Letting agent compliance checklist for England: certificates, tenant checks and agency rules

Which safety certificates does a rented home need, and how often?

Most property duties sit with the landlord. HSE says the management contract should state who is responsible for gas safety, and where it gives the duties to the agent, the same legal duties apply to the agent.

Gas appliances and flues need a check by a Gas Safe registered engineer at least every 12 months; a check up to 2 months early keeps the original due date. The electrical installation needs inspecting and testing by a qualified person at least every 5 years, with required work done within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so.

An EPC is valid for 10 years. Since 1 April 2020, a property covered by the minimum energy efficiency standard cannot be let, or continue to be let, with a rating below E unless an exemption is registered; most exemptions last 5 years. Plans to raise this to EPC C by 2030 are not yet law. The EPC must be commissioned before marketing, and its rating shown in adverts.

• Gas safety record: to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, new tenants before they move in; keep for at least 2 years
• EICR: to existing tenants within 28 days, new tenants before they move in, a prospective tenant within 28 days of asking, the council within 7 days of a request
• EPC: free to prospective tenants by their first viewing or written details, whichever is earlier, and to the new tenant

Alarms, legionella and property licences

Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended from 1 October 2022, each storey with a room used as living accommodation needs a smoke alarm, and any such room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker needs a carbon monoxide alarm. Alarms must be checked and working on the day a new tenancy begins, and repaired or replaced once reported and found faulty.

Landlords must assess the legionella risk from the water system. HSE says this need not be in-depth, no legionella test certificate is required, and the law sets no fixed review interval, though the assessment should be reviewed periodically.

A mandatory HMO licence is needed when a property is rented to 5 or more people forming more than 1 household who share a toilet, bathroom or kitchen, and it lasts at most 5 years. Councils can also designate areas for additional licensing of smaller HMOs and selective licensing of other rented homes.

Right to Rent: who to check and when

Under the Immigration Act 2014, every adult aged 18 or over who will live in the property as their only or main home must be checked before the tenancy agreement is made, whether or not they are named on it. If an agent accepts responsibility for the checks in writing, liability for any civil penalty rests with the agent rather than the landlord. A revised Home Office code of practice applies from 1 October 2026.

• Time-limited permission: check no earlier than 28 days before the tenancy starts
• Follow-up check: before the latest of one year after the last check, the end of permission or the document's expiry
• Records: keep copies for the whole tenancy and one year after it ends

Deposits, rent in advance and permitted payments

A deposit taken for an assured tenancy must be protected in a government-approved scheme (the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme) within 30 days of receipt, with the prescribed information given to the tenant within the same 30 days.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans any payment it does not permit. Since 1 May 2026, rent cannot be asked for or accepted before the tenancy agreement is signed, and no more than one month's rent (28 days' rent if paid more often than monthly) can be required between signing and the start date. Offers above the advertised rent cannot be asked for, encouraged or accepted, and written adverts must state a specific rent, not a range.

• Holding deposit: up to 1 week's rent; the default deadline to agree the tenancy is 15 days after receipt
• Tenancy deposit: up to 5 weeks' rent where annual rent is below £50,000, 6 weeks' rent at £50,000 or more
• Late rent: interest only after 14 days, at no more than 3% a year above the Bank of England base rate
• Also permitted: replacing lost keys, a tenant-requested change (£50 or reasonable costs), utilities, council tax, TV licence and communication services

What must tenants be given since 1 May 2026?

For a tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026, the tenant must be given written information on its key terms before signing or agreeing the tenancy, in the agreement or separately. Failing to do so can lead to a fine of up to £7,000.

Tenants with a written agreement made before 1 May 2026 were due the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026, as a hard copy or attached PDF, not a link; tenants with only an oral agreement were due written key terms instead. The How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and is kept only where a section 21 notice was served before then.

What the agency itself must have in place

These duties are the agency's own, not the landlord's.

• Redress: membership of The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme
• Client money protection: if you hold client money, an approved scheme, with the certificate shown in each office and on your website, and free to anyone who asks
• CMP changes: tell existing clients within 14 days if membership is revoked or moves to another scheme
• Fees: a full list in each office, on your website and on portals you advertise on (or a link to it), naming your redress and CMP schemes
• Anti-money laundering: letting agency work means lets of a month or more at £10,000 or more a month (10,000 euros until 30 June 2026)
• HMRC registration: before doing that work, unless the FCA or a professional body already supervises the business
• Data protection: the ICO fee every 12 months unless exempt: £52, £78 or £3,763 by tier, £5 less by direct debit

Renewal intervals at a glance

What recurs, how often, and who gets a copy by when.

• Gas safety check: every 12 months; existing tenants within 28 days, new tenants before moving in
• EICR: at least every 5 years; existing tenants within 28 days, new tenants before moving in
• EPC: valid 10 years; free to prospective tenants and the new tenant
• Smoke and CO alarms: checked on the day each new tenancy begins
• HMO licence: up to 5 years
• Right to Rent: before each tenancy, with follow-ups for time-limited permission
• Deposit: protected, and prescribed information given, within 30 days of receipt
• ICO data protection fee: every 12 months

How Propily helps you keep track

Propily keeps gas safety (CP12), EICR, EPC, alarm, legionella and other certificates on the property with their expiry dates, and takes EPCs from the government register. A daily check reminds your team as each certificate or licence approaches renewal, flags any that have expired or are missing, and emails the landlord about their property.

HMO, additional and selective licences are tracked on the property, Right to Rent checks run through a Home Office-backed checker with the outcome on the tenant's record, and deposits are recorded against the 30-day protection deadline.