RRA 2026 Phase 1 Checklist.Six things before Sunday 31 May.
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Item 1 of 6
Serve the Tenant Information Sheet
Deadline: 31 May 2026Fine: up to £7,000Download the GOV.UK PDF and serve it as an attachment — printed, hand-delivered, posted, or attached to an email or text — to every tenant on a written tenancy that started before 1 May 2026. A link to the PDF doesn't count; the rules are specific. Lodgers are excluded. Keep proof of delivery.
Source: GOV.UK Information Sheet 2026How before.rent handles this
Live in productStores the served PDF per tenancy with a timestamped delivery log, and flags any tenancy that still doesn't have one filed.
2 / 3 servedTenancies · Info Sheet
Delivery log
- PDF + log
42 Oakfield Rd · Patel
served 14 May
- PDF + log
5 Hawthorn Ct · Adeyemi
served 09 May
- reminder set
7B Sandown · Walker
21 days left
Email, text, or print — all loggedSHA · 31 May 2026Item 2 of 6
Give new tenants the Written Statement of Terms
From 1 May 2026Fine: up to £7,000Every new tenancy from 1 May 2026 needs a written statement covering the items prescribed by Statutory Instrument 2026/324 — landlord name and address, rent, deposit, repair responsibilities, which bills the tenant pays. There's no government template; you draft it. Most landlords build it as a schedule to the tenancy agreement and sign both in the same session.
Source: GOV.UK tenancy agreement guidanceHow before.rent handles this
Live in productGenerates the Statement from your tenancy data and bundles it into the move-in pack so it's signed alongside the agreement.
GeneratedTenancy · Move-in pack
5 Hawthorn Court · Adeyemi
- Signed
Tenancy Agreement
Both parties signed
- Signed
Written Statement (SI 2026/324)
Auto-generated · attached
- Signed
How to Rent — latest GOV.UK
Fetched today
- Pending
Information Sheet 2026
Bundled · ready to send
One sign-off session covers every required documentItem 3 of 6
Read the new Section 8 grounds
Applies from 1 May 2026Defective notice = no possessionSection 21 is gone. Possession from 1 May 2026 has to go through a revised Section 8 with an expanded list of grounds. The two that catch most landlords out: Grounds 1 and 1A (moving in / selling) need four months' notice, can't be used in the first twelve months, and lock you out of re-letting for a further twelve. Ground 8 (rent arrears) now needs three months' arrears and four weeks' notice — both thresholds were raised.
Source: GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act guideHow before.rent handles this
Live in productRecords every tenancy's start date and surfaces it next to the Section 8 grounds so the twelve-month lockout never sneaks up on you.
12-month lockoutPossession · Section 8
42 Oakfield Rd · Patel
Tenancy started 1 Jul 2025 · re-let allowed from 1 Jul 2026- G1
Move in / family
Locked - G1A
Selling the property
Locked - G8
Rent arrears · 3 months
Available - G14
Anti-social behaviour
Available
We block notices that wouldn’t survive court- G1
Item 4 of 6
Move rent increases to Form 4A
Once a year, Form 4AFine: up to £5,000 (advance rent)Rent in the private rented sector can only go up once a year, via the new statutory Form 4A, with two months' notice. Rent review clauses in your existing agreements stop being enforceable on 1 May 2026 — they're switched off by the Act. Rent in advance is capped at one month, which bites mid-tenancy as well as at the start; quarterly-in-advance standing orders need restructuring before the deadline.
Source: GOV.UK Form 4AHow before.rent handles this
Live in productTracks each tenancy's twelve-month rent-increase window and pre-fills Form 4A from the rent on file.
Tenancy · Rent
Next increase window
£1,450 → £1,520+4.8%Last increase · 1 Jun 2025ready in 5 daysDay 360365Form 4A · draftPre-filled- New rent £1,520 · payable monthly in advance
- Takes effect 1 Jul 2026 · 2 months’ notice served
One increase per year, served correctlyItem 5 of 6
Respond to pet requests within 28 days
28-day response windowCourt / Ombudsman actionA written pet request starts a 28-day clock. If you need more information, ask inside the window — you then get either the rest of the 28 days or an extra 7, whichever is later. A yes is binding; you can't revoke it afterwards. Draft your standard yes / yes-with-conditions / no reply now, before the first request arrives.
Source: GOV.UK pet request guidanceHow before.rent handles this
Live in productLogs each request against the tenancy with a 28-day countdown and a nudge at the half-way mark.
OpenTenancy · Pet request
5 Hawthorn Ct · Adeyemi
12days left“Could I keep a small dog (cocker spaniel, 12kg)?”
Requested 13 May · respond by 10 Jun
Halfway nudge sentDraft reply readyItem 6 of 6
Audit your listings for discrimination
Applies from 1 May 2026Fine: £7,000 → £40,000From 1 May 2026 it's unlawful to refuse a tenancy, a viewing, or even the disclosure of property details because a tenant receives benefits or has children. The ban covers the advert, the viewing and the decision. Sweep every portal listing, window card, landlord-only WhatsApp group and reply template for ‘no DSS’, ‘no benefits’ and ‘no children’. Brief anyone taking enquiries on your behalf.
Source: GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act guideHow before.rent handles this
Live in productShips listing copy that's free of banned language by default, so every new advert starts compliant.
CompliantListing · Draft
42 Oakfield Rd · two-bed
Bright two-bedroom flat in central Bristol. Recently refurbished kitchen, gas central heating, EPC band C.
No DSSbanned · no children → replaced with references & affordability check on every applicant.
2
Banned phrases
2
Auto-rewritten
3
Portals updated
A checklist is a snapshot. Compliance is recurring.
You’ll do items 1, 2 and 6 again on every new tenancy. Item 4 every year. Item 5 within 28 days of any pet request. The checklist on this page solves “what do I do this week.” Before.rent solves “how do I not have to remember this again.”
Tracking this across 8 properties in a spreadsheet is how landlords miss the £40,000 ones.
No card. No contract. Cancel anytime.
Safety certificates
The compliance certificates that decide court cases.
These aren’t new — but under the new tenancy regime a lapsed cert can sink a possession claim.
Gas Safety Record
Annual check by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Copy to tenants within 28 days; new tenants get it before they move in.
HSE prosecution + custodial availableEICR
Every 5 years. Any C1, C2 or Further Investigation codes remedied within 28 days, with written confirmation to the tenant and council.
Fine: up to £40,000 per breachEPC
Minimum Band E, or a registered exemption on the PRS Exemptions Register. Certificate is valid for ten years.
Fine: up to £5,000 per propertySmoke & CO alarms
Smoke alarm on every storey, CO alarm in every room with a fixed combustion appliance. Tested on the day the tenancy begins.
Fine: up to £5,000 per alarmLegionella
Walk each property, write up what you found, file it. HSE confirms most landlords can self-assess — no certificate required.
Unlimited fine on indictmentFurniture fire safety
Fire-safety labels intact on every piece of upholstered furniture you supply. No label means no evidence and no defence.
Civil + criminal liability
These are tracked the same way as the Phase 1 items above — before.rent monitors every renewal date per property.
A note from the founder
Most compliance writing comes from people who don’t actually manage rentals. This one doesn’t.
I built before.rent because the gap between “I know about this fine” and “I know I’ve handled it on every tenancy” is where the £40,000s actually happen. A spreadsheet is fine until the council writes to you about one of the eight properties on it.
The checklist above is ungated and kept up to date. The product is what handles it on every tenancy afterwards — and if it isn’t doing that yet, email hello@before.rent and tell me which bit. I read every one.
— Founder
Questions
The bits people ask twice.
Is this another compliance SaaS trying to scare me into a subscription?
No. The checklist on this page is the full thing, ungated, kept current with GOV.UK. The product is what tracks it across your properties on every tenancy afterwards. If you've got one or two flats and a calendar reminder works, the checklist is enough — keep it bookmarked.
When did the Renters' Rights Act actually start?
Phase 1 started on 1 May 2026 — the new tenancy regime applies to new and existing tenancies from that date. The PRS Database follows later in 2026; the PRS Landlord Ombudsman is expected in 2028.
Is the Information Sheet really a single PDF I have to attach?
Yes. You must serve the exact GOV.UK PDF — printed, hand-delivered, posted, or as an attachment on email or text — to every tenant on a pre-1-May written tenancy by 31 May 2026. A link to the PDF doesn't count. Fine for missing the deadline: up to £7,000 per breach.
Is Section 21 really gone?
Yes. Since 1 May 2026 no new Section 21 notices can be served in the private rented sector in England. All possessions now go through a revised Section 8 with an expanded list of grounds, and safety-certificate compliance feeds directly into whether a court will grant possession.
Does my How to Rent guide need to be the latest version?
Yes — every time. The government updates it without notice. Bookmark the GOV.UK publication page and re-download fresh before every new tenancy. A saved copy on the desktop is a ticking time bomb.
What is the fine for a defective EICR?
Up to £40,000 per breach under current GOV.UK guidance — the previous £30,000 cap was raised. Remedial work must be completed within 28 days of the inspection (or sooner if specified in the report), with written confirmation to the tenant and the council within another 28 days.
Document everything. Dispute nothing.
Phase 1 compliance tracked. Safety certs on a single timeline. Reminders timed properly. Evidence attached where it belongs — so the one you forget doesn’t become the one the council writes to you about.
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