Guides

The deadlines, in plain English, with sources. Each guide says when it was last checked against its sources, or that it is still a draft.

• Gas safety certificates: the deadline that never stops

  What the gas safety certificate (CP12) is, when it's due, what happens if it lapses, and how to stop the annual cycle slipping.

• Selective licensing: is your rental in a designated area?

  Councils can require a licence for privately rented homes in a designated area, not just houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). How designations work and how to check yours.

• The Renters' Rights Act: a landlord's working checklist

  The paperwork the Renters' Rights Act actually requires from existing and new tenancies, with the deadlines and penalty bands.

• The written statement and the information sheet: which one, and how to serve it

  Every assured tenancy in England owes its tenant one of two things. Which applies to yours, where to get it, how to give it, and how to keep proof.

• Raising the rent the lawful way: Form 4A, notice periods, and the tribunal

  Since the Renters' Rights Act, the rent on a private assured tenancy can only go up through the prescribed notice (Form 4A), even if the tenant agrees to the rise.

• Am I in a licensing zone? How to actually find out

  Selective and additional licensing are street-by-street. The three ways to check a specific address, in order of reliability.

• Electrical safety reports (EICR): the five-yearly check for rented homes

  How often a rented home's electrics must be inspected, who gets the electrical safety report (EICR) and by when, and the 28-day (or shorter) fix deadline.

• Energy performance certificates (EPC) and the minimum E rating for rented homes

  When a rented home needs an energy performance certificate (EPC), the minimum E rating, exemptions, fines, and the proposed higher standard (not law yet).

• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: what a rented home needs, and when it's checked

  Which rooms in a rented home in England need smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, the day-one check, repairs, and penalties of up to £5,000.

• Tenancy deposit protection: the 30-day deadline, the prescribed information and the cap

  Protect a tenancy deposit within 30 days, give the prescribed information, stay under the deposit cap, and what a court can order if you don't.

• HMO licensing: mandatory, additional and selective licences, and how to check your home

  When a house in multiple occupation (HMO) needs a licence, how council schemes add to it, the fines, and how to check your own home.

• Right to rent checks: who checks, when, and what an agent can take on

  Who must check a tenant's right to rent in England, when to check, follow-up checks, what a letting agent can take on, and the penalties.