Being a landlord of residential property in England brings with it various legal responsibilities and obligations that can result in fines, in extreme cases, prison time, or the endangerment of your tenants if you do not understand the requirements.
It is essential that you ensure you comply with all responsibilities before letting any residential property.
What are the legal requirements for landlords in England?
There are various categories of obligations, some of which relate to property safety. Before a tenant moves in, you need to ensure that all gas appliances are safe and provide your prospective tenant with a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate.
Before a tenant moves in, you also have to supply them with a copy of your Electrical Installation Condition Report, which is a certificate that is provided by a qualified and competent electrician that has to be done every 5 years, that looks at the property's wiring, fuse box, lights, plug sockets and permanently connected electrical appliances.
You will also have to ensure that the property complies with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), which require a residential property to have an EPC rating of E or above. You can obtain an EPC from a registered energy assessor, and you need to provide your tenant with a copy of that before they sign any tenancy agreement.
Every floor of the property must be fitted with a smoke alarm, and each room with an appliance that uses fuel to generate heat must have a working carbon monoxide alarm.
Tenancy deposit protection
If you are letting the property and taking a deposit, you need to ensure the deposit is lodged with a government-backed scheme within 30 days of receipt from the tenant. Within those 30 days, you must also give your tenant prescribed information about tenancy deposit protection and where it is held. It is vitally important that, as a landlord, you ensure this is done correctly, or you could face financial penalties of between one and three times the deposit amount. You might not be able to require your tenant to leave the property until you protect or properly return the deposit.
Right to rent check
You also have to ensure that any occupant over the age of 18 is legally permitted to rent a property in the UK, and you have to carry out a right-to-rent check to confirm their immigration status. If you do not do that, you could face fines of up to £3,000 per tenant who does not have the right to rent, or, in extreme cases, time in prison.
Licensing
You should also ensure that you comply with any mandatory requirements, additional requirements, or licensing schemes that might affect your property, for example, in the case of a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO).
Insurance
In your own interests, you should also ensure that you have adequate building insurance in place.
Structural repairs
As a landlord, you will have duties under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to properly maintain the property, which includes its structure, pipes, wiring, heating system, sinks, baths and toilets. You have to ensure that any damp and condensation problems caused by the building structure, poor heating, ventilation and/or installation are remedied.
Appliance, maintenance and repairs
If you are letting a property with appliances, you should also ensure the appliances are tested every 2 years for safety.
Water safety
While there is no legal requirement to provide a certificate in relation to the property’s water, you should, as a responsible landlord, make sure that the property's water is safe to drink through appropriate risk assessments.
What is covered in the tenancy agreement?
It is usual for a tenancy agreement to set out the main terms of the tenancy, including the obligations on the tenant and the landlord. Currently (as at June 2026), the position regarding tenancy terms is complex, owing to the Renters Right Act (RRA), parts of which came into force on 1 May 2026.
Most tenancies before 1 May 2026 were assured shorthold tenancies, but post 1 May 2026, assured shorthold tenancies have been abolished. A tenant might have a written assured shorthold tenancy that was signed prior to 1 May 2026 that provided for a tenancy for a fixed term or to end on a set date, but as a result of the RRA, fixed terms have now disappeared, and all tenancies have automatically become rolling tenancies from 1 May 2026, which are also known as periodic tenancies.
This means the tenancy continues on a rolling basis, usually monthly, but can be weekly or fortnightly depending on the terms of the agreement. If the tenancy signed prior to 1 May 2026 had an end date, that no longer applies.
The tenancy will therefore continue until either the tenant or the landlord decides together to end the tenancy, or the tenant wants to end the tenancy by giving notice, or the landlord ends it if they have a valid legal reason.
Accessing the property
It is usual for a tenancy agreement to include a contractual right for a landlord to access the property upon giving reasonable written notice, except in the case of an emergency. A landlord should ensure that any notice given to their tenant is delivered by a method where they can prove service.
A landlord should not enter the property without giving prior written notice to the tenant, except in an emergency.
Legal obligation to repair and timescales
A landlord is under a duty to repair a defect in the property's structure, including heating, hot water, and sanitation facilities, within a reasonable timeframe once the defect has been reported to the landlord. What constitutes a reasonable period of time depends on the factual circumstances, but if the property is left without heating and hot water, for example, a landlord should attempt to arrange for a contractor to inspect and repair the issue as soon as possible.
It would, for example, be unreasonable if a landlord were made aware of a defect, took no action, and left a tenant without heating or water for a few days or longer. If a landlord does instruct a contractor and they attend immediately, but parts are required or, owing to the time of year, it is impossible to get the contractors to do the work any quicker, then a period of a couple of weeks may be reasonable in some circumstances.
What happens if the landlord does not comply with their legal obligations?
A tenant may, in some circumstances, be able to complain to a letting agent’s redress scheme if the property is being let through an agent, and social tenants can escalate to the Housing Ombudsman.
The local authority's environmental health team might also assist by inspecting the property under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Councils do have the power to issue an Improvement Notice, requiring a landlord to carry out any required work.
A tenant might also be able to take action against a landlord in the County Court and seek an order for specific performance requiring the landlord to complete repairs, and recover financial damages for any inconvenience, discomfort, or damage to their belongings. A tenant must formally notify the landlord in writing of the repair issue and give them a reasonable amount of time to complete the work before taking any further legal action.
This information is for guidance purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. We recommend you seek legal advice before acting on any information given.
