PSA: UK landlords have 17 days to send documents to tenants or face £7,000 fine — here's what you need to do
Just a heads up for any landlords who might have
missed this.
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on
1 May 2026 and there's a hard deadline of
31 May 2026 that most landlords don't seem to
know about.
Here's what you need to do depending on your
situation:
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IF YOU HAVE A WRITTEN TENANCY AGREEMENT
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You must send your tenant(s) the official
government Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet
2026 before 31 May 2026.
• It must be sent as an unaltered PDF — not a
link, not a screenshot, the actual PDF attached
• You can send it by email, post, or hand it
in person
• It applies to every named tenant individually
• Letting agents must also send it even if the
landlord already has
Download the official sheet free from:
gov.uk/government/publications
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IF YOUR TENANCY WAS VERBAL (no written agreement)
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You have a bigger job — you must provide a full
Written Statement of Tenancy Terms covering 15
mandatory sections including rent, deposit,
notice periods, possession grounds, repairs,
electrical and gas safety, pet rights, and
disability adaptations.
This replaces the Information Sheet for verbal
tenancy landlords.
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WHAT CHANGED FROM 1 MAY 2026
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• Section 21 no-fault evictions — abolished
• Fixed term tenancies — abolished, all
tenancies are now rolling periodic
• Rent increases — Section 13 only, once per
year, 2 months notice via Form 4A
• Pets — tenants can now request to keep a pet,
you cannot unreasonably refuse,
• Your existing agreement is still valid but
these changes apply automatically by law
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THE FINE
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Local councils can issue civil penalties of up
to £7,000 per tenancy for non-compliance. Keep
a record of when and how you sent the documents.
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Happy to answer any questions. I've been
researching this extensively and the number of
landlords who don't know about this deadline
is genuinely concerning.
If anyone needs the covering letter, written
statement, or proof of service templates I've
put together a pack on Etsy — search
"BritishLegalDocs" — but honestly the most
important thing is just getting the government
sheet sent before 31 May regardless of how
you do it.