Landlords have a duty to provide their tenants with a number of documents and certificates at the start of the tenancy.
These documents include:
- Information about the tenancy deposit known as “prescribed information”
- The How to Rent guide
- A copy of the property’s Gas Safety Certificate
- A copy of the property’s Electrical Installation Report (EICR)
- A copy of the property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
If you used Rent Now to set up the tenancy, then you will have been provided with the prescribed information within 30 days of the deposit being protected and the How to Rent Guide before the tenancy starts. However, the landlord will still be responsible for providing you with a copy of the gas safety certificate, EICR and EPC.
Who can I report this to?
First of all, if you have set up the tenancy using Rent Now, we will contact you at the start of the tenancy to ask if the landlord has provided you with the above certificates.
If they have not, we will contact the landlord to ask them to do so immediately and to ensure that they have valid certificates as above.
If the landlord does not provide you with the required certificates, then you should contact them directly to ask them to supply you with them. After this you can follow the process below.
If you have not used Rent Now, then you should contact your landlord immediately at the start of the tenancy if they have not provided you with any of the above documents.
What if they don’t have them?
Deposit
If you are using a traditional cash deposit, landlords have an obligation to protect the deposit in one of the government-approved deposit schemes. If you are using Rent Now, then the deposit will have been protected with mydeposits and you will have been sent the deposit information known as “prescribed information”.
If you did not use Rent Now, you can check whether your deposit has been protected by entering your tenancy details on the deposit scheme providers’ websites. There are only three government approved schemes - the DPS, TDS, and mydeposits.
If the landlord has not protected the deposit with one of the approved deposit schemes or served you with information about the deposit scheme known as “prescribed information” within 30 days of the deposit being protected, then you may be entitled to claim 1-3 times the deposit from the Landlord.
If you wish to start a claim against the landlord, then you should first seek independent legal advice as you will have to make an application to court. This can be time consuming and potentially costly, especially if mistakes are made in the application. It will be best to wait until the tenancy has ended before making this application if you decide to do so.
The Landlord will also not be able to rely on a Section 21 notice if they have failed to protect the deposit and provide you with the prescribed information within 30 days of protecting it.
How to Rent Guide
The landlord must have supplied the tenant with a copy of the current version of the How to Rent Guide: The checklist for renting in England (How to Rent Booklet). If you are using Rent Now, then you will have received this at the beginning of the tenancy.
Landlords are not required to supply a further copy of the booklet each time a new version is published or on renewal as long as the property and the parties to the tenancy agreement remain the same.
Landlords will not be able to rely on a S21 notice where they have not served tenants with the How to Rent Guide.
EPC
An EPC is intended to provide correct information about the energy performance of the building and also practical advice on improving such performance.
The landlord must make an EPC available to any prospective tenant free of charge at the earliest available opportunity, and also must provide a tenant with a copy of the EPC before they sign the tenancy agreement.
If you are unsure whether you have been given an EPC, or whether the property has an EPC, then you can check the government register here. If you have a paper copy of the EPC, you can verify its authenticity by comparing it against the copies held on the register.
If the property requires an EPC and the landlord has not provided you with a valid certificate, then you can contact Trading Standards or your local authority’s building control department, who can force a landlord to undertake an EPC, as well as potentially issue fines. The council may take enforcement action against the landlord, which could include an improvement or emergency remedial notice.
In England, failure to provide the tenant with an EPC before the start of an AST may mean that the landlord is not able to rely on a S21 notice.
Gas Safety
Landlords must have an annual gas safety check carried out on gas appliances and all related flues which they provide. This work must be performed by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.
Tenants must be given a copy of the current certificate prior to moving in and a copy of any renewed certificates within 28 days of the check being completed if it needs to be renewed during the tenancy.
If the landlord has not provided you with a valid CP12 form, after allowing the landlord a reasonable time to respond, you should then contact your local council. You can also report this to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) via form LGSR1.
If there is an emergency at your property, you can read our full advice on what to do here.
The landlord will not be able to rely on a S21 notice where they have failed to provide you with a valid Gas Safety Certificate at the outset of the tenancy. However, this can be rectified as long as the gas safety certificate that was valid at the start of the tenant is served before the S21 notice.
Electrical Safety
All landlords in England and Scotland, and those with new occupation contracts in Wales, must have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) completed by a qualified person at the property every 5 years.
An EICR is a check on the electrical wiring, sockets, consumer units (fuse boxes) and other fixed electrical parts.
Landlords must supply a copy of the valid certificate to the tenants at the beginning of the tenancy, and a copy of a renewed certificate within 28 days of completion if it needs to be renewed during the tenancy.
If your landlord does not give you a copy of the report (or fails to comply with any other aspect of the Regulations), you should contact your local council.
Councils have strong enforcement powers and can serve a remedial notice on the landlord requiring them to take action within 28 days.
Information on this site is by way of general guidance only and may not apply in your particular circumstances. You should not act or refrain from acting upon information on this site without seeking independent legal advice.