Proving service of the How to Rent Guide, gas safety record and deposit documents

Gas safety and deposit delivery remain current duties in England. How to Rent was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and belongs in historical records. Keep the exact document supplied and evidence of delivery for each relevant recipient.

Current gas safety records

Give new tenants the current gas record before occupation, and existing tenants subsequent records within 28 days of the check. Retain the record for at least two years and keep the sent attachment or other delivery evidence alongside it.

Read the gas safety guide for scope and early-check anniversary rules. The service letter PDF can accompany the engineer’s record; it does not replace it.

Current deposit information

Protect an applicable deposit and give the complete prescribed information within 30 days of receipt. Include any relevant person who paid the deposit on the tenant’s behalf. The scheme’s protection certificate alone may not be the full information required.

Keep the protection record, information as supplied, scheme leaflet and delivery evidence. The deposit guide explains the separate protection and information duties. Late compliance does not automatically remove liability.

Historical How to Rent evidence

Keep the edition actually supplied, its delivery date and evidence. Do not retrospectively replace it with a different edition or imply that uploading an old booklet now proves earlier service.

For private assured tenancies in England, new Section 21 notices ended on 1 May 2026. The final claim-start deadline on an eligible earlier notice was 31 July 2026, or its earlier applicable limit. Proceedings started in time may continue and old document requirements may remain relevant to their validity.

The official historical possession guidance is the starting point for a live old-rules case. A missing or late document does not justify predicting the result of a particular claim without advice.

What replaces the old booklet for current tenancies?

Check written tenancy information. New tenancies require prescribed terms before agreement. Most existing written tenancies needed the official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026, subject to transition exceptions. The exact PDF must be attached or printed; a web link alone does not satisfy its delivery rule.

Keep the record together

The service log PDF records what happened. Document storage keeps the underlying evidence accessible. Neither an upload nor a generated pack establishes that service was valid.