Rental property
A rental property is a residential property you let to a tenant as their home in return for rent. It can be a house, flat or room, and it may be furnished, part-furnished or unfurnished. From a landlord perspective, “rental property” is not just an asset; it is a regulated service. The moment someone occupies as a home under a tenancy agreement, they gain rights including quiet enjoyment and you take on duties around safety, condition and management.
Your day-to-day legal baseline is maintenance and habitability. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires you to keep the structure and exterior in repairs, and to keep installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, heating and hot water working properly. If you need access for a property inspection or repairs, you should provide written notice often at least 24 hours and agree a reasonable time, respecting the tenant’s quiet enjoyment.
Before and during the tenancy, a compliant rental property usually means: holding or supplying the right documents including gas safety certificate, EICR, EPC, managing any required licensing, and handling money correctly (a lawful tenancy deposit with proper deposit protection, and charging only permitted fees). Poor conditions can escalate to local housing authority action under HHSRS, including an improvement notice, emergency works notice and prohibition orders.
From 1 May 2026 in England, the Renters’ Rights Act changes how rental property is let and recovered. Section 21 notice is abolished and most tenants move onto an open-ended periodic tenancy as an assured tenancy. That means possession relies on Section 8 notice and defined grounds for possession, and you should expect greater scrutiny of standards and process, including through the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman and Private Rented Sector Database.
Also see our landlord blog articles and free landlord calculators.
