Compliance
The landlord's compliance year: every date that actually matters in 2026-27
· 14 min read · Every duty below checked against GOV.UK, HSE or legislation.gov.uk, and dated
Why most landlord calendars are wrong
Two regimes landed on the private rented sector within a month of each other, and the guidance has not caught up. Search for a landlord compliance calendar today and you will be told to serve a guide that was withdrawn in May, to prepare for an EPC standard that is not law, and to meet hazard-response deadlines that do not apply to you.
None of that is malice. It is lag. Duties changed, pages went stale, and the articles quoting those pages went stale with them. But a calendar that is confidently wrong is worse than no calendar, because you will act on it.
So here is the year, with three separate questions asked of every item: is it actually in force, is it a date or a trigger, and what does it cost you to get wrong.
Three things you have probably read that are not true
“Serve the latest How to Rent guide”
The How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026. GOV.UK's page carries a withdrawal banner saying so. The duty only ever existed because serving the guide was one of the prescribed requirements for a valid Section 21 notice. Section 21 was abolished, so the requirement it propped up went with it. Two things replaced it. For a new tenancy, a written statement of terms before it begins. For an existing tenancy with a written agreement, the Government's Information Sheet, which was due by 31 May 2026 and carries a fine of up to £7,000. That deadline has passed, which makes it more urgent, not less: if you missed it, you are exposed today. Serve it, and note that it must be the exact GOV.UK PDF, on paper or attached to an email. A link to it is not valid service.
“You need EPC C by 2028”
EPC C is not law. It is a policy intention. The Government must still take new powers by Act of Parliament and then lay a statutory instrument, which it aims to have in force in 2027. The compliance date is 1 October 2030, for all tenancies. The 2028 date for new tenancies appeared in the consultation and was explicitly dropped in the Government response: “There will not be an earlier compliance date for new tenancies.” The standard you must actually meet today is unchanged: EPC E.
“Awaab's Law gives you 24 hours to investigate”
Not if you are a private landlord. Awaab's Law is in force for social landlords. The Renters' Rights Act extends it to the private rented sector, but that extension is not in force, the consultation on the timescales has not launched, and no commencement date has been announced. Any article quoting you specific hour-by-hour deadlines is describing the social housing regime. Fix hazards quickly because they are hazards, not because of a clock that does not yet exist.
The dates you can actually diarise
Fixed, known in advance, and therefore the easy half of compliance. Tax and tenancy law interleave here, which is precisely why keeping them in separate systems goes wrong.
| Date | What | Regime |
|---|---|---|
| 31 May 2026 (passed) | Information Sheet to existing tenants. Missed it? You are exposed to £7,000 right now | RRA |
| 31 July 2026 | Longstop for a pre-1 May section 21 notice, or the notice’s own expiry, whichever is first | RRA |
| 31 July 2026 | Payment on account (2025-26) | Tax |
| 7 August 2026 | First MTD quarterly update | MTD |
| 1 October 2026 | New Right to Rent code of practice takes effect (digital checks stay optional) | RRA |
| 7 November 2026 | Second MTD quarterly update | MTD |
| 31 January 2027 | Last-ever pre-MTD Self Assessment return (2025-26), balancing payment, and the first payment on account for 2026-27 | Tax |
| 7 February 2027 | Third MTD quarterly update | MTD |
| 6 April 2027 | Quarterly-update penalty points begin (the waiver only ever covered updates, never the return or late payment) | MTD |
| 7 May 2027 | Fourth MTD quarterly update | MTD |
| 31 July 2027 | Payment on account (2026-27) | Tax |
| 31 January 2028 | Tax return for 2026-27, and the balancing payment | Tax |
The one that is nearly gone. If you are still holding a Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026, you can use it to start court proceedings up to and including whichever comes first: the time left on the notice, or 31 July 2026. Not simply 31 July. If your notice expires before then, it expires before then. And if the earliest date proceedings could begin falls on or after 1 August, it is already invalid. After this, Section 21 is dead for every purpose.
Your recurring safety duties, and their real frequencies
These are not new and they did not change, which is exactly why they get forgotten in a year when everything else did.
| Duty | Frequency | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Gas safety (CP12) | Every 12 months | You can check up to 2 months early and keep the original anniversary date, which stops the date creeping forward each year. |
| EICR | Every 5 years | Remedial work within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, then written confirmation to tenant and council. Penalties up to £40,000, raised from £30,000 on 1 May 2026. |
| EPC | Valid 10 years | Minimum standard is EPC E. Not C. Not yet. |
| Smoke and CO alarms | Checked on day one of a tenancy | CO alarm in every room with a fixed combustion appliance, but gas cookers are excluded. After day one the tenant tests; you repair. |
| Right to Rent | Before the tenancy, then follow-up if time-limited | A new code of practice takes effect 1 October 2026. Digital checks stay optional, but if you do one, the provider must be a registered RtR digital verification service provider. |
| Legionella | Assess the risk | There is no certificate. HSE says most landlords can assess it themselves and that testing is not usually required. |
The part that actually fines you
Here is the thing nobody puts in a compliance calendar, because it cannot go in one. Almost every penalty a landlord collects comes from a duty that is not on a date at all. It is triggered by something happening, and the clock starts the moment it does, whether or not you noticed.
They run in 28-day and 30-day increments. A tenant emails asking about a cat; you now have 28 days. An electrician finds a fault; you now have 28 days. You take a deposit on a Friday; you have 30 days, and the penalty for missing it is one to three times the deposit, payable to the tenant.
This is the real argument for tracking compliance in something other than a diary. A diary can hold 7 August. It cannot notice that a tenant asked about a pet three weeks ago and that the clock is nearly out.
Where the pet deadline actually comes from. Section 16A(1)(c) of the Housing Act 1988, inserted by the Renters' Rights Act: the landlord must give or refuse consent in writing, on or before the 28th day after the request. You can extend that only in narrow cases. If you reasonably ask for more information about the pet on or before day 28, you get until the seventh day after the tenant supplies it. And note what the section does not say: several landlord guides claim that missing the 28 days means consent is automatically granted. There is no deemed consent in the Act. What there is instead is a court that can order you to give it.
What it costs to get wrong
The Renters' Rights Act splits penalties in two. A breach draws a civil penalty of up to £7,000, and the council cannot prosecute you for it. An offence draws up to £40,000, or prosecution, but not both for the same act.
| Failure | Cost |
|---|---|
| No written statement of terms | £4,000 starting point |
| Discriminating against benefits or children | £6,000 starting point |
| No asking rent in the advert | £3,000 starting point |
| Purporting to grant a fixed term | £4,000 starting point |
| Unlawful eviction or harassment | £35,000 starting point, or prosecution |
| Using a false possession ground | £30,000 starting point |
| Deposit not protected | 1x to 3x the deposit, paid to the tenant |
| Rent repayment order | Up to 2 years' rent |
| EICR failures | Up to £40,000 |
| Alarm failures | Up to £5,000 for ignoring a remedial notice |
Two notes on precision. Those are starting points in the statutory guidance, not fixed fines: councils adjust for severity and history. And for a repeat offender, a tribunal must award the maximum rent repayment order absent exceptional circumstances. On gas safety we have deliberately not quoted a figure: the £20,000 you will see repeated comes from an old HSE leaflet, and magistrates' fines for these offences are now unlimited. We could not verify a current number, so we are not going to invent one.
What is coming, and what is only pretending to
Regional rollout "from late 2026". No registration date, no fee, nothing to diarise. A watch item, not a diary item.
Expected 2028, and conditional on the service being judged ready.
Consultation not yet launched. No commencement date announced.
Consulted on 2035 or 2037. Neither confirmed. Not law, and at least a decade away.
Needs primary powers and an SI. Compliance date 1 October 2030, with a £10,000 cost cap per property.
Was October 2026, slipped to the second half of 2027. Note that GOV.UK’s own page still says October 2026, which tells you something about relying on a single page.
Common questions
Do I still have to serve the How to Rent guide?
No. The How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and GOV.UK’s page carries a withdrawal banner. It existed because serving it was one of the prescribed requirements for a valid section 21 notice, and section 21 was abolished, so the duty went with it. Two things replaced it. For a new tenancy, a written statement of terms before it begins. For an existing tenancy that has a written agreement, the Government’s Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026, which had to be given by 31 May 2026 and carries a fine of up to £7,000 if it was not. If you missed that date, serve it now.
Is EPC C a legal requirement for landlords?
Not yet. It is a stated policy intention, not law. The Government must first take new powers by Act of Parliament and then lay a statutory instrument, which it aims to bring into force in 2027. The compliance date is 1 October 2030 for all tenancies. The earlier "new tenancies from 2028" date appeared in the consultation and was explicitly dropped in the Government response. The minimum standard you must meet today is still EPC E.
Is Awaab’s Law in force for private landlords?
No. Awaab’s Law is in force for social landlords and is being phased there, but the Renters’ Rights Act extension to the private rented sector is not in force. As at July 2026 the consultation on the timescales has not even launched, and no commencement date has been announced. Any article giving private landlords specific hazard-response deadlines is describing the social housing regime.
What are the MTD quarterly deadlines for 2026-27?
7 August 2026, 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027, with the tax return due 31 January 2028. Each update is cumulative from 6 April, so the figures restate the year rather than covering the quarter alone. Electing calendar update periods shifts the data periods but not the deadlines.
When do I have to register on the PRS Database?
There is no date yet. The Private Rented Sector Database is not in force. The Government has said a regional rollout begins from late 2026, but no registration date and no fee have been confirmed. It is a watch item, not a diary item.
Do landlords need a legionella certificate?
No. There is a duty to assess the risk of legionella, but the certificate is a myth. The Health and Safety Executive states that most landlords can assess the risk themselves without training or accreditation, that health and safety law does not require a landlord to obtain or produce a legionella test certificate, and that testing or sampling is not usually required in domestic lets.
Sources
Every duty above was checked against a primary source, and the date it was last updated was checked too. That second step is the one that catches things.
- GOV.UK: How to Rent (withdrawn) (withdrawn 1 May 2026)
- GOV.UK: Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act (what commenced on 1 May 2026)
- GOV.UK: Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap (what has not commenced)
- GOV.UK: giving notice of possession before 1 May 2026 (the 31 July 2026 cliff)
- GOV.UK: energy performance of privately rented homes, Government response (EPC C, and the dropped 2028 date)
- GOV.UK: civil penalties under the Renters’ Rights Act (the £7,000 / £40,000 split and the starting points)
- GOV.UK: the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 (the £7,000 duty, due 31 May 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Housing Act 1988 s16A (the 28-day pet response window)
- legislation.gov.uk: Electrical Safety Standards Regs 2020, reg 11 (the EICR penalty, raised to £40,000)
- HSE: legionella and landlords’ responsibilities (why there is no certificate)
- GOV.UK: send quarterly updates (MTD) (the four deadlines)
Related
Written by Ben Morton, founder of LetSort. I build both halves of this: our HMRC Making Tax Digital integration and our Renters' Rights Act compliance engine. Every duty in this article was checked against GOV.UK, HSE or the legislation itself, and so was the date the source was last updated, which is how three of the items above turned out to be wrong everywhere else. LetSort is operated by ToggleKit Ltd.