The compliance window is now

The Renters' Rights Act 2026 is not a future obligation — it is current law. Landlords who are not yet compliant are already exposed to enforcement action. Local councils, the PRS Ombudsman, and tenants themselves all have new powers to hold non-compliant landlords to account.

The good news is that most compliance actions are straightforward. Here is what you need to do, in order of urgency.

1. Register with the PRS Ombudsman

This is mandatory and non-negotiable. Every private landlord in England must be registered. Failure to register is a civil offence with fines of up to £40,000. If you have not registered, stop reading and do it now.

Once registered, display your registration details prominently — on your tenancy agreements, in your standard correspondence, and anywhere else tenants might see it.

2. Send the Government Information Sheet to all tenants

The Government Information Sheet is a prescribed document that must be given to every tenant. For existing tenancies, the deadline for delivery was 31 May 2026. For new tenancies, it must be provided at the start of the tenancy.

Failure to provide the sheet means you cannot rely on certain legal processes until you have complied. You can generate a completed Government Information Sheet in minutes using the document generator in the Tenant Rights dashboard.

3. Check your gas safety certificate

You must have a valid gas safety certificate for every property with gas appliances. The certificate must be renewed annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. A copy must be given to tenants within 28 days of the check or at the start of a new tenancy.

Failing to hold a valid certificate is a criminal offence. It can also invalidate your insurance and make it impossible to serve a valid eviction notice in some circumstances.

4. Confirm your EPC rating

Every rented property must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The minimum rating is currently E, though the government has signalled that it intends to raise this to C in the coming years.

EPCs are valid for 10 years. Check the expiry date on your certificate and arrange a new assessment if required. You must provide a copy to new tenants at the start of their tenancy.

5. Verify your deposit protection

Any deposit you have taken must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receipt, and you must have provided the tenant with the prescribed information. If either of these steps has not been completed, you are exposed to a compensation claim of 1–3 times the deposit amount.

Check each of your properties and confirm the scheme, protection reference, and date of protection. If a deposit is not protected, take action immediately.

6. Audit your rent increase history

Under the new rules, you can only increase rent once in any 12-month period, and you must use Form 4 with at least two months' notice. Review any rent increases you have carried out in the last 12 months and ensure they were all properly notified.

If you have any rent increases planned, set a reminder to serve Form 4 at the right time and ensure the 12-month gap from the last increase is observed.

7. Review your tenancy agreements

Many standard tenancy agreements contain clauses that are now unenforceable — blanket no-pets clauses, requirements for multiple months' rent upfront, and any reference to Section 21 rights. While unenforceable clauses do not automatically void the agreement, they create confusion and could expose you to complaints.

Ensure any new tenancy agreements you use are updated to reflect the 2026 Act. Seek legal advice if you are unsure.

8. Set up a compliance tracking system

One-off compliance actions are not enough. Gas safety certificates expire annually, EPCs every 10 years, PRS Ombudsman registration requires renewal — each of these has a deadline that will eventually catch you out if you rely on memory.

The Tenant Rights landlord dashboard automatically tracks all compliance deadlines for each property in your portfolio, sends reminders, and calculates your maximum fine exposure in real time. It takes about five minutes to add a property and generates a full compliance checklist automatically.