Letting a home, step by step.

An HMO occupied by 5 or more people forming 2 or more households must be licensed by the council, anywhere in England.

If your council has designated an additional HMO licensing area or a selective licensing area covering your property, you must hold a licence for it. Schemes, areas, fees and conditions vary by council.

Whoever manages an HMO must meet the HMO management regulations on contact details, fire safety, water, gas and electricity, common parts, living accommodation and waste, whether or not the HMO is licensed.

The home must be fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. Tenants can go to court if it is not.

Every gas appliance and flue you provide must be safety-checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer within 12 months of installation and then at least every 12 months, and within the 12 months before any new tenancy starts.

Have the fixed electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified person before each tenancy starts and at least every 5 years, or sooner if the report says so.

If the electrical report records C1 or C2 defects or FI (further investigation), have the work done by a qualified person within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so.

Before a property is advertised to let you must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate or have commissioned one, and state the energy rating in adverts.

You must not let, or continue to let, a home rated F or G on its EPC unless you have registered a valid exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register.

There must be a smoke alarm on each storey that has a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation, including bathrooms and toilets, throughout the tenancy.

Any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance (other than a gas cooker), such as a boiler, gas fire or wood burner, must have a carbon monoxide alarm.

Upholstered furniture, beds, mattresses, pillows and cushions you provide in a let must meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations, which is normally shown by a permanent label.

Landlords must assess the risk of tenants being exposed to Legionella from the hot and cold water system and put simple controls in place. A test certificate is not required.

Any written advert or written offer for a home to be let on an assured tenancy must state one specific rent. Price ranges and 'offers over' adverts are not allowed.

Rental bidding is banned. You and your agent cannot ask for, encourage or accept an offer of rent above the rent stated in the written advert or offer.

You cannot stop or discourage someone from renting because they receive benefits. 'No DSS' policies are illegal and affordability checks must count benefit income like any other income.

You cannot stop or discourage someone from renting because a child would live with or visit them, including by withholding information, blocking viewings, refusing a tenancy or using policies that disadvantage families.

Show a valid EPC free of charge to anyone interested in renting at the earliest opportunity, and make sure the person who becomes the tenant has been given a copy.

If a prospective tenant asks in writing for the electrical report, you must supply it within 28 days.

Before letting to anyone, check that every adult who will live in the property as their main home has the right to rent in the UK, keep the evidence, and do follow-up checks for people with time-limited permission.

A holding deposit is capped at one week's rent, only one may be taken per property at a time, and it must be refunded within 7 days unless a legal exception applies and you give written reasons within 7 days.

You can only require tenants, licensees or guarantors to pay the payments on the Tenant Fees Act list. Everything else, including requiring insurance or paid services, is a prohibited payment.

A tenancy deposit cannot exceed 5 weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000, or 6 weeks' rent where annual rent is £50,000 or more. Any excess is a prohibited payment.

You cannot ask for, encourage or accept any rent before the tenancy agreement is signed or otherwise entered into. Holding deposits and tenancy deposits are separate.

For any assured tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026 you must give the tenant prescribed written information about the key terms before the tenancy is signed or agreed. It can be part of the written tenancy agreement.

Assured tenancies are now periodic with rent periods of a month or less. You must not purport to grant a fixed term, or end (or require the tenant to end) the tenancy by word of mouth.

Some possession grounds can only be used if you told the tenant in writing before the tenancy began that you might rely on them.

Any money deposit for an assured tenancy must be protected in a government-approved scheme from receipt, with the scheme's initial requirements completed within 30 days. Deposits can only be money.

Within 30 days of receiving a deposit, give the tenant and anyone who paid it on their behalf the prescribed information about the scheme and the deposit, in the prescribed form or substantially the same.

Between signing and the tenancy start date you can only require the initial rent: usually one month's rent (monthly tenancies) or 28 days' rent. Once the tenancy has started, rent cannot be required before it is due.

A new tenant must receive a copy of the latest gas safety record before they occupy the property.

A new tenant must receive a copy of the most recent electrical report before occupying the property.

On the first day of each new tenancy, check that every required smoke and carbon monoxide alarm is in proper working order.

When an assured tenancy ends part-way through a rent period, the tenant is entitled to a refund of any rent paid for days after the end date.

When the tenancy ends, agree with the tenant how much of the deposit they get back. GOV.UK says it must be returned within 10 days of that agreement. If you cannot agree, the deposit stays protected in the scheme until the dispute is settled.