The 2026 UK Landlord Compliance Checklist

1. The tenancy itself (Renters’ Rights Act, in force now)

• ☐All assured tenancies are now periodic — fixed terms ended on 1 May 2026 and Section 21 no-fault eviction is abolished. Possession requires a Section 8 ground, with evidence.
• ☐Rent can rise once per year via the statutory notice route; a tenant can challenge it at tribunal.
• ☐Rent in advance is capped — you cannot demand multiple months up front.
• ☐Keep a complete, dated record of rent charged and received — arrears grounds (including mandatory Ground 8, now 3 months’ arrears) stand or fall on your ledger.

2. Deposits

• ☐Protect every deposit in an authorised scheme (TDS, DPS or mydeposits) within 30 days of receipt.
• ☐Serve the Prescribed Information within the same 30 days — and keep proof you served it.
• ☐Deposit capped at 5 weeks’ rent (6 above £50k annual rent) under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
• ☐An unprotected or late-protected deposit can bar possession and trigger a 1–3× penalty.

3. Safety certificates & documents

• ☐Gas Safety Record (CP12) — renewed annually by a Gas Safe engineer; copy to tenants within 28 days of the check and before move-in.
• ☐EICR — electrical inspection at least every 5 years; copy to tenants within 28 days.
• ☐EPC rating E or better to let at all (MEES) — and plan for EPC C by 2030; the enabling legislation is expected in 2027.
• ☐Smoke alarms on every storey and CO alarms in rooms with fixed combustion appliances, tested at tenancy start.
• ☐How to Rent guide (current edition) served at the start of the tenancy — keep dated proof.
• ☐Legionella risk assessment, and PAT testing where you supply appliances — record both.

4. Licensing

• ☐HMO licence for any property with 5+ occupants from 2+ households (mandatory), and check for additional HMO licensing locally.
• ☐Check your council for selective licensing — 49 new schemes came into force in 2025 alone and more follow in 2026. Letting an unlicensed property is a criminal offence and blocks possession.

5. Tax — Making Tax Digital

• ☐Gross property income £50,000+: you are in MTD now — digital records and quarterly submissions to HMRC (the first deadline was 7 August 2026).
• ☐£30,000+ joins from April 2027; £20,000+ from April 2028. Note these thresholds are gross income, not profit.

6. Coming next — get ahead of these

• ☐PRS Database (from late 2026, phased): every landlord must register themselves and each property; compliance history will be held centrally.
• ☐Awaab’s Law (expected 2027): statutory deadlines to investigate and fix damp, mould and other hazards — start time-stamping your repair responses now.
• ☐PRS Ombudsman (expected 2028): mandatory membership; every complaint becomes a case file you must be able to answer with records.

7. The habit that underwrites all of it: records

Every obligation above ends the same way: can you prove it, with a date on it? Rent ledger entries, certificate copies, service dates, repair timestamps, deposit confirmations, notices served. Under the new regime your records are not admin — they are your defence at court, at the deposit scheme, at the ombudsman and with HMRC.