide to whether a rental property needs an EPC covers the rating itself.

The gas safety record comes later. Regulation 36(6)(b) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 requires a copy of the last record for each appliance and flue to be given to a new tenant before that tenant occupies the premises. You do not have to wait until then to ask whether one exists.

The electrical safety report has its own route: under regulation 3(3)(e)(ii) of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, a prospective tenant who asks in writing must be given it within 28 days. There is a second route that needs no request at all: regulation 3(3)(e)(i) requires a new tenant to be given the most recent report before they occupy the premises. A viewing is a good moment to put that request in writing, and our guide to how often an EICR is needed explains what the codes in it mean.

One more worth asking about at the door: whether the property needs a council licence, and whether it has one. A house in multiple occupation with five or more occupiers in two or more households needs one where it also meets one of the prescribed tests, and a council can designate an area so that smaller shared houses, or ordinary lets, need one too.

What to look at while you are in the room

Run the taps and the shower together and watch the pressure. Open and close every window and the front door, because a door that does not close properly is a security problem and a draught. Look behind furniture and in the corners of ceilings for damp, and at the seals around baths and showers. Find the meters, the stopcock and the fuse board, and check the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, which our guide to the alarm rules sets out. Check your phone signal in the rooms you would actually use it in. Note where the bins go and whether the bin store is full.

The questions worth asking out loud

Who is the landlord, and are you dealing with them or with an agent? What will the deposit be? What does the rent cover, and what is metered separately? When does the current tenancy end, and why is the last tenant leaving? What has been repaired in the last twelve months? Are the EPC, the gas record and the electrical report available now?

The answers matter. Whether they come straight matters more. Anything that would change your mind is worth getting in writing, which is part of what VEYLO X is for. VEYLO X is a software platform for renting and letting in England, where the landlord writes the tenancy record, VEYLO X keeps it, and the renter sees the same one. The renter profile is free for renters. It does not assess anyone, does not decide any outcome, and takes no part in whether a tenancy goes ahead.

What nobody should be asking you for at a viewing

Money for the viewing itself. Being shown round is not on the permitted list at all, so there is no lawful version of a charge to get through the door. Two other requests are different and worth telling apart from it. A holding deposit, which reserves the property while things are arranged, is lawful at this stage and is capped at one week's rent by paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019; it does not buy a viewing. Rent is not payable before the tenancy is entered into, and section 5A(1)(a) of the same Act goes further than refusing the payment: a landlord must not invite or encourage one. A request to pay for the viewing itself, or for rent before there is a tenancy, is a reason to stop and check who you are dealing with, and our guide to spotting a rental scam in England sets out how.

Common questions

What should I look for when viewing a property to rent?

Start with what you cannot change once you have signed: damp, heating, water pressure, how the windows and doors close, where the meters are, and mobile signal. Then ask for the paperwork, because the law already entitles you to some of it. Regulation 6(2) of the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 normally requires the energy performance certificate to be made available to you by the time you view the property. The gas safety record has to be given to a new tenant before they occupy the premises, under regulation 36(6)(b) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. The electrical safety report reaches a new tenant before occupation under regulation 3(3)(e)(i), and a prospective tenant within 28 days of a written request under regulation 3(3)(e)(ii).

What questions should I ask when viewing a property to rent?

Ask who the landlord is and whether you are dealing with them or with an agent. Ask whether the property needs a council licence and whether it has one. Ask what the deposit will be and what the monthly rent covers. Ask when the current tenancy ends and why the last tenant left. Ask whether the energy performance certificate, the gas safety record and the electrical report are available now. Ask what has been repaired in the last year. The answers matter less than whether they are given straight, and anything important is worth having in writing.

Should I pay anything at a viewing?

Not for the viewing itself: being shown round is not a permitted payment, so there is no lawful charge for access. A holding deposit is a different thing and can lawfully be asked for at this stage if you want to reserve the property, capped at one week's rent, as can a tenancy deposit once you are taking the place. What should make you stop is being asked to pay for the viewing, or for rent before there is a tenancy. A holding deposit is capped at one week's rent by paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 1 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019, and it only reserves a property while things are arranged. Rent cannot be required before the tenancy is entered into, and section 5A(1)(a) of the same Act goes further: a landlord must not even invite or encourage such a payment. A request for rent, a fee or a deposit on the spot is a reason to slow down, not a formality.

Sources

The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the position in England as at November 2026: the main Renters' Rights Act 2025 tenancy provisions took effect on 1 May 2026, and a few further measures are still to be commenced, so some detail may have changed since. It does not cover how a tenancy is ended. Free advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice for your own situation.

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