Your Ultimate Guide to Landlord Rights and Responsibilities in 2026

Being a landlord comes with clear legal responsibilities and important legal rights too. Whether you’re letting a property out for the first time or managing several, it helps to have one reliable place to check what you must do, what you’re allowed to do, and what good practice looks like in the UK.

As a landlord you have a duty to uphold for your tenants, and ignoring these responsibilities can be very costly. That’s why our experts at Chancellors wrote this guide, helping to covers all the essentials from what landlords must provide, from safety and maintenance duties, deposits and permitted payments, access rights, rent arrears, and even what happens at the end of a tenancy.

It also highlights key upcoming changes affecting tenancies from 1 May 2026.

This guide is general information for you to follow and is not intended as legal advice. If you’re unsure about your specific situation, speak to a qualified adviser or your letting agent.

The Landlord Basics: What Landlords Must Do (And Why it Matters)

At a minimum, and probably the most important point here is that landlords must keep rented properties safe, fit to live in, and free from serious hazards. That is your duty.

You must also make sure all gas, and electrics are safe, provide an EPC, protect deposits correctly, and give tenants the required information at the right time.

These duties aren’t just “paperwork”.

When landlords miss them, it can lead to any of, or all the following:

Large fines and enforcement action
Disputes and delays
Costly insurance complications
Difficulty regaining possession of a property.

Managing a rental property can be a legal and logistical challenge. We advise to stay compliant and avoid costly penalties by staying informed of any upcoming legislative changes. Your Estate and Lettings agent (if they’re managing the property on your behalf will be aware of these changes too and should notify you if it affects you or your tenants.)

Before the Tenant Moves in

This is where most avoidable issues begin, so it’s worth getting this stage right.

1) Right to Rent checks (England)

If your property is in England, you must check all adult occupiers have the right to rent before the tenancy starts, and this includes tenants not mentioned on the tenancy agreement.

Under the Immigration Act 2014, landlords in England are legally required to ensure that all tenants aged 18 or over have the legal right to rent in the UK. This means:

Landlords (or letting agents acting on your behalf) must carry out identity and immigration status checks before the tenancy begins.
The checks must be completed on all adult occupants aged 18 or over, regardless of if they’re not on the tenancy agreement.
Tenants must provide valid documentation to show their right to rent in the UK.
Documents include passports, residence permits, and Home Office issued documents.
Landlords must retain copies of the documents for their records.

2) Provide key certificates and documents

Before the move in date (and/or at the start of the tenancy), landlords should have and provide tenants with the following:

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) (must meet minimum efficiency standards).
Gas Safety Record (CP12) (where gas is present).
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) (required and kept up to date).
The government’s How to Rent guide (England).

3) Tenancy paperwork and written information (important change)

Tenancy agreements and required information are changing for new tenancies from 1st May 2026. Government guidance states landlords will need to provide certain written information about key tenancy terms for tenancies created on or after that date. This means you must keep to the terms that are outlined in the tenancy agreement, unless otherwise agreed with the tenants.

4) Avoid discrimination

It’s illegal to discriminate against a tenant based on any of the protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010. These characteristics include age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

This includes how you advertise, select tenants, and treat them during a tenancy.

5) If the property is furnished

If the property that you are supplying is furnished then you should ensure that the furniture meets the guidelines set under the Furniture and Furnishings Act 1988 (as amended 1993).

Deposits and What You Can (and cannot) Charge Tenants

You are obliged to put the tenant’s deposit in a government approved Tenancy Deposit Scheme within 30 days of the payment, and you must also provide the tenant with evidence that this has been done. You must also provide tenants with who the deposit is held with, information about the deposit scheme, and how it is protected. Failing to do this could result in potential fines and difficulties regaining possession of your property through a Section 21 notice.

This is to ensure that the deposit is protected and returned fairly at the end of the agreed let. If there are any disputes, the deposit will be held in the scheme until a resolution is reached. Each scheme may also offer free, independent adjudications to settle the dispute between the parties.

Deposits held for tenancies under the Housing Act 2004 must be secured with one of various government approved schemes (these include My Deposits, Deposit Protection Service and Tenancy Deposit Scheme).

Permitted payments (England)

Since the Tenant Fees changes, landlords can only charge certain payments in connection with a tenancy (for example rent, capped deposits, holding deposits, and limited fees like late rent or lost keys). Government guidance confirms holding deposits are capped at one week’s rent, and tenancy deposits are capped depending on annual rent thresholds.

The payments for which you can charge for in connection with a tenancy also changed on 1st June 2019. These new changes mean you can only charge:

The rent
A refundable tenancy deposit, capped at no more than 5 weeks rent where the annual rent is less than £50,000.
A refundable holding deposit (to reserve a property) capped at no more than 1 week’s rent.
Payments to change the tenancy when requested by the tenant, capped at £50 (or reasonable costs incurred if higher)
Payments associated with the early termination of the tenancy, if requested by the tenant, which are capped at £50.
Payments in respect of utilities, TV licences and council tax (if necessary)
A fee for the late payment of rent or replacement of a lost key.

Prior to making any charges, please ensure that you speak to a professional agent to ensure you are not asking the tenant for a prohibited payment.

Safety and General Maintenance Responsibilities

Keeping the property safe and free from hazards

Landlords must keep rented properties safe and address all serious hazards that may arise. Councils can inspect properties using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and take enforcement action if they find serious issues. Landlord compliance requires you to ensure your tenants live in a safe and secure property that is in a decent state of repair.

Damp and Mould Checks

As of October 2025, Awaab’s Law legally required landlords to investigate and fix health hazards such as damp and mould within specific timeframes. This is highlighted as investigating any issues within 14 days, commencing repairs within 7 days, and addressing emergency repairs within 24 hours. This law, which was introduced through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 puts the responsibility on landlords to identify and address the underlying causes of damp and mould, rather than just painting over and hiding it, providing tenants with stronger protection.

As a landlord it is your responsibility to ensure properties are fit for habitation and free from hazards that could affect respiratory health or safety, including proper ventilation, and other proactive measures and planning to prevent damp and mould.

Gas and Electrics Responsibilities

As a landlord you must ensure gas and electrical equipment is safely installed and maintained. For electrics you’re required to have installations checked at least every five years by a qualified person (and provide proof to tenants).

Electrical Safety Maintenance Checks

Landlords in the UK are legally required to ensure that all electrical installations and any appliances provided are safe and regularly maintained. Any electrical equipment or appliances must be maintained, such as fridges, cookers, washing machines, dryers or kettles.

Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords must by law carry out a professional EICR every five years and fix any issues within 28 days. Failure to do this may result in fines of up to £30,000, potential enforcement action by local authorities, and potential civil or criminal liability under the Defective Premises Act 1972, or even corporate manslaughter laws if serious harm occurs as a result.

Fire Safety Basics

You must follow safety regulations and provide at least one smoke alarm on each storey (and a carbon monoxide alarm in rooms with solid fuel burning appliances such as a wood burning stove)

Repairs: What Landlords Are Responsible For

If the property develops any faults to its integral elements, such as drains, pipes, toilets, gas/electrical supply and/or hot water and heating, then it is your duty to provide maintenance in a timely manner.

If you have supplied an appliance such as a washing machine that breaks during the tenancy, then you must replace or repair said item, unless it is due to tenant’s negligence. This is why we advise landlords take out Landlord-Specific Buildings and Content Insurance to cover against any personal injury claims that could be made by tenants whilst in the property.

Your Rights as a Landlord

Landlords do have rights, absolutely they do, but they need to be exercised correctly. And this is where we find many landlords trip themselves up.

Right to Access the Property (With Notice)

You can access the property for inspections and repairs, but you must usually give at least 24 hours’ notice to the tenants and arrange access to the property reasonably. Tenants do have the right to quiet enjoyment, and they can also refuse access if timings are not reasonable. If it is an urgent matter that could impact the health and safety of the tenants, then it is more than reasonable to provide much less notice than 24 hours.

Can a Landlord Keep a Set of Keys?

Many landlords or estate agents do keep keys, but that doesn’t mean you should just let yourself in without permission from the tenants, unless except in a genuine emergency. Good practice however is to agree access arrangements in advance and keep communication clear for both yours and your tenants’ benefits, and this avoids any potential legal complications down the line.

Rent Arrears and Tenant Breaches

Rent arrears can become serious quickly and be very costly for landlords. Having a simple system in place helps.

It’s useful for landlords to keep a record of when rent payments are due and when they are paid for each tenant. You can also send your tenants receipts each month with the date, time period and amount paid to ensure that they know if there is any outstanding rent.

This system can also be useful if you have multiple tenants in the same property that pay separately, so that both landlord and tenants are aware of who has and hasn’t paid their portion of the rent. Ensure that you remind tenants on a joint tenancy that they are all responsible for the rent as an equal party, and they must clear any outstanding debt together.

If arrears do continue or a tenant breaches the tenancy terms, landlords may be able to seek possession of the property, but it’s important to follow the correct legal process and take advice, especially with upcoming regulation and legal changes from 1 May 2026 affecting possession routes and tenancy structures. However it is always best to seek legal advice and help from your letting agents when doing so.

At Chancellors, we offer a specialised Rent Guarantee Scheme as part of our property management services. So, should your tenants let you down, for whatever reason, we won’t. If your tenants don’t pay the rent, then Chancellors will.

What Happens When Tenants Leave the Property?

When it comes to a tenant leaving a property at the end of the tenancy, you are entitled to carry out checks before returning their deposit. Over the period of the tenancy, most household furniture and contents will deteriorate to some degree as a result of normal use. This is known as general wear and tear, and the tenant will not be liable for the repair.

Please note that if the result of wear and tear becomes hazardous throughout the tenancy, then it is your responsibility to replace the item. However, if there is damage to the property not as a result of wear and tear then you can use the tenant’s deposit to claim back the cost of the damage.

Inventory and Schedule of Condition

The inventory should make a record of, condition of, and comment on, the condition of the property and any items supplied with the property. And to avoid further potential issues, we always recommend the inventory be carried out by an independent professional.

This should include photographs and videos where possible to back up any statements made, helping to provide proof of any items mentioned, and be carried out before the tenancy starts, and before it ends, and ideally with the tenant present.

An Inventory and Schedule of Condition are Absolutely Crucial For:

Avoiding disputes over damaged or missing items.
Supporting claims for deductions from the deposit.
Providing peace of mind for both landlords and tenants.

An Inventory and Schedule of Condition Should Include the Following:

A detailed list of items and their condition.
Date-stamped photographs.
Tenant sign-off at check-in and check-out with the tenant present.

If a Tenant Leaves Without Notice

If the tenant has vacated the property without giving the required notice, then they will be in breach of contract. As a landlord, you are entitled to charge the tenant rent up to the end of their agreed tenancy.

How Chancellors Helps Landlords

If you want more peace of mind (and fewer compliance headaches), Chancellors can support with landlord services that cover:

Tenant sourcing and referencing
Compliance guidance and documentation
Deposit handling support.
Ongoing management and maintenance coordination
Rent guarantee scheme.
Landlord insurance
Houses in Multiple Occupation

If you have questions about your responsibilities as a landlord, your tenancy paperwork, or what you need in place before letting, speak to our team and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Chancellors would love to help you with any questions you may have on letting out your property. For more information, read through our specialist landlord letting services or contact us today.