Landlord Compliance — Track Everything in One Place
Getting a possession order rejected because a Gas Safety certificate was not served. Losing a deposit dispute because Right to Rent wasn't documented. A fine for an expired HMO licence. These are avoidable problems. Tenant City tracks every compliance requirement across your portfolio — with expiry alerts before anything lapses.
What compliance must landlords track?
| Requirement | When | Consequence of failure |
|---|---|---|
| Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) | Annual; copy served to tenant within 28 days of check (or before move-in) | Criminal offence (unlimited fine / 6 months imprisonment); cannot serve valid Section 21 (now abolished) |
| Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) | Valid EPC (min E rating) required before letting; copy to tenant | £5,000 fine; invalid tenancy; cannot issue Section 8 on some grounds |
| EICR (Electrical) | Every 5 years; copy to tenant within 28 days | Up to £30,000 local authority fine |
| How to Rent guide | Served at each new tenancy (latest edition) | Cannot use Section 8 possession process correctly without it |
| Deposit protection | Within 30 days of receipt; prescribed information served | 1–3× deposit fine; tenant can apply for repayment order |
| Right to Rent check | Before tenancy starts; follow-up checks for time-limited permission | Civil penalty up to £20,000 per occupant; criminal liability (knowingly) |
| Smoke and CO alarms | Tested on first day of tenancy; CO alarm in any room with solid fuel appliance | Up to £5,000 local authority fine |
| HMO Licence | Every 5 years for mandatory HMOs; check for local additional/selective schemes | Criminal offence; unlimited fine; Rent Repayment Order |
| Legionella Risk Assessment | Before each tenancy; periodic review (recommended every 2 years or on change of use) | Health & Safety at Work Act liability; HSE enforcement; civil claim if tenant becomes ill |
| Fire Safety Risk Assessment | Before letting and when material changes occur; mandatory for HMOs | Fire Safety Act enforcement notice; prosecution; unlimited fine |
This table is a summary. Requirements and penalties change — always verify with GOV.UK or a solicitor.
How Tenant City tracks compliance
Each property in Tenant City has a compliance panel showing the status of every certificate and requirement:
- Expiry dates tracked — enter the issue date and the platform calculates and displays the expiry, with alerts before it lapses
- Automated email reminders — reminders sent at 30, 14, and 7 days before expiry for Gas Safety, EPC, EICR, Legionella, Fire Safety, and HMO licences; batched per landlord so one clear alert covers all affected properties
- Portfolio compliance dashboard — see the status of every document across every property in one view; amber and red flags make it clear what needs attention
- EPC auto-import — during property setup, search the national EPC register by postcode and import the certificate directly; the expiry date (10 years from registration) is calculated automatically
- Legionella and Fire Safety risk assessment generation — create compliant risk assessment documents using the built-in tools; no need for third-party templates
- Documents stored — upload the Gas Safety certificate, EPC, EICR, and other documents directly to the property record
- Served status tracked — mark when each document was served to the tenant; this is the record you need if compliance is challenged
- How to Rent guide version tracking — the platform flags when a new edition has been published and needs to be re-served
- Deposit protection records — protection scheme, reference number, and date protected stored per tenancy
- Right to Rent notes — log check date, document type seen, and follow-up dates for time-limited permission
Why compliance documentation matters more now
Before the Renters' Rights Act, a landlord with missing compliance documents could still issue a Section 21 notice once they'd corrected the gap. Section 21 is now abolished.
For Section 8 possession proceedings, courts will scrutinise the full compliance history. A missed Gas Safety certificate or unserved How to Rent guide may not block your application outright, but gaps in documentation weaken your case. Thorough records from day one are your best defence.
Move-in packs — serve it all at once
Tenant City's move-in pack feature bundles all the documents that must be served at the start of a tenancy — the tenancy agreement, Gas Safety certificate, EPC, EICR, and How to Rent guide — into a single digital pack, delivered via e-signature. You get a timestamped record of delivery for every document, in one place.
Stop tracking compliance in a spreadsheet — Tenant City keeps your whole portfolio compliant in one place.
Start freeThis page is for general information only. Requirements and penalties are subject to change. Always verify current obligations with GOV.UK or a solicitor.