First-Time Landlord Checklist UK 2026 (27 Steps)

A first let in England takes 27 steps, and the ones that carry penalties come before the tenant moves in: lender consent, the gas, electrical and energy certificates, the Right to Rent check, the written statement of terms, and then the deposit, protected within 30 days. None of it is hard. Doing it properly takes more steps than most first-time landlords expect. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 and abolished Section 21, so a mistake made on day one can delay getting your property back and cost you money.

Here are the 27 steps for a first let in England, in the order you’ll do them. (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ: see the notes at the end.) Every step is either legally required or strongly protective against a future possession or tribunal claim.

Estimated time to complete all 27 steps: 3–6 weeks from "I’m going to let it" to "tenant moves in."

Phase 1: Before you advertise the property (steps 1–8)

Before your property goes on Rightmove or into an agent’s window, you need to have the legal and commercial structure right. Skipping any of these is where first-time landlords most commonly lose thousands of pounds.

Step 1: Get consent-to-let or remortgage to buy-to-let

Every residential mortgage has an owner-occupier clause. Letting without telling the lender is a breach of your mortgage conditions, and the lender can demand repayment. Options:

1. 1Consent-to-let from your existing lender: the fastest option, often with an admin fee and occasionally a small rate increase. Usually granted for a set period, often around a year.
2. 2Remortgage to a buy-to-let product: the longer-term solution. It typically needs 25%+ equity, and product fees run £500–£2,000.
3. 3Wait until fixed term ends: avoids Early Repayment Charges, often the cheapest option.

Get the lender’s consent letter in writing before you advertise.

Step 2: Check your freeholder covenants (leasehold flats)

If you’re letting a leasehold flat, read the lease carefully. Many leases restrict subletting: they may require the freeholder’s consent, ban short-term lets or require a named tenancy type. Breaching lease covenants can lead to forfeiture (losing the lease) in extreme cases. The freeholder may charge a fee for consent.

Step 3: Check if your property needs a licence

Three types of council licensing may apply:

• Mandatory HMO licence: 5+ unrelated occupants forming 2+ households
• Additional HMO licence: 3–4 occupants in HMO-like arrangements (council-specific)
• Selective licence: any single-family let in a designated area

Check your council’s website, because selective licensing schemes vary hugely. Fees vary by council, so check the council’s own page. Letting without a required licence carries an unlimited fine (or a civil penalty up to £40,000 for offences from 1 May 2026) plus a Rent Repayment Order of up to two years’ rent. It used to block Section 21. It does not bar a Section 8 claim, but the penalty and the repayment order are reason enough to licence it.

Step 4: Register on the Private Rented Sector Database (PRD)

If you let on an assured tenancy in England, you must register on the PRD, both yourself and each let property. The service opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands and becomes required region by region, and every actively let property must be registered by 14 November 2027. The deadline depends on where the property is, not where you live. The fee is £65 a year per property. While the property is empty you do not need to register it yet: the Government says the duty applies to properties that are let, or become let during the rollout.

Step 5: Decide your letting structure

Personal name vs Ltd company is a major decision with long-term tax consequences. Since Section 24 (2020), individual landlords can’t deduct mortgage interest as an expense. They get a 20% tax credit instead (22% from 2027-28), which pushes many into higher-rate tax. Ltd companies pay 19% to 25% corporation tax, depending on profit, and can deduct the full mortgage interest, but taking the money out as dividends adds another layer of tax.

Rule of thumb for 2026:

• 1–2 properties, lower-rate taxpayer: personal name usually wins.
• 3+ properties, higher-rate taxpayer: Ltd company usually wins, especially for new purchases.
• Existing portfolio in personal name: do not transfer without accountant advice: SDLT and CGT can both be due on a transfer.

Speak to a property-specialist accountant before exchange or first-let. See the buy-to-let tax guide for more.

Step 6: Register with HMRC for Self Assessment

If you’re letting in personal name and expect more than £1,000 gross rental income in a tax year, you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October following the tax year. Registering late can lead to a penalty based on the tax paid late. Register via gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment.

Step 7: Arrange landlord insurance

Before marketing begins, line up the quotes. Minimum stack for 2026:

• Buildings (required by mortgage)
• Contents (for anything you provide)
• Public liability £2m–£5m
• Loss of rent (for fire/flood displacement)
• Rent guarantee + legal expenses (now essential post-Section 21)

Premiums vary with the property and the cover, so get two or three quotes. See the full landlord insurance guide.

Step 8: Decide whether to self-manage or use an agent

Letting agents charge either a one-off let-only fee or an ongoing full management fee, usually a percentage of the rent. Fees vary, so get two or three quotes. Self-management saves money but transfers all compliance admin to you. The Tenant Fees Act means you cannot pass agent fees to the tenant. See letting agent vs self-manage for a detailed breakdown.

If you self-manage, from £7.99 a month LetCompliance runs the steps that follow from one login: the advert and applications, referencing ordered in the app, the tenancy agreement pre-filled from your records, the deposit’s 30-day clock and rent by Direct Debit into your own account with no commission taken. Get started

Phase 2: Safety certificates (steps 9–13)

Every item in this section must be valid and in tenant’s hands before check-in. Each one carries its own penalty if it is missing. Only the deposit rules (Step 20) can block most Section 8 possession claims.

Step 9: Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)

Arrange a Gas Safe registered engineer to inspect every gas appliance and issue a CP12 certificate. Valid for 12 months. Prices vary, so get a quote. Copy must be given to the tenant before move-in (and within 28 days of each annual renewal). A missing CP12 can mean an unlimited fine. It doesn’t bar a Section 8 claim (only deposit non-compliance does), but it’s the first thing a defence will raise. See gas safety guide.

Step 10: EICR (electrical)

Commission an Electrical Installation Condition Report from a qualified electrician (NICEIC, NAPIT, STROMA registered). Valid for up to 5 years (or the period specified in the report, often shorter). Items coded C1, C2 or FI must be dealt with within 28 days (or sooner if the report says), and you must send written confirmation of the work to the tenant and the council within 28 days of finishing it. Prices vary with the size of the property, so get a quote. See EICR guide.

Step 11: EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)

Must be Band E or higher to let (current MEES). Band C for all privately rented homes by 1 October 2030 is planned (government response, January 2026) but is not law yet; E is the current minimum. Valid for 10 years. Cost: £60–£120. Must be given to prospective tenants on viewing and before move-in. See EPC Band C deadline.

Step 12: Smoke and CO alarms

Smoke alarm on every storey of the property. CO alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (except gas cookers), since 1 October 2022. Must be tested on the day the tenant moves in, and ideally photographed with a dated test log. Budget: £25–£50 per property. See smoke & CO alarms guide.

Step 13: PAT test (portable appliances)

Not strictly required by statute for most lets, but recommended and often insurance-mandated. Test every landlord-supplied portable electrical item (kettle, microwave, lamp, etc.). Re-test every 1–2 years. Budget: £50–£120 per property.

Phase 3: Tenant referencing and Right to Rent (steps 14–18)

Step 14: Tenant referencing

Use a professional referencing service, run through a UK credit reference agency, to check:

• Credit history (CCJs, bankruptcy, IVAs)
• Employment status and income (30x monthly rent gross, typical threshold)
• Previous landlord reference
• Identity verification

After Section 21 abolition, rent guarantee insurers now require documented referencing as a policy condition. Don’t skip this step.

Step 15: Right to Rent check

Legal requirement for all England lets since 2016. Check every adult tenant’s immigration status via:

• Online share code for eVisa holders: they get it at gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent and you check it at gov.uk/view-right-to-rent
• Physical documents for British/Irish citizens
• At a distance: a digital check through a registered provider (a British or Irish passport, or an Irish passport card) or the online share code; otherwise the originals are checked in person

Keep a copy of documents and a record of when and how the check was done. For time-limited right to rent, re-check just before the later of the end of their permission or 12 months after your last check. Penalties: up to £20,000 per illegally-let adult. See Right to Rent checks.

Step 16: Guarantor (if required)

If affordability is marginal, ask for a UK-based guarantor with 50x+ monthly rent gross income. Guarantor should sign a separate Deed of Guarantee under seal (witnessed signature), not just a line in the tenancy agreement.

Step 17: Holding deposit (if applicable)

Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, you can take a holding deposit of up to 1 week’s rent to reserve the property. The deadline for agreeing the tenancy is 15 days after you take it. If the tenancy goes ahead, it is repaid or put towards the first rent or deposit; if it doesn’t, refund it within 7 days unless one of the exceptions below applies. Can be retained only if the tenant misleads you, fails Right-to-Rent, or withdraws without cause.

Step 18: Deposit amount

Deposits are capped at 5 weeks’ rent (annual rent under £50,000) or 6 weeks (annual rent of £50,000 or more).

Phase 4: Tenancy paperwork (steps 19–23)

Step 19: Draft the tenancy agreement

Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 all tenancies are now periodic rolling agreements from day one, and fixed-term ASTs are gone, so a template written before 1 May 2026 is out of date. Your agreement must reflect:

• Periodic from start (no fixed term)
• Rent amount, frequency, due date
• Notice periods in line with RRA defaults (tenant 2 months, landlord grounds-specific)
• No rent review clauses: rent can only be raised via a formal Section 13 notice, and not more often than every 52 weeks
• Pet clauses reflecting "reasonable grounds to refuse" standard
• Full landlord name and address (including service address in E&W)

Steps 19 to 22 in one run. In LetCompliance the agreement is written as an assured periodic tenancy for England, with the written statement of terms in it (Step 22), pre-filled from the property and tenant records you have already entered, and e-signed online. Once it is made, one click starts the deposit’s 30-day clock from the day you received the money, with reminders 14, 7 and 1 day before protection and the Prescribed Information are due (Step 20). The move-in pack then sends the gas safety record, EICR, EPC and Prescribed Information to the tenant in one email, with a dated record of each document, so you can show what was sent and when. Get started, from £7.99 a month →

Step 20: Take the deposit and protect within 30 days

Protect the deposit in DPS, MyDeposits, or TDS within 30 days of receipt. Serve the Prescribed Information (scheme certificate + a template leaflet) within the same 30 days. Use the deposit protection deadline calculator to check dates.

Penalty for failure: 1–3x deposit to the tenant, plus the court cannot make a possession order on any Section 8 claim except on Grounds 7A and 14 until it’s put right. See deposit protection guide.

Step 21: The How to Rent booklet (withdrawn 1 May 2026)

Do not serve How to Rent on a new tenancy. GOV.UK withdrew the How to Rent guide on 1 May 2026; new tenancies get the written statement of terms instead (Step 22). You only keep a copy of How to Rent where you served a Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026: for those tenancies it stays on file as historical evidence. For every new let, skip straight to Step 22.

Step 22: Provide the written statement of terms

From 1 May 2026, every new tenancy must be given a written statement of terms before the tenancy is entered into (penalty up to £7,000). This, not the withdrawn How to Rent guide, is the new-tenancy information duty. The separate Information Sheet was a one-off catch-up for tenancies that already existed on 1 May 2026 (deadline was 31 May 2026). See how to serve and prove the RRA Information Sheet.

Step 23: Inventory + check-in report

Commission an independent inventory clerk or produce a thorough self-prepared inventory with photos of every room, every defect, and every meter reading. Ask the tenant to sign the inventory, or note any changes, within a few days of moving in. This is your single strongest evidence in any future deposit dispute. Budget: £60–£200 if using an independent clerk.

Phase 5: Ongoing setup (steps 24–27)

Step 24: Set up a clean bank account for rental income

Keep rental income and expenses completely separate from personal banking. Use a free business current account (Starling, Tide, Mettle) or a dedicated personal current account. Makes year-end Self Assessment dramatically easier and provides a clean audit trail.

Step 25: Register a compliance system

Use landlord compliance software (like LetCompliance) to track:

• Every certificate expiry date with reminders at 90, 30, 14, 7 and 1 days
• Every document in one place, each with a dated upload record
• Tenant maintenance requests with timestamps (good practice now; Awaab’s Law doesn’t yet apply to private landlords)
• Rent and expenses per property (Self Assessment-ready)

LetCompliance does more than track. It advertises the property and takes applications online, collects the rent by Direct Debit on paid plans, and builds your SA105 tax pack at the year end, so one login covers the whole let, not just the paperwork. Plans start at £7.99 a month, and one property can stay on the free plan. Spreadsheets work for 1 property. From 2 upwards, there are enough dates to make software worth paying for. See landlord spreadsheet vs software.

Step 26: Set reminders for year 1 anniversaries

The dates to put in your calendar today:

• +11 months: Gas Safety renewal booking
• +12 months: Potential first rent review (Section 13 notice, 2 months’ lead time)
• +5 years: EICR renewal
• +10 years: EPC renewal
• Annual 31 January: Self Assessment deadline
• Annual 5 October: register for Self Assessment if new landlord

Step 27: Know when and how to exit

Plan your exit before entry. If you’ll want to sell, use Ground 1A, which needs the tenancy to have begun at least a year before the date in the notice. If family members will need to move in, use Ground 1. Both require 4 months’ notice and, once served, stop you letting or marketing the property until 12 months after the earliest court date in the notice.

Nation-specific notes

Scotland: Private Residential Tenancies (PRT) replaced AST in 2017. Deposit schemes are SafeDeposits, LPS, MyDeposits Scotland. No Section 21 exists; possession grounds are under the 2016 Act. Register with Landlord Registration Scotland.

Wales: every landlord must register with Rent Smart Wales, and you need a licence too if you manage the property yourself. Occupation Contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 replace ASTs. Specific notice periods and written statement deadlines apply.

Northern Ireland: Different tenancy regime, separate deposit schemes, different safety regulations. Always consult NI-specific guidance.

FAQs

Can I become a landlord without an agent?

Yes, many landlords successfully self-manage 1–3 properties. The key trade-off is time (10–20 hours per tenant turnover, plus ongoing admin) vs cost (10–18% of rent to a full-management agent). Self-management works best with software that runs the let (rent, tenancy, certificate dates) and a responsive local tradesperson network.

How long does the full setup take?

Budget 3–6 weeks from commitment-to-let to tenant move-in if starting from scratch: 1–2 weeks for certificates and insurance, 2–3 weeks for marketing and finding a referenced tenant, 1 week for paperwork and check-in. Rushing any step causes compliance failures you’ll pay for later.

What if I mess up a step? Can I fix it later?

Some steps are retroactively fixable (a late inventory, for example). Deposit protection is only partly fixable: protecting it late, with the prescribed information, lifts the bar on a Section 8 possession order (a bar on every ground except 7A and 14 while either is missing), but it still leaves you exposed to the 1–3× penalty. When in doubt, speak to a housing solicitor: a £200 consultation can save thousands.

Do I need a written tenancy agreement?

In practice, yes. Since 1 May 2026 you must give a written statement of terms before every new tenancy (penalty up to £7,000). A verbal tenancy still exists legally, but you’d be in breach, and you’d lose every serious dispute without one. Just use a proper written agreement. Templates cost £0–£30.

Related reading

• UK landlord compliance 2026 full checklist: ongoing compliance after year 1
• Landlord insurance UK 2026: step 7 in depth
• Buy-to-let tax UK 2026: step 5 in depth
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 checklist: new rules from day one
• Deposit protection guide: step 20 in depth

Get started and run your first let from one login. Share an advert and take applications online, reference the tenant, and send the periodic tenancy agreement for e-signature. Certificate reminders go out by email 90, 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before each expiry. On paid plans, LetCompliance also collects the rent by Direct Debit and adds SMS reminders. At the year end, the SA105 tax pack has your figures ready for your return, and if you're in Making Tax Digital, LetCompliance sends the quarterly updates to HMRC as software recognised by HMRC.

Take the list with you. The free landlord compliance checklist puts every duty above into a PDF in the order the work happens, from what to settle before you advertise to the dates that expire every year afterwards.