The Complete Landlord Compliance Checklist

Owning a rental property comes with a substantial set of legal obligations that go well beyond simply collecting rent. The Housing Act 2004, the Building Regulations, the Health and Safety at Work Act, and a raft of more recent legislation all place specific duties on landlords — and the penalties for ignoring them range from civil fines into the tens of thousands of pounds to criminal prosecution, unlimited fines, and in the most serious cases, imprisonment.

Beyond the legal exposure, non-compliance has practical consequences that are easy to overlook. Many landlord insurance policies include compliance clauses: if a claim arises on an uninsured or non-compliant property, an insurer may refuse to pay out entirely. Mortgage lenders increasingly require evidence of compliance as a condition of buy-to-let lending. And letting agents operating under Client Money Protection and ARLA Propertymark membership now routinely check whether landlords have current certificates before accepting a management instruction.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 — which received Royal Assent on 20 May 2025 — introduces a new national database of private landlords and a mandatory ombudsman scheme. Failing to maintain compliance records will become even more visible as that infrastructure comes into force. Getting your compliance in order now is not just about avoiding fines; it is about protecting your investment and your tenants.

Since 1 June 2020, all new tenancies in England have been required to have a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) in place, and since 1 April 2021 this requirement extended to all existing tenancies. The EICR is a formal inspection and test of all the fixed electrical installations in the property — the consumer unit, wiring, sockets, light fittings, and any fixed appliances — carried out by a qualified electrician. It must be renewed at least every five years, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter recommended interval.

The report classifies any defects it finds as C1 (danger present, immediate action required), C2 (potentially dangerous), or C3 (improvement recommended). A Satisfactory result means no C1 or C2 codes were found. If the report returns an Unsatisfactory result, you have 28 days (or less, if specified in the report) to remedy the issues and provide evidence to the local authority that the work has been completed. Landlords must provide a copy of the current EICR to new tenants before they move in, and to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection. If a tenant requests a copy of the report, you must provide it within 28 days.

A Fire Risk Assessment is a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for any premises to which the Order applies. In the private rented sector, this means HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation), converted blocks of flats, and any property with areas shared by more than one household. The responsible person — typically the landlord or managing agent — must carry out or commission a fire risk assessment that covers all common parts of the property: hallways, stairwells, communal kitchens, and any shared external areas. For HMOs, the assessment must be reviewed at least annually or whenever there is a significant change to the property, its use, or its occupancy.

For a single-let property occupied by one household, the Fire Safety Order does not technically apply to the interior of the dwelling, but it does apply to any shared areas. A Type 1 assessment is a non-destructive inspection of common parts and is the appropriate starting point for most residential properties. It considers means of escape, fire detection and warning systems, fire-fighting equipment, emergency lighting, and the condition of fire doors. Many HMO licence applications require a fire risk assessment as part of the supporting documentation, so if you are applying for or renewing an HMO licence, you will need one regardless.

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 updated and extended the requirements that had applied to private rented properties since 2015. From 1 October 2022, the rules require landlords to install a working smoke alarm on every floor of the property that is used as living accommodation. This applies to all rooms used for living purposes, not just bedrooms, and each floor must have its own alarm. The alarm must be tested and shown to be in working order at the start of each new tenancy.

The 2022 amendments significantly widened the carbon monoxide alarm requirement. A CO alarm is now required in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance — this includes gas boilers, gas fires, open fireplaces, and solid fuel stoves. This is a change from the pre-2022 position, which only applied to solid fuel appliances. Gas cookers are excluded from this requirement. Landlords must repair or replace any alarm that is found to be faulty and must ensure the alarms are in working order at the start of every new tenancy. Local authorities can issue remedial notices and impose fines of up to £5,000 for non-compliance.

Any deposit taken from an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) tenant must be protected in a government-backed Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) scheme within 30 days of receiving it. There are three authorised schemes: the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), MyDeposits, and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). Landlords must use either a custodial scheme, where the deposit is held by the scheme until the end of the tenancy, or an insurance scheme, where the landlord holds the money and pays a premium to insure it.

Within 30 days of receiving the deposit, the landlord must also serve the tenant with a set of prescribed information: the amount of the deposit, the name and contact details of the scheme, how to apply for its return, what to do if there is a dispute, and how the deposit is being held. Failure to protect the deposit or serve the prescribed information on time means the landlord cannot serve a valid Section 21 notice to end the tenancy. Courts can also order the landlord to pay the tenant between one and three times the deposit amount as a penalty. Under the Renters Rights Act, the abolition of Section 21 will remove one deterrent to non-compliance, making court-ordered penalties the primary enforcement route.

Managing a rental property means keeping on top of multiple compliance certificates with different renewal cycles, different regulatory bodies, and different contractor requirements. At Kubo, we have built our service specifically around the needs of landlords who want to handle as much of this as possible in one place, without having to coordinate multiple separate contractors or manage several different renewal dates.

We carry out EPCs, EICRs, Gas Safety Certificates, Fire Risk Assessments, and Legionella Risk Assessments across London and the surrounding areas. Where possible, we can arrange back-to-back or same-day appointments to minimise disruption to your tenants. All of our assessors are accredited, insured, and experienced in residential rental properties. Certificates are issued promptly, and we can remind you when renewals are due.

Whether you have a single flat or a portfolio of properties, we can work with you to get and stay compliant. Get a quote online, call us on 07424 690 050, or drop us a WhatsApp and we will come back to you quickly.