Renters' Rights Act: Landlord Record-Keeping Guide
Reviewed and updated to reflect the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and current 2026 regulations.
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 makes the biggest changes to private renting in England in over 30 years. All tenancies become periodic from day one. Tenant protections are stronger than ever. And if you want to regain possession of your property, you'll need evidence. For an overview of what the Act means in practice, see our guide on what landlords must do now the Renters' Rights Act is in effect.
This article explains what these changes mean for your record-keeping and what you should do to prepare.
Why Your Records Matter More Than Ever
Under the Renters' Rights Act, landlords must use Section 8 to regain possession, which requires demonstrating specific grounds such as rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, or wanting to sell or move into the property.
Here's what changes in practice: when you serve a Section 8 notice, the tenant can defend against it. They can challenge whether the grounds are met. They can point to any failures in your legal obligations. And crucially, tribunals and courts will look at evidence.
Landlords who can't demonstrate compliance with their legal duties will be in a weaker position. Good records become essential.
The Documents That Now Carry Real Legal Weight
Several documents have always been legally required (see our full UK landlord compliance checklist). But under the new system, your ability to prove you provided them matters more.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). You must provide this before a tenancy starts. Properties must meet minimum energy efficiency standards. Without proof of delivery, a tenant defending against eviction could argue non-compliance.
Gas Safety Certificate (CP12). Annual inspection and certificate required. Must be provided to tenants within 28 days of the check, and before they move in for new tenancies. Records of delivery are essential.
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). Required every five years. Must be provided to tenants within 28 days of inspection. Keep records showing when you gave it to each tenant.
Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet. Government document that replaced the How to Rent guide on 1 May 2026 and must be provided at the start of each tenancy. Proving delivery is critical.
Deposit Prescribed Information. If you take a deposit, you must protect it and provide prescribed information within 30 days. Failure to comply has always had consequences, but under Section 8 proceedings, evidence of compliance strengthens your position.
What “Good Records” Actually Looks Like
Saying “I emailed it” isn't enough. Good records mean specific, timestamped evidence that the tenant received and ideally acknowledged each document. Our guide on how to prove tenants received documents covers this in detail.
Strong evidence includes timestamps showing when documents were accessed or viewed, explicit tenant acknowledgements recorded digitally, version tracking so you know which document was provided and when, and records created at the time rather than reconstructed during a dispute.
Weak evidence includes email send receipts without proof of opening, verbal claims that documents were handed over, and general clauses in tenancy agreements stating documents were provided.
The difference is specificity. A record showing “EICR viewed by tenant on 15 March 2026 at 10:23am” is far more compelling than “I gave them all the documents at the start”.
What to Do Before 1 May 2026
If you haven't already, now is the time to get organised. Review your current record-keeping. Do you have clear evidence of when each tenant received each required document? If not, consider implementing a system that creates these records automatically.
For existing tenancies, you can't go back and create records that don't exist. But you can start now. If you're providing updated documents like a new Gas Safety Certificate, create a proper record of delivery.
For new tenancies starting after May 2026, make sure your process captures evidence from day one.
A Simple Checklist
Before the May 2026 deadline, ensure you have a system to store all required documents organised by property and tenancy, share documents with tenants in a way that creates a record, capture when each tenant views or acknowledges each document, export evidence if you ever need it for a tribunal, and update documents (like annual gas certificates) with the same level of tracking.
The goal is simple: if you ever need to demonstrate compliance, you can pull up specific, dated records rather than relying on memory or general claims.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Why do landlord records matter more under the Renters’ Rights Act?
Under the Act, landlords must use Section 8 to regain possession, which requires demonstrating specific grounds, and tenants can defend against the notice and point to failures in your legal obligations. Tribunals and courts will look at evidence, so landlords who can’t demonstrate compliance with their legal duties will be in a weaker position.
Which documents now carry real legal weight?
Key documents include the Energy Performance Certificate provided before the tenancy starts, the Gas Safety Certificate provided within 28 days of the check, the EICR provided within 28 days of inspection, the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet, and deposit prescribed information provided within 30 days. Your ability to prove you provided each of them matters more under the new system.
What counts as good records?
Saying you emailed it isn’t enough. Good records mean specific, timestamped evidence that the tenant received and ideally acknowledged each document, with records created at the time rather than reconstructed during a dispute. A record showing an EICR was viewed by the tenant on a specific date and time is far more compelling than a general claim that you gave them all the documents at the start.
What should I do for existing tenancies without records?
For existing tenancies you can’t go back and create records that don’t exist, but you can start now. If you’re providing updated documents such as a new Gas Safety Certificate, create a proper record of delivery, and for new tenancies make sure your process captures evidence from day one.
Written by Antoine Helsen
Founder of HouseFile and a UK landlord. He writes about landlord compliance from first-hand experience, reviewed against UK legislation and official gov.uk guidance. More about HouseFile.