What Documents Must a Landlord Give a Tenant in 2026?

The short answer

For a typical private assured tenancy created in England on or after 1 May 2026, a landlord should check the prescribed written tenancy information, gas safety record where gas duties apply, EPC where required, electrical inspection report, and deposit-protection information. Different documents have different deadlines, exemptions, and service rules.

This is an England guide. Do not use it as a Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland move-in pack.

Before agreeing a new tenancy

From 1 May 2026, landlords creating a qualifying new assured tenancy must provide prescribed written information about the tenancy's key terms before signing or otherwise agreeing the tenancy. The information can be included in a written tenancy agreement or supplied separately.

Use the final current government specification. Do not reuse an old AST template or a draft written-information schedule from before commencement.

The written information covers more than names and rent. Follow the official landlord guidance and make sure the version actually given to the tenant can be reproduced later.

Existing tenancies are different

For many tenancies created before 1 May 2026 with written terms, the landlord had to give every named tenant the official Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. The PDF itself had to be attached electronically or supplied as a hard copy. A web link alone was not valid delivery.

Existing wholly oral tenancies followed a separate written-information requirement. Transitional notices and proceedings can also alter the timing.

If a deadline was missed, serve the correct material now and record the real date. Do not replace the historical fact with a later compliant-looking date.

Gas safety record

Where the landlord gas-safety duties apply, a current gas safety check record must be provided to a new tenant before occupation. Existing tenants must receive the record within the applicable period after a check.

The document is evidence of a check, not a substitute for maintaining appliances, fittings, and flues safely. If the check has expired, arrange a Gas Safe registered engineer and read our expired gas safety certificate guide.

Energy Performance Certificate

An EPC is generally needed before marketing and letting a property unless a valid exemption or different rule applies. Give the prospective tenant access to the current certificate and record which EPC applies to the property.

An EPC record does not answer every minimum-energy-standard or exemption question. Preserve any exemption evidence separately.

Electrical installation report

England's electrical safety rules require covered rented properties to be inspected and tested at least every five years, or sooner where the report requires it. The tenant must receive the report within the applicable timeframe, and remedial work may be required where the report identifies problems.

Record the inspection date, next due date, report, remedial findings, and completion evidence. Uploading the original report without recording an unresolved remedial item can create false confidence.

Deposit protection and prescribed information

If a covered tenancy deposit is taken, protect it in an approved scheme and give the required information within 30 days of receiving the money. Required information includes the amount, property, scheme, parties, dispute process, return process, and reasons deductions may be made.

Keep evidence of what each tenant and any relevant third-party payer received. A scheme certificate alone may not prove that the full required information was served.

If protection or information was late, use the late deposit protection guide rather than marking the obligation as ordinarily complete.

Checks that are not documents for the tenant

Some landlord duties involve carrying out and retaining a check rather than handing the tenant a generic certificate.

Right to rent

For relevant properties in England, check every adult occupier consistently before the tenancy in accordance with the current Home Office process. Keep the prescribed evidence and record any required follow-up date for a time-limited right.

Do not ask only people you assume are non-British. That can be discriminatory and does not follow the scheme.

Licensing

HMO, selective, and additional licensing can depend on the property and local authority. A national move-in checklist cannot confirm local licensing. Record the council, licence or application, expiry, conditions, and evidence of any claimed exemption.

Smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms

Record applicability, installation, and the required checks. Alarm duties are not accurately represented by inventing a universal annual certificate expiry.

A practical evidence sequence

For every item, preserve:

1. the exact document version;
2. the person who received it;
3. the date and method of service;
4. any acknowledgement or delivery evidence;
5. the next review or expiry date; and
6. any exception or unresolved issue.

Common questions

Do landlords still give the old How to Rent guide?

Do not rely on a pre-reform checklist. Use the current assured-periodic-tenancy and written-information guidance for the tenancy being created. A document required under the former Section 21 framework should not be assumed to be a current universal requirement.

Is emailing a link enough?

It depends on the document. For the 2026 Information Sheet, GOV.UK specifically required the PDF attachment or a hard copy, not only a link. Keep the actual attachment and sent record.

Does the tenant need to sign every document?

The legal question is usually whether the required information or record was provided correctly, not whether every page has a signature. Acknowledgement can be useful evidence but does not repair the wrong document or a missed deadline.

Can my letting agent handle this?

An agent can perform operational steps, but the duties and allocation of responsibility need to be understood. Keep evidence in the landlord's own compliance file rather than assuming the agent will retain it indefinitely.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current official instructions for the specific property and tenancy before agreeing or starting the tenancy.