Landlords
Know what you owe, and to whom
Most landlord checklists put every item in one list, so a hard five-yearly legal duty and a piece of sensible housekeeping look identical. This one says which is which — and admits where the law has moved and we have not had the new position confirmed.
Compliance checklist
England only. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have a separate regime — different duties, different notice periods and different tenancy types — and PropertyVault does not yet hold a verified checklist for them. Do not treat this list as covering a property outside England.
Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)
Required in some casesAnnualApplies when the property has any gas appliance, fitting or flue.
Checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer. A copy goes to the tenant within 28 days, and to a new tenant before they move in. A property with no gas supply has nothing to certify.
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
EICR — electrical safety
Legal requirementEvery 5 yearsAn Electrical Installation Condition Report from a qualified person. The report must be satisfactory; where it is not, the remedial work has to be done within 28 days or sooner if the report says so.
Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
EPC — energy performance
Legal requirementEvery 10 yearsMust be available before the property is marketed, and given to the tenant. The current minimum for a new let in England is band E, with limited registered exemptions.
Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Legal requirementChecked at the start of each tenancyA smoke alarm on every storey with living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. Both tested on the day the tenancy starts.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended 2022
Deposit protection
Required in some casesWithin 30 days of receiptApplies when you take a deposit.
Protect it in one of the government-approved schemes and serve the prescribed information within 30 days. Failing to do so exposes you to a penalty of up to three times the deposit.
Housing Act 2004, Part 6 Chapter 4
Right to Rent check
Required in some casesBefore the tenancy startsApplies when the property is in England.
Check and record the immigration status of every adult who will occupy the property as their only or main home. This duty has not been commenced in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Immigration Act 2014, Chapter 1 of Part 3
How to Rent guide
Legal requirementAt the start of the tenancyGive the tenant the current edition. It is reissued periodically, and serving a superseded version has previously been treated as not having served it at all.
Under review. The regulations this duty sits in attach to assured shorthold tenancies, which the Renters' Rights Act removes for new tenancies. What replaces it, and from when, has not been confirmed for this site. Treat serving the current guide as the safe course and check the position before relying on it.
Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015
HMO licence
Required in some casesPer the licence term, usually 5 yearsApplies when the property is a house in multiple occupation the council requires to be licensed.
Mandatory licensing applies to HMOs occupied by five or more people forming more than one household. Many councils also run additional or selective licensing schemes with their own thresholds — check with the local authority, because the rules genuinely differ between boroughs.
Housing Act 2004, Parts 2 and 3
Legionella risk assessment
Good practiceReviewed periodicallyThere is a general duty to assess and control the risk from water systems. HSE guidance is explicit that for most domestic lets this is a simple proportionate assessment the landlord can carry out — a paid certificate is not required, and anyone insisting one is legally mandatory is selling something.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; HSE guidance for landlords
Furniture fire safety
Required in some casesOngoingApplies when you supply upholstered furniture or soft furnishings.
Supplied upholstered items must meet the fire resistance requirements and carry the appropriate permanent label. An unfurnished let has nothing to comply with.
Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988
Ending a tenancy, after the Renters' Rights Act
Section 21 no-fault possession is gone. A landlord can no longer end a tenancy without a reason the law recognises. New tenancies are periodic — a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy cannot be granted.
Section 8 is the route that remains. It requires a specific ground: rent arrears, the landlord selling, a family member moving in, or antisocial behaviour, among others. Each ground carries its own notice period and its own evidential burden.
A court can refuse possession even where the ground is made out, if the correct procedure was not followed at the start of the tenancy. The prescribed documents and the deposit rules are not paperwork — they are what a possession claim rests on.
Awaiting legal review. Notice periods and the commencement dates for individual provisions are being checked with a solicitor before this page states them. We would rather leave a gap than fill it from memory. For a live possession matter, take advice — this is general information, not advice on your situation.
Where we can take the work off you
Two of these run today. The rest are marked as coming soon rather than sold to you — and none of them shows a price until there is one to charge.
Work out what a property needs before it can be let, and what is legally required versus merely sensible.
Marketing, viewings and referencing, handed over with the tenancy ready to start.
A fixed rent every month on a 3–5 year lease, paid whether the property is occupied or not. Currently 6 cities.
The landlord dashboard — properties, tenancies, compliance dates, maintenance and documents in one place.
England's landlord database opens 15 December 2026, West Midlands first. A person looks at what you hold and tells you what is missing before your region is called.
We track the certificates and dates for you and book the renewals before they lapse.
A look across everything you own — where the yield actually is, and what is quietly costing you.
Insurance worth having
- Buildings
- Covers the structure. Most lenders require it as a condition of the mortgage, so this one is rarely optional in practice.
- Landlord contents
- Your furnishings and fittings, where you let furnished.
- Rent guarantee
- Pays the rent if the tenant defaults, usually up to twelve months plus legal costs.
- Property owners' liability
- Claims from a tenant or visitor injured at the property.
Free to use
Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Property law is complex and varies by jurisdiction. Always consult an SRA-regulated solicitor or CLC-licensed conveyancer for advice specific to your circumstances.
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