The UK landlord compliance checklist for 2026

Compliance in 2026 is heavier than it was even two years ago. The Renters' Rights Act came into force on 1 May 2026, the rules on energy efficiency have firmed up, and the duties around damp and mould are spreading from social housing into the private rented sector. This checklist covers what is legally required, how often, and who it applies to, so you can run a portfolio without missing a deadline that turns into a fine, an invalid possession claim, or harm to a tenant.

Keys and a tenancy agreement on a table

Gas safety (CP12 / LGSR)

Every gas appliance, flue, and fitting in a let property must be inspected annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The engineer issues a Landlord Gas Safety Record, often called a CP12.

Frequency: every 12 months. There is a small allowance to renew up to two months early without losing the original anniversary date.
Who it applies to: any landlord letting a property with a gas supply or gas appliances.
What to do: give the current record to existing tenants within 28 days of the check, and to new tenants before they move in. Keep records for at least two years.

Penalties are severe. Failure can mean an unlimited fine and up to six months' imprisonment, because this is a Health and Safety Executive matter, not just a housing one. See our note on gas safety tracking for how to stop a renewal slipping past its anniversary.

Electrical safety (EICR)

The Electrical Installation Condition Report covers the fixed wiring, consumer unit, sockets, switches, and light fittings. A qualified electrician inspects and tests the installation and reports any faults by code.

Frequency: at least every five years, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter interval.
Who it applies to: all private landlords in England, for new and existing tenancies.
What to do: supply the report to tenants and, on request, to the local authority. Any C1 (danger present) or C2 (potentially dangerous) fault must be remedied within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, with written confirmation that the work is done.

Local authorities can impose financial penalties of up to £30,000 per breach for electrical non-compliance. The five-year clock and the 28-day remedial window are the two dates worth automating, which is the point of EICR tracking.

EPC and MEES

A valid Energy Performance Certificate must be in place before you market a property to let. The certificate is valid for ten years.

Frequency: renew the EPC every ten years, or sooner if it has expired before re-letting.
Who it applies to: all landlords marketing or letting a property, with limited exemptions.
Current minimum: under the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, you cannot let a property in England and Wales with an EPC rating below E, unless a valid exemption is registered.

The bigger change is ahead. On 21 January 2026 the government confirmed that privately rented homes in England and Wales must reach EPC band C (or equivalent) for all tenancies by 1 October 2030. The spending cap to reach the standard is £10,000, or 10% of the property value if that is lower. That is a four-year runway, so survey the worst performers in your portfolio now rather than in 2029.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 set the current rules in England.

Smoke alarms: at least one on every storey used as living accommodation.
Carbon monoxide alarms: one in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas boiler or an oil or solid-fuel heater. Gas cookers are excluded.
Testing: the landlord must check all alarms are working on the day a new tenancy begins. During the tenancy, once a tenant reports a fault, the landlord must repair or replace the alarm.

Local authorities can issue a remedial notice and a fine of up to £5,000 for non-compliance.

Fire safety

For self-contained single lets the alarm rules above do most of the work, but shared and multi-occupied buildings carry more.

Who it applies to: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the common parts of buildings with two or more dwellings, and to HMOs.
What to do: carry out and keep under review a fire risk assessment for the common parts, act on its findings, and keep escape routes, fire doors, and any detection or emergency lighting in working order.

Review the assessment whenever the building changes or after an incident, and at sensible intervals otherwise.

Legionella

There is no separate certificate for legionella, but there is a duty. Under health and safety law a landlord must assess and control the risk of exposure to Legionella bacteria in the water system.

Frequency: a risk assessment, reviewed periodically and after any change to the water system.
Who it applies to: all landlords, though for most low-risk domestic systems the assessment is straightforward and rarely requires remedial work beyond routine flushing of unused outlets.

You do not need a specialist for a typical small flat; you do need a record that you have considered the risk.

Right to Rent

Right to Rent checks survived the Renters' Rights Act unchanged. Under the Immigration Act 2014 you must confirm that every adult who will occupy the property as their only or main home has the right to rent in England.

Frequency: before the tenancy begins, with follow-up checks where someone has time-limited permission.
Who it applies to: private landlords in England and the agents acting for them.
What to do: carry out a manual document check, an online check using a share code, or a check via an Identity Service Provider, and keep dated evidence.

Deposit protection

This duty also survived the reforms. If you take a deposit, you must protect it.

Frequency: within 30 days of receiving the deposit.
Who it applies to: any landlord taking a tenancy deposit.
What to do: place the deposit in a government-approved scheme and serve the prescribed information on the tenant. From 1 May 2026 assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, but the deposit rules carry over.

Getting deposit protection wrong can block a possession claim and expose you to a penalty of up to three times the deposit.

How to Rent guide

This one has changed. In most cases landlords no longer need to serve the How to Rent guide, because the document was tied to the Section 21 regime that has now gone. The government has published replacement guidance for tenants on their new rights. If you still hold legacy processes that auto-serve the old guide, retire them.

HMO licensing

A house in multiple occupation needs a mandatory licence where five or more people from two or more households share the property. The number of storeys no longer matters; a five-person, two-household home on a single floor still needs a licence.

Frequency: licences typically run for five years; renew before expiry.
Who it applies to: larger HMOs nationwide for mandatory licensing, plus any property caught by a local additional or selective licensing scheme. Check the specific council, because schemes vary by borough.
What to do: apply to the local authority, meet amenity and management standards, and pass the fit-and-proper-person test. An unlicensed HMO that needs a licence cannot be the subject of a possession claim and exposes you to a rent repayment order.

Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard

Awaab's Law sets binding timescales for responding to hazards, with damp and mould first in scope. It has applied to social housing since 27 October 2025. The Renters' Rights Act extends it to the private rented sector, expected from 2027, with the exact date subject to further consultation.

In broad terms the social-housing model requires investigating a reported hazard within a fixed window, starting repairs within a further fixed window, and acting on emergency hazards within 24 hours. The Decent Homes Standard is also being extended to private rentals. The practical point for 2026: start logging every tenant hazard report with a timestamp now, so the clock-based duties do not catch you unprepared. There is more in our piece on damp and mould responsibilities and in our Awaab's Law software overview.

Possession: the Section 21 to Section 8 shift

Compliance now feeds directly into your ability to recover a property. Section 21 no-fault evictions ended on 1 May 2026. Every possession claim runs through Section 8, which means you must prove a ground and produce evidence. Accurate certificates, dated communications, and clean rent records are no longer just box-ticking; they are the case file. We cover the grounds in detail in Section 8 after Section 21.

A note on running all of this

The hard part is not knowing the rules; it is tracking dozens of dates across a portfolio without one falling through. DwellBridge tracks six UK certificate types with expiry reminders and clear compliant, at-risk, and breached states, and its AI agents chase renewals, contractors, and tenants over WhatsApp, SMS, and email before a deadline lapses. See the compliance engine, the certificate expiry tracking page, or our solutions for landlords.