Guides

The deadlines, in plain English, with sources. Drafts until our verification pass completes.

• Gas safety certificates: the deadline that never stops

  What the 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 ANY rental in a designated area — not just HMOs. How designations work and how to check yours.

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

  The paperwork the RRA 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 English tenancy owes its tenant one of two documents. Which applies to yours, where to get it, and how to keep proof of service.

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

  Under the Renters' Rights Act, most rent increases go through the prescribed notice. What Form 4A is, the notice period, and what happens if the tenant challenges it.

• 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.