Compliance is a set of dates, not a slogan. If your agent cannot tell you when each item below expires, they are not managing the property.

This is general information for landlords in England, written in September 2026. It is not legal advice. Rules differ for HMOs, company lets, and properties outside England. Check GOV.UK's Renters' Rights Act overview and your local council before you rely on it.

Dates to keep on one page

  • Gas safety. An annual record from a Gas Safe engineer where there are gas appliances or flues the tenant uses. Give the tenant a copy. There is no informal grace period.
  • Electrical installation. An EICR at least every five years, or sooner if the report says so. Unsatisfactory items need remedying. Give the tenant a copy.
  • EPC. A valid certificate, minimum rating E, before the property is let, unless a registered exemption applies. The government has discussed a higher minimum. Check the current rule before you market.
  • Alarms. Smoke alarms on every storey, and a carbon monoxide alarm where there is a fixed combustion appliance, tested at the start of a tenancy.
  • Deposit. Protect it in a government-backed scheme and serve the prescribed information within the deadline. Keep the certificate.
  • Right to rent. Checks before the tenant occupies, with copies of what you saw.
  • How to Rent and the written terms. Give the tenant the current information the law requires at the start, including whatever the Renters' Rights Act now requires on top of the old How to Rent guide.
  • Licensing. Ask the council, including Croydon, whether this property needs an HMO, additional, or selective licence. Do not guess from a neighbouring postcode.

What changed on 1 May 2026

Section 21 no-fault notices are no longer the way to end a private tenancy in England. Possession uses section 8 grounds, on the correct form, with the correct notice period. Some grounds cannot be used in the first year, and some had to be mentioned at the start of the tenancy. Read the GOV.UK possession guidance before anyone serves a notice. NPS will not use a section 21 process that the law has removed.

What to ask your agent this week

Ask for the expiry date of the gas record, the EICR, and the EPC, plus the deposit scheme reference and the date of the last inspection. If the reply is "we'll look into it", put the property through the health check and send us the file. A compliance checklist only works if someone is paid to watch it.