Six things the law asks of anyone letting a home. Each one below states the rule, how often it applies, and which regulation it comes from, with a link to the official source so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
This page covers England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own rules and several differ. It is a summary of published guidance, not legal advice — where something turns on your circumstances, read the source or take advice.
Checked against the primary sources on 31 August 2026.
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
Every gas appliance and flue in the property must be checked each year by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register.
Existing tenants must be given a copy of the record within 28 days of the check. New tenants must be given a copy before they move in.
Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
The fixed electrical installation must be inspected and tested at least every five years, and before a new tenancy begins.
Existing tenants must receive a copy within 28 days of the inspection. The local authority must receive a copy within 7 days of asking.
Where the report requires remedial work, it must be completed within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended 2022
At least one smoke alarm on every storey with a room used as living accommodation.
Alarms must be checked to be working on the first day of a new tenancy, and repaired or replaced once the landlord is told one is faulty.
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022
Since 1 October 2022, a carbon monoxide alarm is required in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance — a gas boiler, a wood burner, an oil heater. This is no longer limited to solid fuel.
Gas cookers are excluded from the requirement, though an alarm is still recommended.
As with smoke alarms, faulty alarms must be repaired or replaced once the landlord is told.
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) Regulations
A property must reach EPC band E or better to be let.
Since 1 April 2020 this applies to all tenancies, including ones that were already running — not only to new lettings, which was the rule between 2018 and 2020.
Where a property cannot reach band E, an exemption must be registered on the PRS Exemptions Register. It is not automatic.
The government has confirmed its intention to raise the minimum to band C by 2030.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
Landlords must assess and control the risk of exposure to legionella bacteria in the water system.
There is no statutory certificate and no fixed renewal interval. For most domestic rentals the assessment is simple, and it should be reviewed when the system or its use changes.
Portable appliance testing is not on the list. There is no legal interval for PAT testing in a rented home. Landlords must make sure any electrical appliance they supply is safe, and testing is one way of showing that — but the fixed five-year interval people quote applies to the installation, not the kettle. Some local licensing schemes do ask for it, so check your council's conditions.
Licensing conditions are local. Councils running selective or additional licensing can attach their own requirements on top of everything above. They vary by borough and they change. Your council's own licensing page is the only reliable source.