How to Let a Property in England in 2026: Step by Step

Before You Advertise: The Pre-Letting Checks

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed the letting process in England from 1 May 2026. If you are letting a property for the first time — or re-letting after a vacancy — the steps below cover what to check before marketing and what to complete before a tenancy begins.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Most rental properties need a valid EPC before advertising. Unless a registered exemption from the minimum energy efficiency standard applies, the property must have a rating of E or above. The certificate lasts ten years. If an EPC is required and your property does not have one, or the existing one has expired, commission an assessment before you advertise. Marketing a property without a required EPC is an offence carrying a penalty of up to £5,000.

Gas Safety Record. If the property has a gas supply, you need an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The certificate must be issued before the tenant moves in and renewed every 12 months. The current record must be given to the tenant before they occupy the property.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). All rental properties need an EICR dated within the last five years, showing a "satisfactory" outcome. Remedial work for any unsatisfactory findings must be completed within 28 days (or the period specified in the report).

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms. Install and test working smoke alarms on every storey that has a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. Install carbon monoxide alarms in each room used wholly or partly as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance, except a gas cooker (for example, a boiler, gas fire, or wood burner).

Selective Licensing. Check whether your property falls within a selective licensing area. Councils designate these locally — Manchester, Birmingham, Newham, and over 60 other authorities operate schemes. If the property is in a designated area, obtain a valid licence or submit a duly made application before marketing. Civil penalty ceilings vary by authority and date: they can reach £30,000, or £40,000 in some areas such as Newham.

Setting the Asking Rent

Under the Renters' Rights Act, your advert must state a single, fixed asking rent — a specific number, not a range. "£1,400 per calendar month" is compliant. "£1,400–£1,600 pcm" is not.

The asking rent is the legal ceiling. You cannot accept more than the advertised figure, even if an applicant voluntarily offers to pay more. If you want to adjust the rent mid-marketing, you must formally update every live advertisement before accepting applications at the new price.

Research comparable rents in the area before you commit to a figure. Overpricing and then accepting a lower offer is fine — the bidding ban only prevents you from going above the advertised price.

Advertising the Property

You can market through property portals (Rightmove, Zoopla, OpenRent), social media, local noticeboards, and direct communication. The rent figure must appear in every written advertisement. Physical "To Let" boards outside the property are exempt from displaying the rent.

Your advert wording must not include blanket exclusions: "professionals only," "no DSS," "no children," "no pets" (the Renters' Rights Act requires landlords to consider pet requests — a blanket ban in the advert may invite enforcement attention). State the property details, the rent, and the application process.

Viewings and Applicant Selection

Show the property to interested applicants. At the viewing:

• State the asking rent once and do not invite higher offers
• If an applicant offers more, decline and note the exchange
• Ask every applicant the same questions: intended move-in date, number of occupants, and whether they would like an application form

Once you have applications, assess them against pre-set criteria applied consistently: affordability ratio (income including benefits divided by rent), landlord reference, credit check, and Right to Rent status. Select the strongest applicant and document why.

Holding Deposit, Agreement, and Move-In

The letting sequence from selection to key handover:

1. Holding deposit: collect up to one week's rent to take the property off the market. If no tenancy agreement is reached within 15 days or a written extension, return the deposit unless a statutory retention ground applies.
2. Referencing: run credit, employment, landlord, and Right to Rent checks within the 15-day window.
3. Tenancy agreement: the tenancy is automatically an assured periodic tenancy running on a rolling basis by rent period, such as weekly or monthly. Fixed terms are no longer available for new lettings. Sign the agreement with all parties.
4. Security deposit: collect up to five weeks' rent (six weeks if the annual rent is £50,000 or more). Protect it in a government-approved deposit scheme within 30 days and serve the prescribed information.
5. First month's rent: during the pre-tenancy period after signing, collect no more than one month's rent, or 28 days' rent where rent is paid more frequently than monthly. No rent can be collected before signing.
6. Document service: before agreeing a new tenancy, provide the prescribed written information about its terms; for an existing tenancy subject to the transition rule, serve the Information Sheet. Give the EPC, gas safety record, EICR, and deposit protection prescribed information at their required stages. Keep proof of service.
7. Key handover: hand over the keys and note the date.

Missing a legal requirement can expose you to a civil penalty; some non-compliance can also affect possession proceedings.

The Advertising and Choosing Tenants in England guide walks through every step from pre-letting checks to key handover, with a dated compliance checklist and printable tools for each stage — designed for self-managing landlords who handle the process without an agent.

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