London Landlord Compliance Calendar 2026

In residential buildings with a top storey over 11 metres, the 'Responsible Person' (landlord, freeholder or managing agent) must check all fire doors in communal areas quarterly, and use best endeavours to check every flat entrance fire door at least annually.

• Frequency: Quarterly (communal fire doors) / annual (flat entrance doors)
• Law: Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 10
• Typical cost: From £150 per quarterly site visit for a small block if outsourced; many freeholders train an on-site caretaker to do the visual check at no extra cost
• Penalty: Enforced by the local Fire and Rescue Authority; failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence carrying an unlimited fine and up to 2 years' imprisonment for serious breaches

Every gas appliance and flue a landlord provides must be checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer, with the record given to tenants within 28 days.

• Frequency: Annual (every 12 months, can be renewed up to 2 months early without losing the anniversary date)
• Law: Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
• Typical cost: From £55 (single-appliance flat) to £120–£200 (multi-appliance property or HMO) in London
• Penalty: Criminal offence prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 — unlimited fine and/or imprisonment; letting without a valid check also invalidates a Section 21/Section 8 possession route and can void landlord insurance

Landlords must fit at least one smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers). Alarms must be tested on the first day of every tenancy and repaired or replaced as soon as reasonably practicable once a fault is reported.

• Frequency: Tested at the start of every tenancy; repaired/replaced on report of a fault — ongoing duty, not a fixed annual date
• Law: Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended by the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022
• Typical cost: From £75 per mains-wired alarm installed by an electrician; a full flat retrofit (4–6 alarms) from £250
• Penalty: Local authority remedial notice; failure to comply carries a civil penalty of up to £5,000

A full boiler service is not a separate legal requirement — the law only mandates the annual gas safety check above — but manufacturers usually make an annual service a condition of the warranty, and a neglected boiler is the most common cause of a failed CP12.

• Frequency: Annual (best practice, aligned with the CP12 visit)
• Law: No standalone law — good-practice recommendation alongside the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
• Typical cost: From £80–£120, often bundled with the CP12 visit for a discount
• Penalty: None directly, but can void the boiler's manufacturer warranty and increase risk of a failed gas safety check

Landlords have a legal duty to assess the risk of Legionella bacteria in a property's water system. For an ordinary domestic property this is usually a simple, proportionate assessment rather than a technical survey, but it must be reviewed periodically or when something changes (e.g. a new water tank, a long-unused property).

• Frequency: No fixed statutory interval — review every 2 years or after any change affecting risk
• Law: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, per HSE Approved Code of Practice L8
• Typical cost: From £75 (flat/house) to £150–£200 (HMO or complex water system) in London
• Penalty: Enforced by the HSE under health and safety law — unlimited fine and/or imprisonment for serious breaches

Every fixed electrical installation in a rented property must be inspected and tested by a qualified electrician at least every 5 years, with the report given to tenants within 28 days and to the local authority within 7 days if it requests one.

• Frequency: 5-yearly (or sooner if the previous report specifies an earlier retest date)
• Law: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
• Typical cost: From £180 (1–2 bed flat) to £280–£450 (large house or HMO) in London
• Penalty: Local authority civil penalty of up to £30,000, or prosecution

Any HMO with 5+ occupiers from 2+ households needs a mandatory licence nationally; many London boroughs also run additional licensing (smaller HMOs) and selective licensing (any privately rented home in a designated area). Hackney's new selective scheme (17 of 21 wards) and borough-wide additional HMO scheme both start 1 May 2026.

• Frequency: Licence term set by the council, typically up to 5 years, then renewal
• Law: Housing Act 2004, Parts 2 and 3 (plus borough-specific designations)
• Typical cost: From £925 (Hackney selective licence) to £1,400+ (Hackney additional HMO licence); London boroughs typically charge £1,000–£1,800 for a mandatory HMO licence
• Penalty: Operating unlicensed is a criminal offence — unlimited fine, or a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per offence, plus tenants can apply for a Rent Repayment Order of up to 12 months' rent

A valid EPC (10-year validity, renewed when the property is next marketed for sale or let) is required for every letting, and since April 2020 it has been illegal to grant or continue a tenancy with an EPC rating below Band E unless a valid exemption is registered.

• Frequency: Certificate valid 10 years; renewed at the next 'trigger point' (new marketing/letting)
• Law: Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012; Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (MEES)
• Typical cost: From £60 (small flat) to £90–£120 (larger house) in London
• Penalty: Local authority civil penalty of up to £5,000 per property for letting below Band E without an exemption

The 'Responsible Person' for any building with communal areas (blocks of flats, HMOs, converted houses) must carry out a fire risk assessment of shared parts and keep means of escape, fire alarms and extinguishers in good working order. Depth of assessment (Type 1–4) depends on the building.

• Frequency: No fixed legal interval — must be 'suitable and sufficient' and reviewed regularly; annual review is standard good practice
• Law: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005; Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006
• Typical cost: From £150 (small block, Type 1 visual assessment) to £400–£550+ (larger blocks or more intrusive Type 2–4 assessments) in London
• Penalty: Unlimited fine and/or up to 2 years' imprisonment for serious breaches under the Fire Safety Order; HMO management breaches can also draw a civil penalty of up to £30,000

Any deposit taken for an assured shorthold tenancy must be placed in a government-approved scheme within 30 days of receipt, with the tenant given the scheme's 'prescribed information' in the same window.

• Frequency: Within 30 days of receiving each deposit
• Law: Housing Act 2004, sections 212–215
• Typical cost: Free (custodial schemes, e.g. DPS) or a small annual premium for insured schemes (typically under £30 per tenancy)
• Penalty: A court can order repayment of the deposit plus a penalty of between 1 and 3 times its value, and can also block certain possession claims until the breach is put right

Before granting a tenancy, landlords must check that every adult occupier has the right to rent in the UK, keep evidence of the check, and follow up before any time-limited permission expires.

• Frequency: Before every new tenancy starts, plus follow-up checks where the occupier's status is time-limited
• Law: Immigration Act 2014, Part 3, as amended
• Typical cost: Free for a manual document check or the Home Office online service; from £3–£8 per check via a certified digital identity service provider
• Penalty: Civil penalty of up to £10,000 (first breach) or £20,000 (repeat) per disqualified occupier; up to £5,000/£10,000 for lodgers

There is no standalone law forcing landlords in England to PAT test appliances they supply, but they carry a general duty to ensure electrical items are safe, and many mortgage lenders, insurers and HMO licence conditions expect it in practice.

• Frequency: No fixed legal interval — best practice is before every new tenancy and every 2–4 years thereafter
• Law: No dedicated PAT regulation; general duty under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (s.11) and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (Housing Act 2004)
• Typical cost: From £60–£120 per property (bundle pricing) in London
• Penalty: No specific PAT penalty, but an unsafe appliance causing harm can trigger HHSRS enforcement action and invalidate insurance cover

Section 21 'no-fault' evictions ended on 1 May 2026. All assured shorthold tenancies became periodic, and landlords now need a valid Section 8 ground (with revised notice periods) to regain possession. Landlords with a valid pre-commencement Section 21 notice must issue court proceedings by 31 July 2026 or lose the right to rely on it.

• Frequency: Ongoing duty from 1 May 2026 onward — no more fixed-term ASTs or Section 21 notices
• Law: Renters' Rights Act 2025
• Typical cost: No direct cost, but tenancy agreements, notice templates and arrears processes need updating — legal/agent review typically from £150
• Penalty: Possession claims using an invalid notice will be struck out by the court; landlords who evict unlawfully risk prosecution under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 (unlimited fine and/or up to 2 years' imprisonment) and civil damages

A new statutory Code of Practice takes effect on 1 October 2026, formalising digital identity checks through registered 'Right to Rent digital verification service providers' (RtR DVSPs). Landlords who check manually or via the free Home Office online service are unaffected.

• Frequency: One-off process change; ongoing per-tenancy checks continue as before
• Law: Right to Rent Scheme Code of Practice (7th edition), under the Immigration Act 2014 and Data (Use and Access) Act 2025
• Typical cost: From £3–£8 per digital check if a landlord chooses to use a registered DVSP
• Penalty: Same civil penalty regime as standard Right to Rent checks (see above) if a non-compliant method is relied upon

The Warm Homes Plan (21 January 2026) confirmed all private tenancies will need to reach EPC Band C by 1 October 2030 against new dual EPC metrics, with the compulsory-spend cost cap rising from £3,500 to £10,000 per property. The enforcing regulations have not yet been laid before Parliament.

• Frequency: One-off compliance deadline: 1 October 2030
• Law: Proposed amendment to the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015, following the government's response to the 2025 consultation
• Typical cost: Up to £10,000 per property (proposed new cost cap) depending on works needed to reach Band C — works from 1 October 2025 are expected to count towards the cap
• Penalty: Not yet finalised — current Band E penalty (civil penalty up to £5,000) applies until new regulations are made; treat any higher figure as unconfirmed

Awaab's Law sets strict timescales for landlords to investigate and fix serious hazards like damp and mould. It currently applies only to social housing. The government has committed to extending it to private tenancies as part of 'Phase 3' of Renters' Rights Act implementation, but has not yet set a commencement date or consulted on the detail for the PRS.

• Frequency: Not yet applicable to private landlords
• Law: Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (current social-sector scope); extension to PRS committed to under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 implementation roadmap
• Typical cost: Not yet determined for the PRS
• Penalty: Not yet determined for the PRS — social landlords who breach it can face compensation claims and regulatory action

A single, reformed Decent Homes Standard will apply to both social and private rented homes, replacing today's patchwork of minimum standards. The government confirmed in January 2026 that it will apply to the PRS from 2035, with around 22% of private rented homes currently falling short.

• Frequency: Not yet applicable — planned application date 2035
• Law: Renters' Rights Act 2025 (enabling power); Decent Homes Standard policy statement (28 January 2026)
• Typical cost: Not yet determined — likely to require works addressing Category 1 HHSRS hazards, disrepair and thermal comfort where not already met
• Penalty: Not yet determined for the PRS

All private landlords in England will need to register themselves and their properties on a new mandatory database, intended to give tenants and councils a single source of compliance information. Rollout is planned to begin from late 2026.

• Frequency: One-off registration, then kept up to date — annual fee expected
• Law: Renters' Rights Act 2025, Part 4
• Typical cost: Annual registration fee — amount to be confirmed closer to launch
• Penalty: Not yet finalised — expected civil penalty regime for landlords who fail to register once the database becomes mandatory

A new mandatory Ombudsman scheme will handle tenant complaints against private landlords without going to court. Draft regulations setting out how a redress scheme is approved were laid before Parliament on 28 April 2026, but the scheme itself is expected to launch after the PRS Database, around 2028.

• Frequency: One-off mandatory sign-up once launched, then ongoing membership
• Law: Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 64 (Private Landlord Redress Schemes (Approval and Designation) Regulations 2026, in draft)
• Typical cost: Membership/annual fee — amount not yet published
• Penalty: Not yet finalised — expected to mirror letting agent redress scheme penalties (fines for failing to join a designated scheme)