Landlord
A landlord is a person or organisation that lets a residential property to a tenant in return for rent, giving the tenant the right to occupy the property as their home for the duration of the tenancy agreement. The landlord retains ownership of the property, or, in the case of a leasehold landlord, retains the lease, and has both the right to receive rent and the legal responsibility to ensure the property is safe, maintained, and let in accordance with the law.
Being a landlord in England is a regulated activity. It carries a set of statutory duties that exist regardless of what the tenancy agreement says, what the tenant agrees to, or how informally the arrangement began. A landlord cannot contract out of their legal obligations.
Repairing and maintenance obligations
The primary repairing obligation on residential landlords in England is set out in Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which applies to most tenancies with a term of less than seven years. Section 11 requires the landlord to keep in repair the structure and exterior of the dwelling, including the roof, walls, windows, drains, and gutters, and to keep in repair and proper working order the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation, and space and water heating. These obligations cannot be excluded by the tenancy agreement.
Alongside Section 11, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 require the property to be fit for human habitation at the start of the tenancy and throughout. Where it is not, due to damp and mould, inadequate heating, structural instability, or any of the 29 prescribed hazard categories under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, the tenant has a right to bring civil proceedings against the landlord without needing to involve the local housing authority first.
Safety and compliance obligations
In England, a landlord must provide a valid gas safety certificate (renewed annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer), a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) (renewed every five years), and a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a minimum band E rating before letting the property. All three must be given to the tenant at or before the start of the tenancy. The landlord must also carry out a right to rent check before the tenancy begins, confirming the tenant has the legal right to rent in England.
Where a tenancy deposit is taken, it must be protected in one of the three government-approved deposit protection schemes within 30 days of receipt, and the prescribed information about the scheme must be given to the tenant within the same period.
The position from 1 May 2026
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 and substantially changed how landlords in England operate. Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies are abolished. All assured tenancies in the private rented sector are now assured periodic tenancies with no fixed end date, there is no expiry date, no break clause, and no automatic end to the tenancy. The tenant can leave by giving two months' written notice. The landlord can only recover possession by serving a Section 8 notice citing one or more of the statutory grounds for possession and, if the tenant does not leave, applying to court for a possession order. Section 21 no-fault notices are abolished and cannot be served for any tenancy.
Rent increases for assured periodic tenancies can only be made once every 12 months using a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, giving at least two months' notice. The tenant can challenge any proposed increase at the First-tier Tribunal. There is no rent cap, but the tribunal assesses increases against the open market rate for comparable properties.
The Act also introduced new obligations:
landlords must not discriminate against tenants with children or those in receipt of benefits when deciding whether to let;
must consider pet requests in good faith and can only refuse on reasonable grounds; and
must register with the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman once that scheme is operational.
A PRS Database requiring landlord registration is also being introduced on a phased timeline. Registration on the database will be a prerequisite for using most Section 8 grounds once it is operational.
These changes apply to England. Landlords in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland operate under distinct legislative frameworks, Welsh landlords must also be registered and licensed under Rent Smart Wales.
August is built specifically for self-managing landlords in England, covering rent tracking, compliance certificate management, document storage, maintenance reporting, and Making Tax Digital in one place.
The August landlord calendar sets out what a landlord should be doing in each month of the year, from certificate renewals to Section 13 notice windows to year-end tax preparation. Landlords who are new to letting, including those who have inherited a property or become a landlord unexpectedly, should read the August accidental landlord checklist.
Frequently asked questions
What is a landlord in UK law?
A landlord is a person or organisation that lets a residential property to a tenant in return for rent under a tenancy agreement. The landlord retains ownership or the leasehold interest in the property and has statutory duties, covering repairs, safety, deposit protection, and right to rent checks, that exist regardless of what the tenancy agreement says. These duties cannot be excluded by contract.
What are a landlord's legal responsibilities in England?
A landlord's core legal responsibilities include:
keeping the structure and key installations in repair under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985;
ensuring the property is fit for human habitation throughout the tenancy;
providing a valid gas safety certificate, EICR, and EPC before the tenancy begins;
protecting any deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days;
carrying out a right to rent check; and,
from 1 May 2026, complying with the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which requires assured periodic tenancies, Section 8 for all possession claims, and Section 13 for rent increases.
What changed for landlords on 1 May 2026?
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026, abolishing fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies and Section 21 no-fault evictions for all private tenancies in England. All tenancies are now assured periodic tenancies. Landlords can only recover possession by citing one or more statutory grounds in a Section 8 notice and, if the tenant does not leave, obtaining a court possession order. Rent can only be increased once per year using a Section 13 notice with at least two months' notice.
Can a company be a landlord?
Yes. A company, trust, partnership, or other legal entity can be a landlord in England. Corporate landlords operate under the same statutory framework as individual landlords, the same repairing obligations, safety certificate requirements, deposit protection rules, and Renters' Rights Act duties apply regardless of the ownership structure. There is no separate regulatory regime for corporate landlords in the private rented sector, though HMRC treats rental income from companies differently from personal rental income for tax purposes.
