A guide to landlord responsibilities in 2024

There are over 400 pieces of legislation on renting out a property and a landlord’s list of responsibilities is ever-changing. With the Renters’ Rights Bill set to bring about the biggest changes to renting in a generation, there’s something to learn whether you’ve been a landlord for years or are just starting out.

Constantly changing and confusing legislation is landlords’ greatest challenge, according to our research. So we’ve summarised the key pieces of regulation that all landlords need to know.

How to become a landlord

The first step to making sure you’re following your legal obligations as a landlord starts with your property. Not every home is suitable for renting and there are minimum standards that need to be met before you can consider it.

Understand the legislation for your property here.

From here, it’s all about making sure you’re following the regulations surrounding your tenants. You can find tenants by yourself or with the help of letting agents, but there are some legislations to be aware of both before and after signing a tenancy agreement.

Becoming a landlord can be a rewarding investment, but it requires a strong understanding of your legal obligations, as well as ongoing property management. A letting agent can help you stay on top of your obligations, but this guide can introduce you to what you need to know.

Explore your tenants’ rights and regulations here.

Legislation for your property

Most regulations for landlords will fall into two categories – your property or your tenant. Before you’re in a position to rent to a tenant, there are minimum requirements that your property must meet.

In the following section we’ll cover:

minimum requirements for rental properties
fire safety standards
energy efficiency standards
gas safety checks
electrical safety standards
what kind of property are you renting out?
houses in multiple occupation
furnished holiday lets

Minimum requirements for rental properties

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 is a piece of legislation that’s designed to make sure all rented homes are safe for tenants. It states that all rental properties must:

be in a reasonable state of repair
be structurally sound
be free from excessive dampness
be safe and conducive to healthy living
have an adequate amount of natural light
be sufficiently ventilated
have access to a clean and adequate water supply
have proper drainage and sanitation facilities
have a working kitchen with facilities for food preparation
have effective means of wastewater disposal

And while the act covers the overall standards of a liveable property, there’s more detail landlords need to understand. Specifically around the safety and energy efficiency of your property.

Fire safety standards

Nine in 10 house fires are preventable, so it’s important to do what you can to protect your tenant and your property. And it’s a landlord’s responsibility to make sure their property meets a minimum standard.

These are the three key pieces of legislation about fire safety in rental properties:

Between these regulations, it’s stated that there must be:

a fire safety risk assessment of the property
a smoke alarm for each floor of the property
a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a solid fuel burning appliance (like a coal fire)

There’s more complexity to fire safety depending on the type of property you have – read our guide on fire safety regulations for more information.

Energy efficiency standards

To legally rent out your property, it needs to have at least an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E. An EPC rating reflects how energy efficient your property is on a scale from A (best) to G (worst) . You can find accredited professionals in your area to assess your property on the government website.

Once you have your certificate, you need to give a copy of it to your tenant before their tenancy starts.

Bear in mind that even though the current minimum EPC rating is E, in 2030 the minimum rating is set to rise to C. And as our 2024 Landlord Report showed, the price of improving the energy efficiency of a property can be costly.

Gas safety checks

It’s a legal requirement for you to have an annual gas safety check completed by a registered engineer.

The engineer will need to assess all of the gas appliances in your property like boilers, cookers, and fireplaces. Our guide to getting a gas safety certificate takes you through each step of the process.

And like with the Energy Performance Certificate, you need to give a copy of this certificate to renters before a tenancy begins.

Minimum electrical safety standards

Since 2021, it’s been a requirement for landlords to have a specialist complete electrical safety checks on their property every five years.

They’ll give you an electrical certificate in the form of a written report – this is usually an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).

You don’t need to do a fresh set of checks every time a tenant moves out. But you should give the new tenants a copy of the current EICR at the beginning of their tenancy.

What kind of property are you renting out?

Another thing to consider is the type of property you want to let. If you’re planning to rent out your property to three or more people or do a short-term holiday let, there’s more regulation to consider.

House in multiple occupation

If you’re planning to rent out your property to three or more individuals, your property will be considered a house in multiple occupation (HMO). This doesn’t mean a family of three or more, but single tenants separately renting their rooms within your property.

If your rental property is an HMO, there are more regulations to follow than a typical tenancy. Most of the additional laws are about making sure the property isn’t overcrowded.

And if you rent to five or more tenants in your property, then you’ll need to apply for an HMO licence.

If you’re considering letting out your property as an HMO, read our guide for a comprehensive look at the regulations.

Furnished holiday lets

If you want to rent out your property as a holiday home, on AirBnb for example, it could be considered a furnished holiday let. Here are some of the requirements:

located in the UK or European Economic Area (EEA)
furnished to allow for normal occupation
available for commercial letting to the public for at least 210 days in the tax year
actually let commercially for at least 105 days in the tax year
no single let can exceed 31 continuous days

There are also fire safety measures that are unique to holiday lets as well some changes to tax in April 2025. Visit the government website for more information on furnished holiday lets.

Tenants’ rights and regulations

Once your property is ready to be rented, the second part of your responsibilities focus on your tenant. There’s a process you can follow before someone moves into your property to protect both you and your tenant.

In the following section we’ll cover:

Right to Rent checks
tenancy agreements
How to Rent guide
taking a deposit and deposit protection schemes
setting your tenant’s rent
how to raise your tenant’s rent
how often a landlord can increase rent
how much a landlord can increase rent
access rights and property maintenance
how to evict a tenant

Right to Rent checks

It’s a legal requirement for you to do Right to Rent checks on a tenant before they move into your property. A Right to Rent check confirms the immigration status of your tenant and whether they’re legally allowed to rent a property in the UK.

Our guide on Right to Rent checks goes into more detail on how to complete the checks and the consequences for not complying with the regulation.

Tenancy agreements

The final pre-tenancy check is to work out your tenancy agreement. A tenancy agreement is a contract between you and your tenant about the legal terms of their stay at your property.

A tenancy agreement isn’t a legal requirement but it’s an extremely important document. It clearly lays out the expectations of both sides of the rental agreement and can be used as evidence to resolve legal or financial disputes.

In your tenancy agreement, you’ll outline the following:

the names of everyone involved in the agreement
how much the rent will be
how often the rent will be paid
how much the deposit will be
reasons you may withhold all or part of the deposit
the address of the property
the start date and length of the tenancy
the tenants’ responsibilities, such as paying council tax and maintaining the property
your obligations, such as repairs to the property

These terms are all based on the tenancy being an assured shorthold tenancy.

What is an assured shorthold tenancy?

It’s the most common form of tenancy. The main characteristics of an assured shorthold tenancy are:

the property must be the tenant’s main home
you don’t share the property with the tenant
the tenancy is for a fixed term

If you’re looking for an alternative, our guide on the different types of tenancy agreements runs through the options.

How to Rent guide

The How to Rent guide is a document that you’re legally required to share with your tenant before or on the first day of their tenancy. It’s a checklist that summaries a landlord’s and tenant’s responsibilities.

It’s fine to email a digital version to them, just make sure you let them know. It’s also important to occasionally look for changes to the How to Rent guide, as it’s updated to reflect the latest legislation. And it’s your responsibility to make sure your tenant has the most recent version.

Taking a deposit and deposit protection schemes

Once the tenancy agreement has been signed, you can request a security deposit from your tenant. There are limits on the amount you can take as a deposit, with the maximum being:

up to five weeks’ rent if the annual rent is less than £50,000
up to six weeks’ rent if the annual rent is £50,000 or more

Within 30 days of receiving the deposit, you need to transfer the deposit to a government-approved deposit protection scheme (DPS). With a DPS, a third-party holds the deposit until the tenancy is over. It’s your responsibility to give your tenant all the information of the DPS so they can access their deposit.

A DPS ensures that at the end of the tenancy, any disputes around the deposit are resolved fairly.

Setting your tenant’s rent

There’s no limit to what you can charge for rent in the UK. To determine how much your rent should be, do some research in your local area to see what the going rate is for properties like yours. There are calculators available that can give you a rough idea.

The amount you charge for rent needs to be in your tenancy agreement.

However, there are regulations around how much and how regularly you can increase a tenant’s rent.

How to raise your tenant’s rent

Something you need to consider in your tenancy agreement is how you’ll approach rent increases. There are two determining factors in what approach you’d use – whether your tenant is on a fixed term or periodic tenancy.

Rent review clause

In your tenancy agreement, you can have a rent review clause that outlines when you would be able to change your tenants’ rent. These apply to fixed term contracts and are usually done six or 12 months into the tenancy.

Section 13 notice

On a periodic tenancy (a tenancy without a fixed end date), you would need to use a Section 13 notice to raise your tenant’s rent. These are typically used if you can’t come to a mutual agreement with your tenant about a rent rise.

How often can a landlord increase rent?

Again, this depends on the type of tenancy. For a periodic tenancy, you can only use a Section 13 notice to raise rent once a year. Technically you can increase your rent more frequently than this, but your tenant would have to agree to it.

For fixed term tenancies, it’s based on your rent review clause.

How much can a landlord increase rent?

There isn’t a cap on the amount you can raise your rent. The guidance from the government states that it must be:

fair and reasonable
in line with average local rates

Renters’ Rights Bill: changes to rent increases

As part of the Renters’ Rights Bill, the government has announced upcoming changes to rent increases that will apply to all types of tenancies:

mid-tenancy rent increases will be banned
there will be no more fixed-term assured tenancies, meaning all tenancies will be periodic
landlords will only be able to raise rent once a year, in line with market rates

Access rights and property maintenance

When your tenant has moved in, they have a right to privacy and there’s a process you need to follow when you need to visit the property.

Access rights for landlords

If you need to visit your property, to do maintenance for example, you’d need to give your tenant a minimum of 24 hours’ notice. But your tenant also needs to agree to the time you’re suggesting, otherwise you won’t be able to enter the property.

It also has to be at a reasonable time and has to be communicated in writing (an email or text is fine). You can find more detail in our piece on landlord’s access rights.

A landlord’s responsibilities for property maintenance

What is and isn’t a landlord’s responsibility when it comes to repairs and maintenance is sometimes viewed as a grey area. Our comprehensive guide to property maintenance covers this topic in-depth, but here’s an overview of a landlord’s responsibilities:

the structure and exterior of the property
interior features like internal walls, ceilings, and floors as well as sinks, baths, and toilets
utilities like water supply, gas, electric, and heating
fire and gas safety checks
larger gardening tasks like cutting trees

How to evict a tenant

The regulation around evictions is complex and will be changing because of the Renters’ Rights Bill.

There are currently two ways to evict a tenant – with a Section 21 eviction or a Section 8 eviction. But at some point in 2025, Section 21 evictions will be scrapped.

You don’t need a reason to serve a Section 21 notice to your tenant, but you do need to give them two months’ notice before you want to end their tenancy. You can find more details about Section 21 on the government website.

Section 8 notice

With Section 21 being abolished at some point in 2025, the main way to evict your tenant will be through a Section 8 notice. The main use is for when your tenant breaks the terms of the tenancy agreement.

What insurance do landlords need?

Some people renting out a property for the first time mistakenly think that a standard home insurance policy will cover them when it won’t.

While landlord insurance isn’t required by law, it can protect your financial interests and give you peace of mind, just in case something goes wrong during a tenancy.

You can choose from a wide range of covers depending on the level of risk you’re prepared to live with.

Besides the standard landlord insurance policy, some also choose to cover themselves for:

Do you need to know anything else about landlords’ legal responsibilities? Let us know in the comments below.

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