Private Renter Rights Checklist UK: What You're Owed

Before you hand over a penny, your landlord has a set of documents they are legally required to provide. Getting these wrong isn't a technicality. It can make a rent repayment order application much easier to win.

For tenancies that started before 1 May 2026, landlords were required to provide the government's 'How to Rent' guide. For new tenancies entered into after that date under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, that specific obligation changed. Landlords must now provide the official Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet. The deadline to serve this to existing tenants was 31 May 2026 (CertNudge Blog, 2026). If your landlord missed that deadline, note it down.

Beyond the information sheet, your landlord must provide:

• A valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• A current Gas Safety Certificate (renewed annually)
• An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) no older than five years
• Your deposit protection certificate and prescribed information, within 30 days of receiving the deposit

If any of these are missing, you are not just inconvenienced. You may be owed compensation. A missing gas safety certificate, for example, can support a rent repayment order claim. A deposit that wasn't protected within 30 days can be worth up to three times the deposit amount in a county court claim. Check our guide to deposit protection violations for the exact mechanism.

Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies are gone. From 1 May 2026, all tenancies in England are assured periodic tenancies. Rent periods are capped at one calendar month. Any clause in your agreement trying to lock you into a longer payment cycle is no longer valid.

The shift to assured periodic tenancies under the Renters' Rights Act also affects how rent increases work. Automatic escalation clauses tied to CPI or RPI are no longer enforceable as a self-executing mechanism. Your landlord must follow the statutory Section 13 process, which means serving a formal notice, giving you at least two months' warning, and allowing you to challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal if you think it's above market rate.

Section 21 'no-fault' evictions ended on 1 May 2026. Your landlord cannot evict you without a valid ground, and those grounds are now defined in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as updated by the Renters' Rights Act. Eviction for wanting the property back for personal use, for example, now requires at least four months' notice and cannot be used in the first 12 months of the tenancy.

If your landlord has served you a notice that looks like it's trying to get around this, that matters. Read our guide on backdoor eviction protections under the Renters' Rights Act to understand what's legitimate and what isn't.

A Rent Repayment Order (RRO) lets you claim back up to 12 months' rent through the First-tier Tribunal. You don't need a solicitor. You don't need to leave the property. The grounds are specific enough that if your landlord has committed one of them, the tribunal's job is largely to assess the amount, not relitigate whether the violation happened.

The qualifying grounds for an RRO include:

• Operating an unlicensed HMO (a property that requires a House in Multiple Occupation licence and doesn't have one)
• Failing to comply with a banning order
• Using violence or threats to enter the property
• Committing illegal eviction
• Failing to comply with an improvement notice or prohibition order
• Certain breaches of the Renters' Rights Act 2025

If you live in a shared house with at least three people from two or more households, check whether your property needed an HMO licence. Many landlords don't bother. Our guide to unlicensed HMO rent repayment orders covers what you need to prove and how to find out whether a licence was required.

On rent figures: if you pay £1,200 a month and have a 12-month window of unlicensed occupation, the maximum award is £14,400. That's before any legal costs. Tribunals don't always award the maximum, but awards of 70-80% are common where the landlord hasn't co-operated (First-tier Tribunal data, 2025).

Remedy does a free landlord and property assessment covering RRO eligibility, HMO licence validity, deposit protection status, and gas safety certificate compliance. You find out where you stand before committing to anything.

Illegal eviction is exactly what it sounds like: your landlord removes you, or tries to, without going through the court process. Changing the locks while you're out. Removing your belongings. Cutting off utilities to make the property uninhabitable. All of these are criminal offences under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

The civil claim is separate from the criminal one. You can sue your landlord for damages in the county court even if the police didn't pursue a prosecution. Damages can be substantial: courts have awarded sums representing the difference between the market rent and the rent you were paying, multiplied by the period of unlawful exclusion. In a hot rental market, that can run to tens of thousands of pounds.

Harassment short of actual eviction is also actionable. Entering the property without 24 hours' written notice, repeatedly phoning or messaging you to pressure you to leave, or refusing to carry out repairs in a way that's clearly designed to make you move out can all form the basis of a harassment claim. See our guides on landlord harassment legal remedies and illegal eviction compensation for the specific causes of action.

If your landlord has started doing any of this and you're not sure whether it crosses a legal line, Remedy's free instant assessment gives you a direct read on your situation with no jargon and no paid consultation.

Under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, your landlord is responsible for the structure of the property, exterior, and installations for heating, water, gas, and electricity. That has been the law for decades. What changed recently is the timeline.

Awaab's Law, extended to the private rented sector under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, now sets specific repair deadlines. Hazards that pose an immediate risk to health must be investigated within 24 hours and work must start within 48 hours. Urgent repairs must begin within 12 days of a written complaint. Non-urgent repairs have a 30-day window. If your landlord misses these deadlines, you have grounds for a compensation claim without needing to show actual harm beyond the breach.

Mould and damp get specific treatment under Awaab's Law. A landlord who receives written notice of damp or mould and fails to act within the statutory period is exposed to both a civil claim from you and enforcement action from the local council. Our guide to mould and damp landlord obligations sets out the exact process.

Before going to tribunal, a formal letter before action is worth sending. It creates a written record, starts the clock on response time, and often produces a settlement without the tribunal process. Remedy can draft that letter for you, referencing the applicable legislation and the specific failures involved. Check our guide to sending a letter before action to your landlord for what to include.

Run through these in order. Each 'no' is a potential claim.

Documentation your landlord should have given you:

• Gas Safety Certificate (current, renewed annually)
• EICR (no older than five years)
• EPC (valid rating, in writing)
• Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet (for existing tenancies, served by 31 May 2026)
• Deposit protection certificate and prescribed information within 30 days of payment

Property standards:

• No category 1 hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System
• Heating system in working order
• No unaddressed damp or mould following written complaint
• Smoke alarms on every floor, carbon monoxide detector in every room with a combustion appliance

Tenancy terms:

• No fixed-term clause in new tenancies post-May 2026
• Rent increase served via Section 13 notice with at least two months' notice
• No rent review clause that auto-applies without the Section 13 process
• No cleaning fees charged at end of tenancy beyond documented evidence of damage (see our guide on whether your landlord can charge cleaning fees)

Licensing (if you share with others):

• If three or more people from two or more households share the property, check whether it needs an HMO licence from the council
• If your borough has selective licensing, check whether your property is registered

If you find violations and want to know what they're worth, Remedy's landlord and property assessment checks all of the above and tells you which claims you have, with an estimated value range. The assessment is free.