The landlord compliance checklist for England. Each duty for 2026, with the law and the penalty.

Before the tenancy: a licence where the council requires one, a valid EPC rated E or above, a gas safety check, an EICR, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, Right to Rent checks, a written statement of terms and an address for notices. Within 30 days of taking a deposit: protect it and give the Prescribed Information. After that: keep the home fit to live in and in repair, renew the gas check every 12 months and the EICR at least every 5 years, answer pet requests within 28 days and raise the rent only with a Section 13 notice. The table gives the law and the penalty for each, and the guide to landlord responsibilities in England explains them at length.

A gas safety check every 12 months and an EICR at least every 5 years (sooner if the report says so). An EPC lasts 10 years, and each new let needs a valid one. Existing tenants get the gas record within 28 days of each check and the EICR within 28 days of each inspection; a new tenant gets both before moving in. GOV.UK’s guidance says an EICR under 5 years old that needs no further work covers a new tenancy, and recommends at least a visual check before it starts.

Most are civil penalties, set case by case up to a maximum: £40,000 for an unlicensed HMO or a breach of the electrical safety rules, £20,000 for each tenant who has no right to rent (a correct Right to Rent check before the tenancy excuses you), £7,000 for a missing written statement of terms, an advert without a rent or rental bidding, £5,000 for a deposit over the cap or alarms not fixed after a remedial notice, and £200 for no EPC. A deposit protected late costs 1 to 3 times the deposit by court order, and a gas safety breach is a criminal offence.

No. HSE says the law does not require a legionella test certificate. The duty is to assess the risk in the water system and control it, which for most homes means keeping hot water hot and cold water cold, and to review the assessment when anything changes.

Yes, unless an exemption applies. The ICO says organisations, sole traders included, that use personal information must pay the data protection fee, and its online self-assessment tells you whether you are exempt. It is an annual fee; tier 1 is £52, and the maximum penalty for not paying is £4,350.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 took effect for private tenancies in England. Assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, Section 21 ended, a new tenancy needs a written statement of terms before it is entered into (signed), adverts must state one rent, a tenant’s written request to keep a pet must be answered in writing within 28 days, and every rent increase goes through Section 13 on Form 4A. Tenancies that already had a written agreement needed the government’s information sheet by 31 May 2026.

The “Register your rental property” service opens on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands, and each region gets three months to register when its turn comes. Every landlord letting in England must be registered by 14 November 2027, and the fee is £65 a year for each property.

No. It follows the law for private lets in England. Wales and Scotland have their own tenancy, licensing and registration rules, and Right to Rent checks apply in England only. The ICO fee and reporting rent to HMRC apply across the UK.

It is the version to print and tick off: the duties in four sections, in the order the work happens, each with its source, plus the documents a new tenant must be given. The table adds when each duty falls due, how often and the penalty. Choose single let or HMO in the form and the PDF comes by email.