The Documents Every Landlord Needs Before Starting a New Tenancy (2026 Checklist)

Every time you start a new tenancy in England, there's a set of documents you must have in place before the tenant moves in, a set you must give to the tenant, and a set you should have for your own protection. Miss a required one and the consequences range from fines to being unable to recover possession of your property.

This checklist is updated for the post-RRA framework now in force since 1 May 2026.

Before you market the property

These need to be sorted before you even list the property, let alone sign a tenant.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Must be minimum E rating to let legally. Valid for ten years. Must be available to prospective tenants from the point you market the property. Fine up to £5,000 for non-compliance.

Gas Safety Certificate (CP12). Annual inspection of all gas appliances, pipework, and flues by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Must be current before a tenant moves in and renewed every twelve months. Fine up to £6,000. If you have no gas supply to the property, this doesn't apply — but document that fact.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). Inspection of fixed electrical installations by a qualified electrician. Must have a satisfactory rating. Valid for five years. Must be provided to the tenant before they move in.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Smoke alarms on every floor. Carbon monoxide alarms in any room with a fuel-burning appliance. You must test them at the start of each new tenancy and document that you've done so.

Legionella risk assessment. Not a legal certificate, but landlords have a duty of care under health and safety guidance to assess and manage the risk of Legionella in the water system. A documented assessment protects you if questions arise.

Landlord insurance. Not strictly a legal requirement unless your mortgage lender demands it (most do). Buildings insurance, landlord liability, and rent guarantee cover are strongly recommended. Have documentation showing your cover is current.

Documents to give the tenant

These must be provided to the tenant before or at the start of the tenancy. Failing to provide them can block you from recovering possession.

Tenancy agreement. The core contract. Since 1 May 2026, this must be an assured periodic tenancy (APT) — no fixed terms. It must not contain void clauses like Section 21 references, contractual rent review mechanisms, or blanket pet prohibitions. New tenancies also require prescribed terms set by the government.

Government Information Sheet. This replaced the "How to Rent" guide from 1 May 2026. You must give the tenant the latest version before the tenancy starts. For existing tenancies (those in place before 1 May 2026), the deadline to serve was 31 May 2026 — landlords who haven't yet served should do so immediately, as late service is better than no service. Failure to serve blocks Section 8 possession proceedings and carries a civil penalty up to £7,000. See our Information Sheet compliance guide.

Deposit prescribed information. If you take a deposit, it must be protected in an approved scheme (DPS, MyDeposits, or TDS) within 30 calendar days. You must also serve the tenant with the scheme's prescribed information within the same period. Failure means you cannot use most Section 8 grounds for possession, and the tenant can claim up to three times the deposit amount. The only Section 8 grounds NOT blocked by deposit protection failures are Grounds 7A (serious criminal/ASB) and 14 (nuisance/antisocial behaviour) — for every other ground, deposit handling must be in order before serving notice.

Gas Safety Certificate. A copy of the current CP12 must be given to the tenant before they move in.

EICR. A copy must be provided to the tenant before they occupy the property.

EPC. A copy must be available to the tenant. Best practice is to provide it with the other move-in documents.

Section 48 notice. A written notice giving the tenant an address in England or Wales where notices can be served on you as the landlord. Until this is served, no rent is legally due.

Documents for your own protection

These aren't legally required, but skipping them is asking for trouble.

Inventory and schedule of condition. A detailed, room-by-room record of the property's condition at the start of the tenancy, with photographs. This is your primary evidence in any deposit dispute at adjudication. Without it, you'll almost certainly lose.

Right to Rent check record. You must verify that the tenant has the legal right to rent in England by checking their passport, visa, or Home Office share code. You must keep a record of what you checked, when, and the document references. Fine up to £3,000 per occupier for failing to check.

Tenant reference records. Not required by law, but references from a previous landlord and employer give you evidence that you did your due diligence. If problems arise later, this shows you took reasonable steps.

Guarantor agreement. If the tenant has a guarantor, this must be a properly executed deed to be enforceable. Don't rely on a casual written agreement — it may not hold up.

Standing order instructions. Clear written instructions for the tenant on how to pay rent: your bank details, the exact monthly amount, the payment reference, and the payment date. Prevents confusion and late payments caused by setup errors.

Tenant welcome pack. A practical guide covering the things tenants always ask about in the first week: how the boiler works, which day the bins go out, where to park, how to report maintenance issues, emergency contacts. Not a legal document, but it reduces early queries and sets a professional tone.

Post-RRA requirements (since 1 May 2026)

The Renters' Rights Act added a few new requirements on top of everything above.

Pet request process. You can no longer include a blanket "no pets" clause. Tenants can request permission to keep a pet, and you must respond within 28 days with reasonable grounds if refusing. There is no explicit "deemed consent" rule — failing to respond is a breach of an implied term, and the tenant's remedy is to apply for specific performance or escalate to the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman. You cannot require pet damage insurance (the provision was removed at Lords Report Stage in June 2025) — pet insurance is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Have a consent letter template ready for when requests come in. See our pet consent guide.

Rent increase via Section 13 only. You cannot increase rent through a contractual clause. The only route is a Section 13 notice using the new Form 4A. Two months' notice, maximum once every 52 weeks (the Act uses weeks, not months), and the tenant can challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal cannot set the rent higher than what the landlord proposed.

PRS Database registration. Not yet live, but expected from late 2026 into 2027. All landlords will need to register themselves and each property on a national database. Start assembling your property records now so registration is straightforward when it launches.

The cost of getting it wrong

This isn't just admin. The penalties for missing documents are severe and practical.

Failing to protect the deposit or serve prescribed information means you cannot use most Section 8 grounds for possession. The only exceptions are Grounds 7A and 14. For every other ground, your case is blocked before it starts.

Failing to provide the Government Information Sheet (or the current How to Rent guide) also blocks possession proceedings.

Fines for missing gas certificates, EPC failures, and Right to Rent non-compliance range from £3,000 to £6,000 per offence.

And losing a deposit dispute because you didn't do an inventory at move-in costs you the full deposit amount — typically one month's rent.

The documents listed above take a few hours to prepare at the start of a tenancy. The cost of not having them can run into thousands of pounds and months of court proceedings.