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Landlord guide · England

How to manage a rental property without a letting agent

A letting agent does five jobs: gets the property ready, finds the tenant, sets up the tenancy, runs it and ends it. Each has legal steps with deadlines. Here they are in order, with the law behind each one and how to do it yourself.
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England
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Full management
10–15% of rent + VAT

The short answer

To manage a rental property in England without an agent, do the agent’s jobs in order. Get the gas safety check, the electrical report, the alarms, the EPC and any licence before you advertise. Advertise at a fixed rent and check every adult’s right to rent. Give the written terms before the tenancy starts and protect the deposit within 30 days. Then collect the rent, do the repairs, renew the certificates on time, and end a tenancy only with a Section 8 notice on a legal ground.

Stage 1

Before you advertise

The property has to be safe and legal to let before anyone views it. These are the checks an agent would ask you for first.

  1. Book the gas safety checkA Gas Safe registered engineer checks every gas appliance and flue, and you need a check from the 12 months before the tenancy starts. Then it is every 12 months.Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36
  2. Have the electrics inspectedAn electrical inspection report (EICR) before the tenancy starts, then at least every 5 years, or sooner if the report says so. Remedial work it asks for has to be done within 28 days, or any shorter period the report gives.Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulation 3
  3. Fit the alarmsA smoke alarm on every storey with living space, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, such as a boiler or a wood burner.Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 4
  4. Check the energy ratingYou need a valid energy performance certificate (EPC), and a property rated F or G cannot be let unless a registered exemption applies.Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, regulation 23
  5. Find out if it needs a licenceA house shared by five or more people from two or more households needs an HMO licence from the council. Some councils also license smaller shared houses, or every let in an area, so check the council’s own page.Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4

Stage 2

Finding the tenant

This is the stage agents charge a one-off fee for. Two of these rules are new since 1 May 2026, and all of them apply to you as much as to an agent.

  1. Advertise at a fixed rentThe advert must state the rent, and you may not invite or accept offers above it. The penalty is up to £7,000.Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (rental bidding)
  2. Treat every applicant the same wayRefusing or discouraging someone because they have children or receive benefits is unlawful, with a penalty of up to £7,000. You can still check that the rent is affordable.Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (discrimination)
  3. Check the right to rentBefore the tenancy starts, check that every adult who will live there can legally rent in England, whether or not they are named on the agreement. For someone with time-limited permission, do it in the 28 days before the start.GOV.UK, Checking your tenant’s right to rent
  4. Take only the payments the law allowsA holding deposit of up to one week’s rent is allowed. Fees for referencing, admin or check-in are not, whoever does the work.Tenant Fees Act 2019

Stage 3

Setting up the tenancy

Most of the deadlines a self-managing landlord can miss are in the first month. Each one below runs from a date you can write down.

  1. Give the written terms before the tenancy startsSince 1 May 2026 tenancies roll on with no end date (periodic tenancies), and the tenant must have a written statement of the terms before the tenancy is entered into. The penalty for not giving it is up to £7,000.Housing Act 1988, sections 16D and 16I
  2. Take rent and deposit within the capsNo rent before the tenancy is signed, and only the first rent period can fall due before it starts. The deposit is capped at 5 weeks’ rent, or 6 weeks where the annual rent is £50,000 or more.Tenant Fees Act 2019; Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (rent in advance)
  3. Protect the deposit within 30 daysPut it in a government-approved deposit scheme and give the tenant the scheme’s prescribed information, both within 30 days of receiving it.Housing Act 2004, section 213
  4. Hand over the certificatesThe latest gas safety record and electrical report go to the tenant before they move in, along with the EPC.Gas Safety Regulations 1998, regulation 36(6); Electrical Safety Regulations 2020, regulation 3(3)
  5. Record the condition on day oneTest the alarms on the day the tenancy begins, and make a room-by-room inventory with dated photos. If there is ever a deposit dispute, this is the evidence the scheme looks at.Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015, regulation 4(1)(b)

Stage 4

Running the let

This is what full management pays for, month after month. Most of it is small, and all of it has a date.

  1. Collect the rent and keep the recordKnow on the due date whether the rent has arrived, and keep a ledger of every payment and every missed one. If you ever need possession for arrears, the grounds are counted in rent owed, and that ledger is your evidence.Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2, Grounds 8, 10 and 11 (rent arrears)
  2. Do the repairs you are responsible forThe structure and outside, the water, gas, electricity and sanitation, and the heating and hot water are yours to keep in repair. To inspect, give 24 hours’ notice in writing and visit at a reasonable time.Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11
  3. Renew the certificates on timeThe gas check every 12 months, with a copy of the record to the tenant within 28 days. The electrical inspection at least every 5 years, with a copy of the report within 28 days.Gas Safety Regulations 1998, regulation 36; Electrical Safety Regulations 2020, regulation 3
  4. Raise the rent the one lawful wayOnce a year at most, with a rent increase notice (Section 13) on Form 4A giving at least two months’ notice. The tenant can ask the tribunal to decide the rent.Housing Act 1988, section 13
  5. Answer pet requests in writingA tenant can ask to keep a pet. Reply in writing within 28 days, and do not refuse unreasonably.Housing Act 1988, section 16A
  6. Register on the PRS DatabaseThe new register opens on 15 December 2026, and every let property in England must be on it by its region’s deadline, the last on 14 November 2027, at £65 a year for each property.Renters’ Rights Act 2025, and the Government’s regional rollout
  7. Keep the tax records digitalMaking Tax Digital for Income Tax applies from 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income was over £50,000 on your 2024 to 2025 return, and from 6 April 2027 above £30,000: quarterly updates to HMRC from software.HMRC, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Stage 5

Ending the tenancy

Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026. A landlord who wants the property back now needs a legal reason, called a ground, and the right notice.

  1. Use a Section 8 notice on Form 3APossession starts with a notice seeking possession (Section 8) on Form 3A, naming the ground. If the tenant does not leave, a court decides.Housing Act 1988, section 8 and Schedule 2; GOV.UK, Assured tenancy forms
  2. Know the notice for your groundFor rent arrears (Ground 8), at least three months’ rent must be owed, and the notice is four weeks. To sell (Ground 1A) or move in (Ground 1), the notice is four months.Housing Act 1988, section 8(4AA) and Schedule 2
  3. Settle the depositAgree any deductions with the tenant and return the rest through the scheme. If you cannot agree, the scheme’s dispute service decides, from the inventory, the photos and the record.Housing Act 2004, sections 212 to 215

What you keep

The fee stays with you. The deadlines come with it.

Full management commonly costs 10% to 15% of the rent plus VAT: at 12% plus VAT on £1,200 a month, about £2,074 a year. The letting agent fees guide has every fee and a calculator for your own rent.

If you cannot answer a repair call or reach the property, a partial service can still make sense. Tenant-find only covers stages 2 and 3, and you run the let from there. The letting agent or self-manage comparison weighs the choice, and the PRS Database guide covers registering each property.

FAQs

What self-managing landlords ask

Can I manage my rental property myself without a letting agent?

Yes. There is no qualification needed to let your own property in England. What the law asks for is the steps on this page: safe and certified before the tenancy, the right checks and written terms at the start, repairs and renewals during it, and a legal ground to end it. Some councils also require a property licence, and every let property will need an entry on the PRS Database by its region’s deadline in 2027, at £65 a year.

What does a letting agent do that I would have to do myself?

Five jobs. Get the property safe and legal to let, find and check the tenant, set up the tenancy (written terms, deposit, certificates, inventory), run it (rent, repairs, renewals, rent increases, requests) and end it with the right notice. Tenant-find only covers the second and part of the third; full management covers all five.

What happens if I miss the 30-day deposit deadline?

The tenant can apply to court, which must order you to pay them between one and three times the deposit. And until the deposit is protected and the prescribed information given, a court cannot make a possession order on most grounds.

How do I evict a tenant without an agent now Section 21 has gone?

With a Section 8 notice on Form 3A, naming a ground in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 and giving the notice that ground needs: four weeks for three months’ rent arrears (Ground 8), four months to sell (Ground 1A) or move in (Ground 1). If the tenant does not leave, you apply to court.

How often can I put the rent up?

Once a year at most, with a rent increase notice (Section 13) on Form 4A giving at least two months’ notice. A clause in the tenancy agreement that sets its own increases has no effect. The tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide the rent.

Is it cheaper to manage the property myself?

On the fee, almost always. Full management commonly costs 10% to 15% of the rent plus VAT: at 12% plus VAT on £1,200 a month, about £2,074 a year. What you take on instead is the time and the deadlines on this page.

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Sources

This page covers England. It is general information, not legal advice. Law checked 22 September 2026.