The Complete UK Landlord Checklist for 2026

Between safety certificates, deposit rules and the Renters'' Rights Act 2025, the list of landlord legal duties keeps growing. This checklist covers everything you need for a compliant tenancy in England in 2026, in the order you need to do it.

Before marketing the property

• EPC: valid Energy Performance Certificate, rating E or above. Check the government proposals for higher future ratings so you can plan upgrades.
• Gas safety (CP12): annual check by a Gas Safe engineer if there is any gas appliance or supply.
• EICR: electrical installation report, renewed at least every five years.
• Smoke alarms: at least one working alarm on every storey, tested on the day the tenancy starts.
• Carbon monoxide alarms: in every room with a fixed combustion appliance, including gas boilers.
• Legionella risk assessment: a simple documented assessment for most residential properties.
• Licensing: check whether the property needs an HMO licence or falls under a selective licensing scheme with your council.

When setting up the tenancy

• Written tenancy agreement reflecting the new periodic tenancy rules. Old AST templates with fixed terms and Section 21 references are out of date.
• Right to Rent check on every adult occupier, with dated copies of the evidence.
• Deposit protection in a government-approved scheme within 30 days, plus the Prescribed Information served on the tenant and signed for.
• How to Rent guide: give the tenant the current version.
• Inventory and schedule of condition, signed by both sides, with dated photos.
• Written information statement of the key tenancy terms, as required by the 2025 Act.

During the tenancy

• Annual gas safety check, with the certificate given to the tenant within 28 days.
• Mid-tenancy inspections, typically every six months, with written reports.
• Rent records: a clean, dated rent statement for every tenancy.
• Repairs: respond within reasonable timescales, and urgently for hazards. Awaab''s Law-style timescales for damp and mould are being extended to the private sector.
• Rent increases: only via Section 13, once every 12 months, two months'' notice.

New duties under the Renters'' Rights Act 2025

• No Section 21 notices and no fixed terms: all tenancies are periodic.
• No rent in advance beyond the permitted amount, and no bidding above the advertised rent.
• Consider tenant pet requests reasonably and respond in writing.
• Register on the national Private Rented Sector database when it opens, and join the landlord ombudsman scheme.
• No blanket bans on tenants with children or those receiving benefits.

Ongoing admin that saves you later

• Keep every certificate, notice, letter and photo in one organised place per property.
• Diarise every expiry date: gas, EICR, EPC, licence, insurance.
• Record rent payments and arrears the day they happen.

What to do this week

• Audit one property against this list and note every gap.
• Set recurring reminders for every certificate expiry.
• If your paperwork lives in email inboxes and drawers, move it into a single system before the new database and ombudsman duties arrive.