Preparing For Residential Lettings
Preparing for a new residential tenancy requires careful planning to ensure legal compliance, reduce risk, and establish a clear and stable landlord-tenant relationship from the outset. From pre-tenancy checks to document preparation, landlords and letting agents must complete a number of essential steps before granting a tenancy. These include:
- Understanding current legal requirements and regulatory changes
- Agreeing the key terms of the tenancy
- Vetting and referencing prospective tenants
- Carrying out required property safety checks
- Ensuring the property is fit for human habitation
- Preparing a detailed inventory and schedule of condition
- Complying with data protection obligations
Residential Tenancy Pre-Contract Documents
Failure to complete key pre-tenancy steps or provide required information to tenants can result in significant financial penalties and enforcement action.
This collection of pre-tenancy templates and documents have been drafted by a legal professional and are designed to support and protect landlords and letting agents in England when setting up a new tenancy. These documents help:
- Ensure compliance with current housing legislation
- Protect landlords from avoidable disputes
- Streamline the tenancy setup process
- Provide a clear audit trail of pre-contract steps
Using the correct documentation at the outset can significantly reduce time, cost and risk - not only during tenant onboarding, but throughout the tenancy and at the point of exit.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Before letting a property, landlords must ensure the property meets all statutory requirements, including being fit for human habitation, free from serious health and safety hazards, and supported by valid compliance documents such as an EPC, Gas Safety Certificate, and Electrical Installation Condition Report.
Landlords must also comply with current advertising and letting requirements, complete appropriate tenant referencing, carry out right to rent checks, and consider any guarantor requirements. If a deposit is taken, it must be handled in accordance with deposit protection and Tenant Fees Act requirements. There are a range of guidance notes, documents and templates to assist with tenancy compliance.
For assured residential lettings in England, landlords should no longer use fixed-term Assured Shorthold (AST) agreements. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished AST's and introduced Periodic Assured Tenancies (APTs). Landlords in Wales must comply with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and different rules apply to non-assured tenancies. Landlords should ensure they are using the correct tenancy agreement for the type of letting being created.
At the start of a tenancy, landlords will need to provide a tenant with a written statement of the key tenancy terms, a valid Gas Safety Certificate, the current EPC, and current Electrical Installation Condition Report. Where a tenancy deposit is taken, landlords must also protect t in an approved scheme and provide the required Prescribed Information. It is also recommended that landlords prepare an Inventory/Schedule of Condition to record the property's condition at the start of the tenancy.
Taking a tenancy deposit is optional, but if a deposit is taken for a tenancy covered by the deposit protection rules, it must be protected in an authorised tenancy deposit scheme and the Prescribed Information must be provided within 30 days of receiving it. Deposits must comply with the statutory limits. Failure to comply with deposit protection requirements can result in financial penalties and may restrict the landlord’s ability to recover possession.