Landlord checklist before move-in in England
At a glance
- Give prescribed written information before agreeing a new private assured tenancy
- Give applicable gas safety and electrical reports before occupation
- Protect deposits and give prescribed information within 30 days of receipt
- Check alarms on the first day of the tenancy and record the result
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Create your free accountUse this checklist to organise a new private assured tenancy in England under the rules in force from 1 May 2026. Different tasks have different deadlines; completing everything on moving day is not enough. Check additional licence conditions and the rules for your particular letting.
Before agreeing the tenancy
- Give the tenant the prescribed written tenancy information, either within the agreement or separately.
- Check that the terms reflect the assured periodic tenancy regime.
- Make the required energy information available to prospective tenants. Check the EPC and MEES rules, including whether an exemption applies.
- Check the property’s licensing position with the council.
The withdrawn How to Rent booklet is not the current document for this step.
Before occupation
- Arrange required safety checks and act on defects.
- Give new tenants the current gas safety record, where applicable.
- Give new tenants the electrical installation report. Use any shorter next-inspection interval in the report.
- Complete applicable Right to Rent checks for adult occupiers, using the correct official route.
- Assess and control legionella risks. HSE does not require a special annual legionella certificate; the assessment should suit the property’s system and risks.
Deposit deadline
If you receive a tenancy deposit, protect it and give the prescribed information within 30 days of receipt. The receipt date may be before the tenancy starts. Keep protection and delivery records.
On the first day
Test the required smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. England’s smoke-alarm rule covers each storey with living accommodation; the carbon monoxide rule covers rooms used as living accommodation with a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers.
Record meter readings, keys and the property’s condition. A dated inventory with photographs and tenant comments is useful evidence, rather than a guarantee that future deductions will be accepted. Use the move-in record template.
Keep the evidence and plan renewals
Keep the supplied documents and delivery evidence together. Set due dates for future checks, including any shorter EICR interval. A certificate’s date does not remove the need to address a defect immediately.
Use the printable certificate tracker, or set up certificate reminders and store documents by property in TenancyVault. Free includes one property; compliance pack export starts with Solo.
Existing tenancies and historical records
Most existing written tenancies needed the official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026; wholly oral tenancies needed prescribed written terms. Special transition cases have different timings. Follow the written-information guide.
New Section 21 notices ended on 1 May 2026 for private assured tenancies in England. The final claim-start deadline for qualifying earlier notices was 31 July 2026. Preserve evidence for proceedings started in time, but do not use an old Section 21 checklist to plan a new tenancy.
Keep your property records together
Create an account to add your property, store certificates and set deadline reminders.
Free includes 1 property, certificate storage and deadline reminders. No credit card required.
Create your free accountOfficial sources
- Written Information You Need to Give to Your Tenant
- Landlords
- Electrical Safety Standards in the Private and Social Rented Sectors Guidance
- The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm England Regulations 2015 Qa Booklet for the Private Rented Sector Landlords and Tenants
- Check Tenant Right to Rent Documents
- Legionella Landlords Responsibilities
- Tenancy Deposit Protection
Related guides
Written information for tenants in England
Which written terms, Information Sheet and safety documents private landlords in England must give tenants, and when to provide them.
Gas Safety Record (CP12): landlord duties in England
Annual gas safety checks, tenant copies, record retention and renewal reminders for landlords in England, with historical Section 21 rules kept separate.
Tenancy deposit prescribed information in England
Protect a tenancy deposit and provide prescribed information within 30 days. England rules, evidence to retain and current possession restrictions.
EICR — Electrical Installation Condition Report
What England landlords need to know about the EICR requirement — how often it's needed, what the results mean, and how to prove compliance.
Right to Rent checks — Landlord obligations
How England landlords must carry out Right to Rent checks before a new tenancy — who to check, what documents to accept, and how to store the evidence.