What Your Landlord Is Legally Required to Do

Renting well partly comes down to knowing what's actually owed to you — not as a favour, but as a legal minimum. Here's the real baseline.

Your deposit

If you paid a deposit, it must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and you must be given the scheme details in writing. This isn't optional, and a landlord who hasn't done it can face a penalty of up to three times the deposit amount if you take it to court.

Safety certificates

• A valid Gas Safety Certificate, renewed annually, if the property has gas appliances.
• A satisfactory Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), and a copy provided to you.
• Working smoke alarms on every floor, and carbon monoxide alarms wherever required — tested and confirmed working at the start of your tenancy.
• A valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), rated at least Band E.

Your identity checks

Right-to-rent verification is a legal requirement your landlord (or their agent) must carry out before you move in — this protects you as much as it protects them, since a landlord who lets without checking properly is the one who faces the penalty, not you.

Repairs

Landlords are legally responsible for keeping the structure, exterior, and key systems — heating, hot water, electrics — in proper working order throughout your tenancy, not just at the start.

What this means practically

If any of this hasn't happened — no deposit protection confirmation, no EICR, no working smoke alarms — it's worth raising directly and in writing. Most of these aren't grey areas open to interpretation; they're straightforward legal minimums.