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Letting agent readiness check: ten yes-or-no questions on deposits, notices, rent increases, pets and gas safety
Ten yes-or-no questions for a letting agency in England on deposits, arrears letters, rent increases, pet requests, gas access and the information sheet.
This check is for the owner or office manager of a letting agency in England. The ten questions cover deposits and holding deposits, arrears letters and notices, rent increases, the information sheet, pet requests and access for the gas safety check, each taken from a rule set out in our guides. It is general information, not legal advice.
There are ten questions and they take about five minutes. Answer from memory. "Not sure" counts as a gap, because a rule nobody in the office can recall is a rule nobody is checking.
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Letting agent readiness check: ten yes-or-no questions on deposits, notices, rent increases, pets and gas safety
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What each question checks
1. Does the agency work out the deposit cap from the yearly rent divided by 52, not from the monthly rent divided by 4? The answer that is in order is "yes". The cap is five weeks' rent, and a week's rent is the annual rent divided by 52. On £1,250 a month that is £1,442.30; dividing the monthly rent by 4 gives £1,562.50, which is £120.20 over the limit. Source: Tenant Fees Act 2019. The working is in Tenancy deposit cap calculator.
2. Could an arrears letter leave your office mentioning Ground 8 before three months' rent is owed? The answer that is in order is "no". Since 1 May 2026 Ground 8 needs at least three months' rent owed, or 13 weeks where rent is weekly. On £1,250 a month that is £3,750, not the old £2,500. Source: GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance. The working is in Rent arrears letter template (UK).
3. Does your website, or any advert or template, still say 'offers over', 'best and final' or 'no DSS'? The answer that is in order is "no". Rental bidding and blanket bans on tenants who receive benefits or have children have been unlawful since 1 May 2026. Old pages keep ranking long after the law changes, so search your own site for the phrases. Source: GOV.UK Guide to the Renters' Rights Act. The working is in Your agency website after the Renters' Rights Act.
4. For every tenancy that began before 1 May 2026, can you show the date and the method by which each named tenant was given the information sheet? The answer that is in order is "yes". GOV.UK says the sheet had to reach every named tenant by 31 May 2026 as the exact PDF, printed or attached. A link to it is not valid, and the maximum penalty is £7,000. Source: GOV.UK, The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026. The working is in Renters' Rights Act information sheet.
5. When a holding deposit is kept, does the applicant always get the reason in writing within 7 days? The answer that is in order is "yes". A holding deposit must be repaid within 7 days unless one of four exceptions applies. Without a written notice of the reason inside those 7 days it has to be repaid anyway, and the penalty is up to £5,000. Source: Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 2 and section 8. The working is in Holding deposit rules for letting agents.
6. Does your software, or your own routine, start the 30-day deposit protection clock on the tenancy start date? The answer that is in order is "no". A deposit must be protected within 30 days of receiving it. A holding deposit put towards the deposit counts as received on the date of the tenancy agreement, which can be weeks before the tenant has keys. Source: Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 2 paragraph 7; GOV.UK tenancy deposit protection. The working is in Holding deposit rules for letting agents.
7. Is every rent increase served on Form 4A at least two months before the new rent starts? The answer that is in order is "yes". Since 1 May 2026 a section 13 notice on Form 4A is the only way to raise rent on a private assured tenancy. It needs two months' notice, a 52-week gap and a start on the first day of a period. Source: Housing Act 1988, section 13; Form 4A. The working is in Section 13 rent increase.
8. Would the agency serve a landlord's notice to sell that runs out inside the first 12 months of a new tenancy? The answer that is in order is "no". The sale ground needs four months' notice, and the notice cannot expire within the first 12 months of a new tenancy. Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026, so possession is by Section 8 on a stated ground. Source: GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance. The working is in Section 8 notices after the Renters' Rights Act.
9. When a tenant does not give access for the gas safety check, do you keep a dated record of at least three attempts? The answer that is in order is "yes". HSE says its inspectors will look for at least three attempts to complete the check, that force must not be used to enter, and that a record of all correspondence with the tenant should be kept. Source: HSE, Gas safety: landlords and letting agents. The working is in Tenant will not give access for the gas safety check.
10. Is every tenant's written request to keep a pet answered in writing within 28 days? The answer that is in order is "yes". The landlord must give or refuse consent in writing on or before the 28th day after the request, and cannot refuse unreasonably. A request made on 1 October 2026 needs a reply by 29 October 2026. Source: Housing Act 1988, section 16A. The working is in Can a landlord refuse a pet in 2026? The 28-day reply rule for letting agents, with dates and reply letters.
How to use the result
The list under your score is a to-do list. Each line names the rule, where it comes from and the page that shows how to deal with it. Put a name and a date against each one. A gap that has an owner and a date is being handled; a gap that everyone knows about and nobody owns is how firms end up explaining themselves later.
Do the check again each quarter, and again whenever a rule in this sector changes. Give it to a second person in the office without showing them your answers. Where the two of you disagree, the procedure is not written down clearly enough, and that is worth knowing whichever of you is right.
A good score is not a certificate. The questions cover the points our guides cover, which are the ones that come up most often in a small firm; they are not every duty a firm has. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Overlyft sets up AI assistants for letting agents: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not make a firm compliant, and none of the ten answers depends on them.
Where this comes from: Tenant Fees Act 2019; GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance; GOV.UK Guide to the Renters' Rights Act; GOV.UK, The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026; Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 2 and section 8; Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 2 paragraph 7; GOV.UK tenancy deposit protection; Housing Act 1988, section 13; Form 4A; HSE, Gas safety: landlords and letting agents; Housing Act 1988, section 16A; each rule is set out with its source in the guide the question links to. The test record is in tests/readiness/tools-check.txt.
AEO Lookup editorial team
We write practical guides for people who run small UK firms, and we check every fact against its source on the date shown. Read how we review, or tell us if something has changed.
