A guide for letting agencies
Letting agent record keeping requirements (England 2026): what to keep and for how long
England only: Scotland has its own rules, and some rows here differ in Wales and Northern Ireland. Each row of the table gives the record, who keeps it, for how long, and whether that period is set by law, by a scheme’s rules or by good practice, with its source linked.
- Updated
- 10 November 2026
- Sources read
- 9 November 2026
- Rows in the table
- 30
Quick answer
How long must a letting agent keep records?
No law sets a keeping period for most letting agency records.
- Anti-money laundering records are kept for 5 years after the business relationship ends or the transaction completes, by an agent on a let at a rent of £10,000 a month or more.
- Right to Rent check copies are kept for at least 1 year after the tenancy ends.
- A landlord keeps each gas safety record until two further checks of that appliance have been done.
- Client money records are kept for 6 years under Propertymark’s rules, and for 6 years plus the current year under UKALA’s.
- Members of The Property Ombudsman keep all records of their relationship with landlords and tenants for at least 6 years.
- For other files, 6 years after the tenancy ends matches the time limit for most contract claims, which makes it good practice, not law.
The retention table: what to keep, who keeps it, and for how long
The column “Set by” says where each period comes from. Where no period exists, the row says so.
Sources were read on 9 November 2026. A scheme’s rule binds only that scheme’s members.
- LawAn Act or a statutory instrument sets the duty or the period. Breaking it can mean a fine, a lost defence or a lost court order.
- Scheme ruleA client money protection or redress scheme sets it. It binds that scheme’s members, through their membership, and nobody else.
- Good practiceOfficial guidance worded “should”, a scheme’s suggestion, or a period chosen to match a time limit for claims. Never law.
Client money
For an agent that holds client money.
| Record | Who keeps it | How long | Set by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Records and accounts of every dealing with client money: cash book, client ledgers, receipts, the list of clients and the list of client accounts | Every agent that holds client money, through its client money protection scheme | No period in law The law makes every approved scheme require its members to keep records and accounts of all dealings with client money. The period comes from each scheme, in the rows below. | Lawno period set | |
| The same records, for a Propertymark member firm | Propertymark member firms | 6 years from the end of the accounting period, or from a nil balance after the client relationship ends, whichever is later Propertymark also recommends asking the firm’s accountant before old accounting records are destroyed. Client account reconciliations are kept under the same rule. | Scheme rule | |
| The same records, for a UKALA member | UKALA members | At least 6 years plus the current year | Scheme rule | |
| The same records, for an RICS-regulated firm | RICS-regulated firms | At least 6 years, as a suggestion The standard says firms should check whether case law, leases or professional standards call for longer. | Good practicein an RICS professional standard | |
| The same records, for a Client Money Protect member | Client Money Protect members | No period stated in the rules The rules ask members to make sure their records show all dealings with client money. | Scheme ruleno period set | |
| The same records, for a safeagent firm | safeagent accredited firms | No period stated in the standards The Client Accounting Standards ask for proper internal accounts showing the up-to-date position. | Scheme ruleno period set | |
| The same records, for a Money Shield member | Money Shield members | Rules not published Money Shield’s site publishes no scheme rules, so no period can be given here. | Not published | |
| Written client money handling procedures | Every agent that holds client money, through its scheme | No keeping period Have them and follow them while holding client money, publish them on the agency’s website if it has one, and give a copy at no charge to anyone who may reasonably require one. | Lawno period set | |
| Client money protection certificate, and the letters sent if membership is revoked or the agent moves scheme | Every agent that must belong to a client money protection scheme | No keeping period While a member, display the certificate at each office where clients are dealt with face to face, publish it on the website if there is one, and give a copy at no charge to anyone who may reasonably require it. If membership is revoked, or the agent moves to another scheme, each established client is told in writing within 14 days; a move names the new scheme and its address. Keeping a copy of each letter is good practice. | Lawno period set |
Anti-money laundering
Only for lets at a rent of £10,000 a month or more.
| Record | Who keeps it | How long | Set by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer due diligence copies and documents, and records full enough to rebuild each transaction | A letting agent doing letting agency work on a let of a month or more at a rent that is, or is equivalent to, £10,000 a month or more for at least part of the term (10,000 euros until 30 June 2026). Due diligence covers both the landlord and the tenant. | 5 years from the end of the business relationship, or from completion of an occasional transaction The 5 years run from the day the agent knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe, that the relationship has ended. Transaction records inside a relationship need not be kept beyond 10 years. Personal data obtained under the Regulations must then be deleted, unless an enactment or court proceedings require it to be kept, the person has agreed to it being kept, or there are reasonable grounds to believe it is needed for legal proceedings. | Law |
Tenancies and the home
Most of these duties sit with the landlord. An agency keeps the record where it did the work, or where its agreement with the landlord gives it the job.
| Record | Who keeps it | How long | Set by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right to Rent check copies: a manual check, an online share code check, or a check through a registered digital verification service provider, with any facial images and the provider’s confirmation (from 1 October 2026) | The landlord, or the agent where it agreed in writing with the landlord to make the checks | At least 1 year after the tenancy ends Keeping them is one of the steps that give a statutory excuse against a civil penalty of up to £20,000. The Order sets a minimum, not an end date. For an online share code check, the Home Office code of practice says the file must then be securely destroyed; it says this for online checks only. | Law |
|
| Deposit protection certificate, and proof the prescribed information was given | The landlord in law; the agent where it protected the deposit | The whole tenancy, then 6 years after it ends No period in law: this is good practice. The deposit is protected, and the prescribed information given, within 30 days of receipt. From 1 May 2026, for a private assured tenancy, a court can make a possession order only if the deposit is held in an authorised scheme, the scheme’s initial requirements were met and the prescribed information was given, unless the deposit was returned, a claim about it was decided, withdrawn or settled, or the order is on Ground 7A or 14. | Good practice | |
| Gas safety record | The landlord. An agency keeps it where its agreement with the landlord says so. | Until two further checks of that appliance or flue have been done For an appliance taken out of the home, 2 years from its last check. A copy goes to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, and to a new tenant before they move in. | Law | |
| Electrical installation condition report | The landlord | Until the later of the date the next inspection is due and the date it is done, unless a newer report replaces it This period applies to private landlords from 1 November 2025. A copy goes to existing tenants within 28 days, to a new tenant before they move in, to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a written request, to the council within 7 days of a written request, and to the next inspector. | Law | |
| Energy Performance Certificate | The landlord. An agent marketing a home with no valid EPC must first be satisfied that one has been commissioned. | No keeping period The EPC is given to a prospective tenant and to the person who becomes the tenant. It is valid for 10 years and sits on the national register. | Lawno period set | |
| How to Rent guide: proof it was given, for tenancies that began before 1 May 2026 | Was the landlord, or a person acting for the landlord | In the tenancy file, for older tenancies No period in law: this is good practice. The duty to give the guide was revoked for private assured tenancies from 1 May 2026, with savings for some possession cases already under way. | Good practice | |
| Written statement of terms and the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet: proof of what was given, and when | The landlord, or someone acting for them, who can also be liable | The whole tenancy, and after it No period in law: this is good practice. The written statement is due before a new tenancy is agreed, from 1 May 2026. The Information Sheet was due by 31 May 2026 to every named tenant of a written tenancy that existed before 1 May 2026. A breach can mean a fine of up to £7,000. | Good practice | |
| Holding deposit: the written reasons when it is not repaid | The landlord or letting agent that took the holding deposit | No keeping period If the holding deposit is not repaid, the reasons go to the person in writing within 7 days of the decision not to let, or of the deadline for agreement. Keeping a copy of the notice is good practice. | Lawno period set | |
| Tenancy agreements, correspondence and file notes | Anyone who may need to bring or defend a claim | 6 years after the tenancy ends, or 12 years for a deed No period in law: this is good practice. A claim on a simple contract, and most claims in tort, can be brought within 6 years; a claim on a deed within 12; rent arrears within 6 years of each sum falling due. | Good practice |
Fees, redress and complaints
The agency’s own duties, and its scheme’s rules.
| Record | Who keeps it | How long | Set by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee list, with the client money protection and redress statements | Every letting agent | No keeping period Displayed at each office and published on the agency’s website and on third-party adverts, or linked from them, while the agency trades. A breach can mean a fine of up to £5,000. Keeping dated copies of what was published is good practice. | Lawno period set | |
| Redress scheme membership | Everyone doing lettings agency or property management work | No keeping period Membership is required for as long as the work goes on. | Lawno period set | |
| All records of the relationship with landlords and tenants: correspondence, file notes, contracts, emails and texts, with key, repair and visit records | Members of The Property Ombudsman | At least 6 years Unless a law requires the records to be deleted sooner. They are produced when the Ombudsman or an enforcement body asks for them. | Scheme rule | |
| Complaints: each complaint, its acknowledgement and its outcome | Members of The Property Ombudsman | At least 6 years, under clause 1h Every spoken and written complaint is recorded when it is made. A written complaint is acknowledged in writing within 3 working days and answered in writing within 15 working days, with a further review within 15 working days if the person is still unhappy. | Scheme rule | |
| Internal complaints procedure | Members of the Property Redress Scheme | No keeping period in its terms of reference Members give consumers their internal complaints procedure. | Scheme ruleno period set | |
| Building and management records | Agents following the RICS private rented sector code | A period the agency decides No period in law: this is good practice. The code asks the agency to decide how long to keep them, taking account of limitation periods. | Good practice |
Tax and the agency’s own business
The agency’s own tax records, and those it keeps for HMRC.
| Record | Who keeps it | How long | Set by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The agency’s business records, as a sole trader or partnership | The owners | At least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline for the tax year For a return sent more than 4 years after the deadline, 15 months after it was sent. | Lawas HMRC states it | |
| The agency’s records, as a limited company | The company | 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to Longer in the cases GOV.UK lists, such as a transaction over more than one accounting period, an asset that lasts more than 6 years, a late return or an open compliance check. HMRC can fine £3,000, or a director can be disqualified, for not keeping accounting records. | Lawas GOV.UK states it | |
| VAT records, including the invoices for the agency’s fees | A VAT-registered agency | At least 6 years | Lawas HMRC states it | |
| Non-resident Landlords Scheme records: rent received for each landlord whose usual home is outside the UK, correspondence about where they live, and expenses with invoices | A letting agent that handles the rent for such a landlord. One that only finds tenants and does not handle or control the rent, or handles it only for short periods, is not treated as a letting agent for the scheme. | If possible, the last 6 tax years The Regulations ask for records sufficient for HMRC at all times, with no fixed period. The 6 tax years are HMRC’s guidance, which also says to talk to the landlord before disposing of records. | Good practiceHMRC guidance |
Personal data
Everything above that names a person.
| Record | Who keeps it | How long | Set by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All personal data the agency holds: tenants, applicants, landlords, guarantors and staff | The agency, as controller | No fixed period in law Keep personal data no longer than the purpose needs, write down standard periods where possible, and consider the claims that could still arise before deleting. Keeping data to meet a legal requirement is not keeping it too long. The Information Commission took over the ICO’s functions on 30 September 2026. | Lawno period set |
Where the usual answers go wrong
Each of these was given as an answer to an agency’s question on 9 November 2026. The correction comes from the table.
“Keep everything for six years.”
A blanket six years does not fit two rules. Personal data obtained for anti-money laundering checks must be deleted once its 5 years end, unless an exception in regulation 40(5) applies. For an online Right to Rent share code check, the Home Office code says the file must be securely destroyed after the year.
For a member of The Property Ombudsman, clause 1h asks for 6 years unless a law requires earlier deletion, and clause 11e asks it to keep a record of the steps it took to check identity and immigration status. How clause 1h sits with the Home Office code for online checks is not settled by any source read for this guide: take advice on it.
“Rent ledgers and client money records: 6 years, under the redress scheme code of practice.”
The period for client money records comes from the client money schemes, not from any law: six years is Propertymark’s rule, UKALA’s is six years plus the current year, and RICS suggests at least six. The Client Money Protect rules and the safeagent standards (version 7.0) set no period, and Money Shield’s rules are not published.
A redress scheme can add its own rule: a member of The Property Ombudsman keeps all records of its relationship with landlords and tenants for at least 6 years (clause 1h). The Property Redress terms of reference (7th edition) set no keeping period.
“The anti-money laundering line is 10,000 euros a month.”
Since 30 June 2026, regulation 13 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 says £10,000 a month.
“Keep an EPC for 10 years.”
Ten years is how long an EPC is valid. No law sets a period for keeping one.
“Keep a gas safety record for 2 years.”
The rule counts checks: until two further checks of the appliance or flue. With yearly checks that comes to about two years. The 2 years in the Regulations apply to an appliance taken out of the home, from its last check.
“Delete unsuccessful applicants’ details after 6 months.”
No law sets six months. UK GDPR sets no fixed periods for any kind of data; the agency decides how long it needs the data for, and writes its periods down.
“Both redress schemes require six years.”
The Property Ombudsman’s code does. The Property Redress terms of reference (7th edition) set no keeping period.
How often each scheme asks for a client account reconciliation
A reconciliation checks the cash book against the bank statement and the total of the client ledgers. These are the schemes’ own figures. A scheme’s rule binds its members; where a figure is best practice or a “should”, the entry says so.
- Propertymark
At least once every two calendar months, and no later than ten weeks after the last one. The rules say a reconciliation should be checked and signed by someone other than the person who prepared it. A yearly accountant’s report on the client account, or another reporting arrangement the rules allow.
- UKALA
On a regular basis and not less than once a month.
- RICS
Regular reconciliations, reviewed by a principal or a senior member of staff, are mandatory. Once a calendar month and no later than six weeks after the last is best practice, or quarterly where an account has only one or two transactions a month.
- Client Money Protect
At regular intervals. At the start of membership and at each renewal, a client account health check by the scheme’s preferred supplier or an accountant’s declaration, which asks for two reconciliation dates, one within six months of the start or the renewal.
- safeagent
No frequency stated in the standards (version 7.0). An interim accountant’s report after the first six months of accreditation, then one a year within six months of the firm’s year end.
What changed in 2025 and 2026, and what comes next
Two of these change a keeping rule: the electrical report’s period on 1 November 2025, and Right to Rent facial check images, kept from 1 October 2026. Others change who must keep a record, or what an agency must be able to show, and to whom.
1 November 2025
The keeping period for each electrical installation condition report changed for private landlords: a copy is kept until the later of the date the next inspection is due and the date it is done, unless a newer report replaces it. Until then, the copy was kept until the next inspection was due.
27 December 2025
Councils can require information, and the creation of documents, from anyone who acted or claimed to act for a landlord in the last 12 months, for their functions under the housing laws the Renters’ Rights Act lists. They also gained the Consumer Rights Act 2015 investigatory powers for regulations 5 and 8 of the 2019 client money protection regulations.
1 May 2026
For private landlords, assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies and section 21 ended. A written statement of terms is due before a new tenancy, the How to Rent duty was revoked for private assured tenancies, and for a private assured tenancy a court can make a possession order only where the deposit was protected and the prescribed information given, with the exceptions in section 215.
30 June 2026
The anti-money laundering line for letting agency work became £10,000 a month, in place of 10,000 euros.
30 September 2026
The Information Commission took over the ICO’s functions as the data protection regulator.
1 October 2026
A new Right to Rent code of practice. Checks through a registered digital verification service provider took the place of identity document validation technology, and where the provider uses a facial check, the images and its confirmation are kept for at least 1 year after the tenancy ends.
15 December 2026
From this date, registration on the PRS Database opens region by region, starting with the West Midlands; nothing is open before it. An agent may enter certificate dates for a landlord, and is responsible for the accuracy of what it submits.
Where the records live in a LetCompliance agency workspace
LetCompliance runs a letting agency’s whole workspace: the letting pipeline, the tenancies, landlord statements, client money and the team. Many of the records in the table are made as that work is done, in the same place; the list below names each one and where it lives.
Client money
- The client money report: each landlord’s balance, worked out live from the ledger. Help: the client money report
- Reconcile client account: the bank, the cash book and the client ledgers checked against each other to the penny. A signed-off month is kept with who signed it and when, every figure, the differences and that month’s client money report, and cannot be changed afterwards. Help: reconciling the client account
- Landlord statements each month and each year, and a register of VAT invoices for a VAT-registered agency.
The office
- The agency’s own redress, client money protection, data protection and indemnity renewal dates; the client money protection certificate; and the written client money procedures, published on the agency’s Fees and protection page beside its fee list. Help: the agency’s memberships, certificate and procedures
- A notice round if membership is revoked or the agency moves scheme: active landlord clients, current tenants and applicants with a holding deposit listed, the letters sent by email or printed, and the 14 days counted.
- Complaints: each one recorded on the day it arrives, with the day it reaches 8 weeks, the steps of the agency’s own redress scheme and the letters to send. Help: keeping a complaints register
- Team activity: who on the team did what, and when, added by the server and never edited or deleted through the app. Owners and admins open it. Help: Team activity
Checks and tenancy records
- Anti-money laundering and sanctions checks: the HMRC registration, the nominated officer, the risk assessment and the training log, due diligence records for lets at £10,000 a month or more, and sanctions searches.
- Client documents with a keeping date: a money laundering document cannot be removed until 5 years after the client leaves, unless it was added in error in the last 24 hours.
- Right to Rent: copies whose year after the tenancy has passed, or will within 30 days, are listed, and each is deleted only when someone confirms it.
- Deposits: the amount, the scheme, the protection date, the reference and the day the prescribed information was given, for each tenancy.
- Certificates: gas, electrical and EPC dates, with each replaced certificate’s dates kept, so what was in date on a past day can be shown.
- The Information Sheet: sent to everyone owed it, with a record of service.
- Keys: each handover, to whom, when it is due back and when it came back.
Personal data
- A breach log that counts the 72 hours for a report to the Information Commission, a log of requests from people about their data with the day each answer is due, and exports of one person’s data or of the whole agency.
Client documents and Right to Rent copies are not deleted when their keeping date passes: the agency decides, record by record. Two rules clear data automatically, both for people looking for a home: a declined application’s answers are cleared 6 months after the decision, and the name and email 12 months after it; a waiting list entry is deleted 12 months after it was added. There is no single retention schedule for the whole agency: periods are applied feature by feature, in the client documents, the Right to Rent list, the applications and the waiting list, and the agency decides for the rest.
Before an agency leaves
When an account ends, its data is deleted within 30 days, unless LetCompliance itself must keep it by law, such as its own billing and tax records. The agency’s own duties to keep records, in law and under its scheme’s rules, stay with the agency, so an agency exports its records before it leaves: owners and admins can download the whole agency as a zip of spreadsheet (CSV) and JSON files, with a download link for each stored document and client document. Each link works for 7 days from the export: download the files within that time, or export again for fresh links. Inspection photos and files kept with complaints are not in the export; they are opened from their own pages.
Letting agent record keeping: questions
What records does a letting agent have to keep?
The law sets keeping rules for client money records, through the agent’s client money protection scheme; anti-money laundering records, for lets at a rent of £10,000 a month or more; and the agency’s own tax records. Keeping Right to Rent check copies is one of the steps for the statutory excuse against a penalty, for an agent that agreed in writing with the landlord to make the checks. A redress scheme can add more: members of The Property Ombudsman keep all records of their relationship with landlords and tenants for at least 6 years. Gas safety records and electrical reports are the landlord’s to keep, and the agency keeps them where its agreement with the landlord says so; no law sets a keeping period for an EPC.
How long should a letting agent keep tenant records?
No law sets one period for tenant records. The fixed periods are narrower: Right to Rent copies for at least 1 year after the tenancy ends, and anti-money laundering records for 5 years where a let is at £10,000 a month or more. Tenancy agreements, correspondence and file notes have no period in law; keeping them 6 years after the tenancy ends, or 12 for a deed, matches the time limits in the Limitation Act 1980. Members of The Property Ombudsman keep all records of the relationship for at least 6 years.
Does the law say client money records must be kept for six years?
No. The 2018 client money protection regulations make every approved scheme require records of all dealings with client money, but set no period. Six years comes from the schemes: Propertymark’s rule 1.21 (6 years from the end of the accounting period, or from a nil balance after the client relationship ends, whichever is later) and UKALA’s standard (6 years plus the current year). RICS suggests at least 6 years. The Client Money Protect rules and the safeagent standards (version 7.0) set no period, and Money Shield’s rules are not published.
When does a letting agent need anti-money laundering records, and for how long?
Only for letting agency work on a let of a month or more at a rent of £10,000 a month or more, for at least part of the term; the line was 10,000 euros until 30 June 2026. Due diligence covers both the landlord and the tenant. The records are kept for 5 years after the business relationship ends or the transaction completes. Personal data obtained under the Regulations must then be deleted, unless an enactment or court proceedings require it to be kept, the person has agreed to it being kept, or there are reasonable grounds to believe it is needed for legal proceedings.
How long must Right to Rent copies be kept, and must they be destroyed afterwards?
Keep them for at least 1 year after the tenancy ends. That is one of the steps for the statutory excuse against a civil penalty of up to £20,000, for the landlord, or for an agent that agreed in writing with the landlord to make the checks. The Order sets a minimum, not an end date. For an online share code check, the Home Office code of practice of 1 October 2026 says the file must then be securely destroyed; it says this for online checks only.
How long should a gas safety record be kept?
Until two further checks of that appliance or flue have been done. With yearly checks that comes to about two years, but the rule counts checks, not years. For an appliance taken out of the home, keep the last record for 2 years from that check. The duty is the landlord’s; an agency keeps the record where its agreement with the landlord says so.
Does an EPC have to be kept for 10 years?
No. Ten years is how long an EPC is valid. The 2012 Regulations set no keeping period: the EPC is given to a prospective tenant and to the person who becomes the tenant, and it sits on the national register. Where a home has no valid EPC, an agent marketing it must first be satisfied that one has been commissioned.
Should unsuccessful applicants’ details be deleted after six months?
No law sets six months. UK GDPR sets no fixed periods for any kind of data: keep it no longer than the purpose needs, write down standard periods where possible, and consider the claims that could still arise. Keeping data to meet a legal requirement is not keeping it too long. The period is the agency’s own choice, written into its policy.
Do The Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme both require six years?
The Property Ombudsman’s code does: clause 1h asks members to keep records of their relationship with landlords and tenants for at least 6 years, unless a law requires earlier deletion. The Property Redress terms of reference (7th edition) set no keeping period; they ask members to give consumers their internal complaints procedure.
What happens to an agency’s records when its LetCompliance account ends?
They are deleted within 30 days, unless LetCompliance itself must keep them by law, such as its own billing and tax records (the data processing agreement, section 11). The agency’s own keeping duties stay with the agency, so export first: owners and admins can download the whole agency as a zip of spreadsheet (CSV) and JSON files, with a download link for each stored document and client document. Each link works for 7 days from the export. Inspection photos and files kept with complaints are not in the export; they are opened from their own pages.
Read next
- LetCompliance for letting agents
- Client accounting for letting agents
- The letting agent audit trail
- Letting agent compliance checklist
- Anti-money laundering checks for letting agents
- Record keeping for landlords
- Renters’ Rights Act 2025
- PRS Database registration
Every legal source on this page was read on 9 November 2026. Scheme rules change, so check your own scheme’s current rules.
This guide is not legal advice. Take advice where a record is part of a dispute.
