How to rent guide: do landlords still have to give it?

What is the How to rent guide?

The How to rent guide is a government booklet with the full title ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England’. GOV.UK first published it on 10 June 2014. It walked a tenant through renting a home in England: what to check before taking a property, what the landlord had to provide, and what to do if things went wrong.

GOV.UK describes it as a guide for tenants and landlords in the private rented sector that helped them understand their rights and responsibilities before 1 May 2026. The final PDF runs to 19 pages. Many people called it the How to rent booklet or the How to rent checklist: they are all the same document.

It applied to England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own tenancy rules and were never covered by it.

Sources: GOV.UK: How to rent (withdrawn 1 May 2026)

Which is the latest How to rent guide: 2023, 2025 or 2026?

The last version of the How to rent guide is the one published on 2 October 2023, which added advice on getting free legal aid. GOV.UK’s change history for the page shows an update on 24 March 2023, the update on 2 October 2023, and then the withdrawal on 1 May 2026. It shows no new edition in 2024 or 2025.

So there is no ‘How to rent guide 2025’ and no ‘How to rent guide 2026’. Anyone searching for a newer edition will find the October 2023 version with a banner across the top saying it was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and is not up to date.

The withdrawn guide still talks about assured shorthold tenancies, fixed terms and section 21 notices. None of that describes a tenancy starting today, so handing it to a new tenant would give them out of date information about their rights.

Sources: GOV.UK: How to rent (withdrawn 1 May 2026)

Do landlords still have to give tenants the How to rent guide?

Not for a new private tenancy. Two official sources point the same way. GOV.UK withdrew the guide on 1 May 2026, saying the page was withdrawn due to changes from the Renters’ Rights Act. And the regulation that made landlords provide it, regulation 3 of the 2015 prescribed requirements regulations, is marked on legislation.gov.uk as revoked in relation to private assured tenancies from 1 May 2026.

The duty belonged to the old assured shorthold system and its section 21 no-fault notices: GOV.UK now keeps the guide online only for tenancies where a section 21 notice was served before the change. Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026, and for private tenancies the guide lost its legal job on the same day.

The revocation is limited to private assured tenancies. The regulation is shown as still in force for other cases, which is a matter for social housing providers and not for private landlords.

In practice this means three things for a private landlord. Take the guide out of your new tenancy pack. Do not treat an old ‘How to rent served’ tick on a checklist as covering the new duties, because it does not. And keep whatever proof you have that earlier tenants received it, in case a notice served before 1 May 2026 is ever questioned.

Sources: GOV.UK: How to rent (withdrawn 1 May 2026) · Legislation: prescribed requirements regulations 2015, regulation 3

When the How to rent booklet still matters

It matters for one group of landlords: those who served a section 21 notice before 1 May 2026. GOV.UK says the guide has been retained for tenancies where the landlord served a notice for possession under section 21 before that date.

If that is you, expect to be asked whether the tenant was given the guide and whether you can prove it. The guide itself said the landlord or agent should give the current version when a new assured shorthold tenancy started, and need not give it again on renewal unless it had been updated. Find the copy you sent and the email or letter that carried it. Do not send the guide now and treat that as fixing the earlier position.

Old section 21 notices are subject to transitional rules, so get advice quickly if you are relying on one. For every other private tenancy, ending it now means a section 8 notice on a legal ground.

Sources: GOV.UK: How to rent (withdrawn 1 May 2026)

What replaced the How to rent guide?

Nothing replaced it like for like. There is no new government booklet that must be handed to every new tenant. Two different documents now do the job of telling tenants where they stand, and which one applies depends on when the tenancy began.

For a tenancy that starts on or after 1 May 2026, you must give the tenant written information about the key terms before the agreement is signed or agreed. Regulations list 18 items, and GOV.UK says you could be fined up to £7,000 if you do not give them. The guide to the written statement of terms explains each one.

For a tenancy with a written agreement that was already running on 1 May 2026, the landlord or agent had to give every named tenant the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. It had to be a printed copy or the PDF itself as an attachment: GOV.UK says emailing or texting a link is not valid. The Information Sheet is not required for a tenancy that starts after 1 May 2026. See the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet if you missed that deadline.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 · Legislation: written statement of terms regulations, SI 2026/324

What a landlord must give a new tenant today

With the How to rent guide gone, the start of a tenancy still comes with a set of documents the tenant must receive, each with its own deadline. Missing one can mean a fine, and some of them affect whether a court will later grant possession.

Keep proof of delivery for each item: what was sent, to whom, on what date and how. A document sitting in your folder is not the same as a document the tenant received.

The deadlines differ. The written information comes first, before anyone signs. The gas record and electrical report are due before the tenant moves in. The deposit information has 30 days from the day you receive the deposit. Where there are joint tenants, make sure each named tenant gets the documents, not just the one who has been dealing with you.

• The written information about the tenancy, before the agreement is signed. A tenancy agreement written for the 2026 rules can contain all of it.
• The current gas safety record, before the tenant moves in, where the property has gas. See landlord gas safety certificates.
• The electrical inspection report (EICR), before the tenant occupies the property.
• A valid Energy Performance Certificate, free of charge.
• Deposit protection details and the prescribed information, within 30 days of receiving the deposit. See tenancy deposit protection.
• Working smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide alarms where needed, checked on the day the tenancy begins.
• A copy of the signed agreement for each tenant.

Sources: GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant · GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026

Is there any harm in sending the How to rent guide anyway?

There is no rule against sending it, but it is not a good idea for a new tenancy. GOV.UK’s own banner says the guide is not up to date and points readers to its guidance on assured periodic tenancies. A tenant who reads the old guide will be told about fixed terms, section 21 and rent rules that no longer apply to them.

If you want to give a new tenant something to read about their rights, GOV.UK has a guide to assured periodic tenancies written for tenants, and the written information you must give already explains rent increases, repairs, safety checks and pets.

If your letting agent’s welcome pack still includes the How to rent guide, ask them to take it out and to confirm how they deliver the written information. Our landlord certificates checklist lists every record that should be in the pack.

Sources: GOV.UK: How to rent (withdrawn 1 May 2026) · GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant

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