How to Become a Landlord in England: The Complete 2026 Step-by-Step Guide

If you want to know how to become a landlord in England in 2026, the honest answer is that it takes more planning than it did even a year ago. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 and rewrote the rulebook: there are no more fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies, no more Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, and tenants now have a statutory right to request a pet. Getting your first let right means understanding the law as it stands now, not as the old guides describe it.

This guide walks you through everything a first-time landlord must do before, during and after their first tenancy in England, the legal duties, the safety certificates, the deposit rules, the tax registration and the paperwork, all aligned to the rules in force in June 2026. Treat it as the master roadmap; we link out to deeper guides at each step.

What being a landlord in England actually involves in 2026

Letting a property in England is no longer a side hustle you can run on a handshake and a downloaded Word template. It is a regulated activity with criminal and civil penalties for getting it wrong. In broad terms you take on four overlapping sets of duties: safety (gas, electrical, fire and energy obligations met before move-in and maintained throughout); tenancy law (the right agreement, lawful deposit handling, correct notices); tax and finance (declaring income, allowable expenses, the Section 24 restriction on mortgage interest relief); and local duties (licensing schemes that vary council by council).

The single biggest mindset shift for 2026 is this: every tenancy is now an assured periodic tenancy that rolls month to month. There is no fixed term to fall back on, and there is no Section 21 to end the tenancy without a reason. Your systems and paperwork need to reflect that from day one.

Before you let: is the property ready and are you ready?

Becoming a landlord starts well before a tenant moves in. Work through these foundations first.

1. Check you are allowed to let the property

This is where first-time landlords most often trip up, because the barriers are contractual rather than statutory:

• Mortgage: a residential mortgage almost always prohibits letting. You need either consent to let from your lender or a dedicated buy-to-let mortgage. Letting without permission can breach your mortgage terms and trigger repayment.
• Leasehold: if the property is leasehold (most flats are), your lease may restrict or ban subletting, or require the freeholder’s consent and a fee. Read the lease before you advertise.
• Insurance: standard owner-occupier home insurance is void the moment you let. You need specific landlord buildings cover and, where you provide furnishings, contents cover. Many policies also bundle property owner’s liability.

2. Decide your ownership structure

Whether you hold the property personally or through a limited company has significant tax consequences, largely because of the Section 24 restriction on mortgage interest relief, which replaced full deduction with a flat 20% tax credit. For a higher-rate taxpayer with a mortgage, this can dramatically change the maths. It is worth modelling both routes before you buy or let, because transferring a property into a company later can trigger stamp duty and capital gains tax.

See our guides on Section 24 mortgage interest relief and owning rental property in a limited company to weigh up the trade-offs.

3. Get the mandatory safety certificates

You must have these in place before a tenant moves in. Missing or expired certificates are among the most common, and most expensive, first-time mistakes:

See EPC rules for landlords and the rules on giving tenants the gas safety certificate for the detail. The Government’s guidance at gov.uk/renting-out-a-property summarises the core legal responsibilities.

A note on the horizon: the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law are being phased into the private rented sector, tightening hazard standards and imposing fixed timescales for dealing with dangerous defects such as damp and mould.

4. Check whether you need a licence

Many lets need a licence, and operating without one is a serious offence that can trigger a rent repayment order of up to 12 months’ rent and a banning order in severe cases:

• Mandatory HMO licensing applies to houses in multiple occupation with five or more people forming two or more households sharing facilities.
• Additional licensing extends HMO licensing to smaller shared houses in designated areas.
• Selective licensing schemes can require a licence for almost any private rented home in a designated area, and many councils, particularly London boroughs and northern cities, operate them.

Licensing is local, time-limited and renewed area by area, so a property that needed no licence last year may need one now. Confirm with your local authority before letting. Our HMO licensing guide explains the thresholds.

Setting up the tenancy correctly

Once the property is compliant, focus on the tenant and the paperwork.

5. Reference the tenant and check Right to Rent

• Carry out thorough referencing: identity, affordability (a common rule of thumb is annual rent no more than 30–40% of gross income), employment, previous-landlord conduct and credit history. If the income or history is borderline, you may decide a guarantor is needed. Our tenant referencing guide explains the order of checks.
• Complete a Right to Rent immigration status check on every adult occupier before the tenancy begins, this is a legal duty across England, and failing to check carries civil penalties and, for repeat or deliberate breaches, criminal liability. Keep dated copies of the evidence.

6. Use a compliant tenancy agreement

This is where the biggest change bites. Under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025:

• All assured tenancies are now periodic, typically rolling month to month. You cannot offer a fixed term such as a 12-month AST. Any attempt to lock a tenant in for a fixed period is unenforceable.
• The tenant can end the tenancy on two months’ notice at any time.
• Rent-review clauses are banned, you cannot bake automatic increases into the agreement; rent rises must go through the statutory Section 13 route.
• Your agreement must reflect the right to request a pet rather than impose a blanket “no pets” ban.

Use a template written for the post-Section 21 regime, not a recycled AST. See how to write a tenancy agreement.

7. Take and protect the deposit correctly

• The deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent (six weeks if annual rent is £50,000 or more) under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
• A holding deposit, taken to reserve the property while you reference, is capped at one week’s rent.
• You must protect the deposit in a government-authorised scheme (DPS, TDS or mydeposits) and serve the prescribed information within 30 days of receipt, this duty is unchanged by the new Act (Housing Act 2004 s.213–215). Get this wrong and you cannot easily regain possession, and the tenant can claim up to three times the deposit in compensation.

8. Serve the right documents at the start

Provide, and keep dated proof you provided, each of the following before or at the start of the tenancy:

• The Gas Safety certificate, the EPC, and the current “How to Rent” guide from GOV.UK.
• The deposit prescribed information and the scheme’s information leaflet.
• A signed inventory and schedule of condition, no statute mandates it, but you will struggle to win a deposit dispute without one. See why an inventory matters.

Failing to provide these documents does not just risk a fine; it can block your ability to recover possession down the line.

During the tenancy: staying compliant

9. Manage rent and increases lawfully

• You may raise rent once in any 12-month period using the current prescribed Section 13 form on GOV.UK, giving the tenant at least two months’ notice of the new rent.
• You cannot use an informal letter or a clause in the agreement to force an increase, Section 13 is the only lawful mechanism.
• If the tenant disputes it, the First-tier Tribunal can confirm or lower the rent but never set it above your proposed figure, so there is no longer any downside risk to the tenant in challenging an increase.

Our guide on how to increase rent legally in 2026 walks through the process and the dates.

10. Respect access and repair duties

• Give at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering for inspections or non-emergency repairs, and enter only at a reasonable time of day. The tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment is robust, repeated unannounced visits can amount to harassment.
• Keep on top of repairs. As Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard phase into the private rented sector, the timescales for fixing serious hazards will become legally binding rather than aspirational.

11. Handle pet requests properly

A tenant can request in writing to keep a pet, and you must give a decision in writing within 28 days (plus up to a further seven days if you reasonably need more information to decide). There is no deemed consent, you must not unreasonably refuse, and you cannot require the tenant to take out pet insurance (Housing Act 1988 s.16A–16B). You can reasonably attach conditions, for example, that the tenant covers any pet-related damage, but a flat ban is unlawful.

Ending a tenancy in the new regime

Because Section 21 is abolished, possession now runs through Section 8 grounds only, around 37 grounds, each with its own notice period. Examples include:

• Ground 8 (serious rent arrears): at least three months’ or 13 weeks’ arrears, with four weeks’ notice.
• Ground 1A (landlord selling the property): four months’ notice.
• Ground 2 (mortgage lender repossessing): four months’ notice.

Use the current prescribed Section 8 form on GOV.UK, never an old AST or Section 21 template. A tenancy can also end by mutual surrender (a documented agreement to bring it to an end) or when the tenant gives two months’ notice. See how tenancies end in England in 2026.

A worked example: Priya’s first let

To see how the steps fit together, follow Priya, a first-time landlord in Leeds letting a two-bedroom terraced house at £1,100 per calendar month.

1. Permissions. Priya switches her residential mortgage to a buy-to-let product and takes out landlord buildings and liability insurance. Her property is freehold, so no leasehold consent is needed.
2. Safety. She books a Gas Safe engineer (CP12), commissions an EICR (which passes), and confirms her EPC is band C, comfortably above the band E minimum. She fits a smoke alarm on each storey and a CO alarm beside the boiler.
3. Licensing. She checks Leeds City Council’s website and finds the property sits in a selective licensing area, so she applies and pays the fee before advertising.
4. Tenant. She references her applicant, affordability, credit and a previous-landlord reference, and completes a Right to Rent check. The income is solid, so no guarantor is needed.
5. Agreement. She uses an assured periodic tenancy agreement reflecting the Renters’ Rights Act: no fixed term, no rent-review clause, and a pet clause framed around the right to request.
6. Deposit. Five weeks’ rent on £1,100 pcm is (£1,100 × 12 ÷ 52) × 5 = £1,269, within the five-week cap. She protects it with the DPS and serves the prescribed information within 30 days.
7. Move-in. She hands over the How to Rent guide, CP12, EPC and prescribed information, and both parties sign a photographic inventory.

Priya now has a compliant let. Her ongoing job is to keep certificates current, handle pet and rent-increase matters by the book, and retain proof of everything she served.

Common first-time landlord mistakes to avoid

Tax: registering and declaring rental income

Rental profit is taxable income. As a new landlord you must register for Self Assessment with HMRC, generally by 5 October following the end of the tax year in which you first received rental income, and file a return each year. Keep records of rent received and allowable expenses, letting fees, repairs (not improvements), insurance, ground rent and service charges. Mortgage interest is no longer a deductible expense but instead attracts the 20% Section 24 tax credit, which is why the ownership decision at step 2 matters so much.

On the horizon: what is coming but not yet in force

Two reforms are coming but are not yet in force in June 2026:

• A new PRS Landlord Ombudsman, which landlords will be required to join, is expected to launch around 2028.
• A Private Rented Sector Database, on which landlords and properties will have to be registered, is expected to phase in from late 2026 into 2027.

When these go live, registration and ombudsman membership will become further compliance steps. Build the habit of tracking deadlines now and adding them will be straightforward.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to become a landlord in England?

If the property is purchase-ready, the compliance side, gas check, EICR, EPC, licensing, referencing and paperwork, typically takes two to six weeks. Licensing applications and electrical remedial work are usually the longest items, so start them early.

Do I need a licence to be a landlord in England?

There is no single national landlord licence, but many properties need a local licence. Mandatory HMO licensing applies to larger shared houses, while additional and selective licensing schemes operate in many council areas and can cover ordinary single-family lets. Always check with the specific local authority before you advertise.

Can I still use a 12-month tenancy agreement?

No. Since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, all assured tenancies are periodic and roll month to month. You cannot grant a fixed term, and a tenant can end the tenancy on two months’ notice. Use a current periodic agreement rather than a recycled AST.

How much deposit can I take?

The deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent where annual rent is under £50,000, or six weeks’ rent where it is £50,000 or more. A separate holding deposit, used to reserve the property during referencing, is capped at one week’s rent. The deposit must be protected in an authorised scheme and the prescribed information served within 30 days.

How do I evict a tenant now that Section 21 is gone?

Possession runs through Section 8 grounds only, around 37 grounds, each with its own notice period and evidence requirements, served on the current prescribed Section 8 form on GOV.UK. A tenancy can also end by mutual surrender or when the tenant gives notice. There is no longer any no-fault route.

Do I need to pay tax on rental income?

Yes. Rental profit is taxable. Register for Self Assessment with HMRC, keep records of income and allowable expenses, and file a return each year. Mortgage interest is relieved at a flat 20% under Section 24 rather than deducted in full.

Coming soon

Tenancy Pilot is launching soon, an all-in-one command centre built to take a first-time landlord from “I’ve got a property” to “I’ve got a compliant tenant” without missing a step. The onboarding and compliance dashboard turns this whole roadmap into dated, automated reminders, stores every certificate with renewal alerts, and generates the documents you need along the way, tenancy agreement, deposit paperwork, inventory and more. For a printable companion, see our first-time landlord checklist, and join the waitlist to be first in when we open.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Always check the current rules on GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk, and consult a qualified solicitor before acting.