What Are My Obligations as a Landlord in England?

Who this guide is for

People who rent out a home in England to a private tenant, or are about to, including landlords who use a letting agent. It covers:

• Before a tenancy starts: advertising, choosing a tenant, deposits and fees, and rent in advance.
• Safety: gas, electrics, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and the energy performance certificate (EPC).
• The written information you must give your tenant, and requests to keep a pet.
• Licences for shared homes (HMOs), rent increases, and how a tenancy can lawfully be ended.
• Lodgers who live in your own home.

What this guide does not cover

• Homes in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland: the law is different there. See the Wales guide, the Scotland guide or the Northern Ireland guide.
• Councils and housing associations as landlords: this guide is for private landlords only.
• Tenants asking about their own rights: see our eviction guide.
• Right to rent checks and any other immigration question. UK Work Rights does not give immigration guidance: check GOV.UK.
• The repair rules in detail, and damp and mould: see the repairs, damp and mould guide for England.
• Council licensing schemes other than the national HMO licence (additional or selective licensing): ask your council.
• The later parts of the Renters' Rights Act 2025, such as the landlord database and the landlord ombudsman. They are not in force yet and this guide does not give their dates.
• Tax on rental income: ask HMRC. Holiday lets and business lettings: not covered.
• Taking a tenant to court for money they owe you: see our small claims guide.
• The amount of any fine, penalty or licence fee.

What the rules depend on

1. Where is the home? England: this guide. Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland: see that nation's guide.
2. Does the tenant live in your own home and share a kitchen, bathroom or living room with you? Then they are a lodger and different rules apply (see below).
3. When did the tenancy start? Before or after 1 May 2026, and whether there is a written agreement.
4. How many people live there, and are they from more than one household? This decides whether you need an HMO licence.
5. What are you trying to do? Start a tenancy, carry out a check, raise the rent, or get the home back.

"I'm about to let my property"

• Any written advert must state the rent you are asking. You must not ask for, encourage or accept an offer above the advertised rent.
• You must not refuse a tenancy, or do anything that makes it less likely someone can rent the home, because they have children or get benefits. This includes withholding information about the home, stopping them viewing it, or refusing to grant a tenancy.
• Everyone must sign the tenancy agreement before any rent is paid. Between signing and the start of the tenancy you cannot ask for more than 1 month's rent. Once the tenancy has started, you cannot ask for rent before its due date.
• Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 you can only charge the payments the Act allows. They include the rent, a refundable tenancy deposit, a refundable holding deposit of no more than 1 week's rent, bills such as utilities and council tax, and, within the limits below, a payment for late rent or a lost key. A payment for late rent is allowed only if your agreement says so and the rent is still unpaid 14 days after the due date. The most you can charge is interest at an annual rate of no more than 3% above the Bank of England base rate. A payment for a lost key or security device is allowed only if your agreement says so. It can cover only costs you reasonably incurred, and you must have written evidence of them. A flat 'late fee' is not a permitted payment. Most other fees, such as viewing, referencing or inventory fees, are banned.
• The tenancy deposit can be at most 5 weeks' rent if the yearly rent is less than £50,000 and at most 6 weeks' rent if it is £50,000 or more.
• You must check that your tenant has the right to rent in England. This guide does not cover how.

"What safety checks do I need?"

• Gas: every gas appliance and flue you provide must be checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Keep each record for 2 years. Give a copy to your existing tenant within 28 days of the check, and to a new tenant before they move in.
• Electrics: the electrical installation must be inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every 5 years. Give your tenant a copy of the report, and give the council a copy within 7 days if it asks.
• Alarms: fit a smoke alarm on each storey that has a room used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any such room that has a fixed combustion appliance (gas cookers are not included). The alarms must work at the start of every new tenancy. Repair or replace an alarm once you are told it is faulty.
• Energy: you need a valid EPC, and must give your tenant a copy free of charge. In most cases it is unlawful to let a home rated below E (F or G), unless an exemption applies.
• You must keep the home safe and free from health hazards. The council's environmental health team can inspect it using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

"What must I give my tenant in writing?"

• Tenancy starting on or after 1 May 2026: give your tenant certain information about the tenancy in writing. You can do this in the tenancy agreement. This guide does not list everything that must be included: check the GOV.UK guidance on written information for tenants.
• Tenancy that started before 1 May 2026 with a written agreement: you had to send each tenant a copy of the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. You do not need to change or reissue the agreement.
• If you gave a valid Section 21 or Section 8 notice before 1 May 2026, the new rules only apply to that tenancy once the notice is no longer valid or the court case ends without a possession order. You then have 1 month to give the Information Sheet.
• Tenancy that started before 1 May 2026 with no written record (a verbal agreement): you must give your tenant a written record of specific terms.
• The Information Sheet does not have to be given to lodgers.

"What do I do with the deposit?"

• Protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme and give your tenant the scheme details within 30 days of receiving it.
• If you do not, your tenant can apply to court. The court must order the deposit to be protected or returned, and order you to pay the tenant between 1 and 3 times the deposit.
• On most grounds, the court cannot make a possession order while the deposit is unprotected.
• If you and your tenant disagree about deductions at the end of the tenancy, the scheme's free dispute service can decide.

"My tenant wants a pet"

• Give or refuse consent in writing within 28 days of the request. The time can run longer in some cases, for example 7 days after you get further information you asked for, if a superior landlord must consent, or by agreement. The government's tenant guide says a landlord who refuses 'should explain why'. You cannot unreasonably refuse.

"Do I need a licence?"

• You need a mandatory HMO licence from the council if 5 or more people from 2 or more households live in the home and share facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.
• A licence normally lasts up to 5 years and comes with conditions you must keep to.
• Your council may also require licences for other homes in its area. Check with your council before you let.

"I want to raise the rent"

• You can raise the rent only once a year, using a Section 13 notice (Form 4A) that gives at least 2 months' notice. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements no longer work for private tenancies.
• Your tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the rent. The tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one you proposed.

"I want my property back"

• A Section 21 notice given on or after 1 May 2026 is not valid. A Section 21 notice given before 1 May 2026 could only be used if a court claim was started by 31 July 2026, or within 6 months of giving the notice if that was earlier.
• Give a Section 8 notice naming one or more grounds, wait for the notice period for that ground, then apply to the county court if the tenant has not left.
• Grounds 1 to 8 are mandatory: if you prove the ground, the court must make a possession order. Grounds 9 to 18 are discretionary: the court also decides whether it is reasonable.
• Ground 1, you or a close family member moving in, and Ground 1A, selling: 4 months' notice, and the notice cannot end in the first 12 months of the tenancy. Ground 1A cannot be used against an assured tenancy that started before 1 May 2026 and was not a shorthold.
• Ground 8, serious rent arrears: 4 weeks' notice. The tenant must owe at least 3 months' rent (monthly rent) or 13 weeks' rent (weekly or fortnightly rent) both on the day of the notice and on the day of the hearing. It cannot be used where the arrears exist only because the tenant's Universal Credit has not been paid yet. Grounds 10 and 11 (any arrears, or repeatedly paying late) need 4 weeks' notice and are discretionary.
• Only county court bailiffs or High Court enforcement officers, acting on a court order, can remove a tenant. A notice running out does not let you change the locks.
• Under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 it is a criminal offence to make a tenant leave without following the legal process, or to harass them to make them leave. This includes changing the locks, removing belongings, cutting off gas, electricity or water, and threats.
• Your tenant can end the tenancy by giving at least 2 months' written notice, unless you both agree a shorter period in writing.

"I have a lodger"

• If your lodger lives in your home and shares a kitchen, bathroom or living room with you or your family, they are an "excluded occupier". You only have to give the notice in your agreement, or reasonable notice if there is none. The Renters' Rights Act protections do not apply to lodgers.
• Before that notice has properly ended, locking them out or removing their belongings is illegal. After it has ended, you can make them leave without a court order, but you must not use violence.
• If you live in another part of the same building, which is not a purpose-built block of flats, and do not share rooms with the occupier, they are not an assured tenant. You must still give at least 4 weeks' written notice to quit and get a court order.

Deadlines

• Deposit: protect it and give the scheme details within 30 days of receiving it.
• Gas safety record: to an existing tenant within 28 days of the check; to a new tenant before they move in.
• Electrical report: a new inspection at least every 5 years; a copy to the council within 7 days if it asks.
• Pet request: respond within 28 days.
• Rent increase: at least 2 months' notice, and only once a year.
• Check the exact date a notice ends with an adviser.

Money figures

• £50,000 a year is the rent at which the deposit limit changes from 5 weeks' rent to 6 weeks' rent.

Traps

• Section 21 and fixed-term rules no longer apply to private tenancies in England from 1 May 2026, except a court claim started by 31 July 2026 on an older notice.
• A notice running out does not end the tenancy by itself. Only a court order, carried out by court officers, can make a tenant leave. Lodgers who share your home are the main exception.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 extends to England and Wales. Part 1, Chapter 5 extends to Scotland only. The tenancy rules in this guide apply to homes in England. Wales and Scotland have their own tenancy law, and the Act adds separate discrimination rules for each (Wales from 1 June 2026, Scotland from 1 May 2026). It does not extend to Northern Ireland.
• A rule that is "not in force yet" does not apply until its start date, even if the law has been passed.