The UK lettings compliance calendar, explained

A UK letting agent's compliance calendar is the schedule of recurring safety, legal and licensing obligations attached to every managed tenancy — and the job is to know what falls due, when, and to hold dated evidence for each one. The non-negotiables that recur are the annual Gas Safety Record (CP12), an EICR at least every five years, a valid EPC, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, a Legionella risk assessment, HMO licence renewals, and the paperwork served at each tenancy or renewal — the current How to Rent guide and right-to-rent checks. Track them per property, diarise the renewal dates, and keep the certificates on file.

Below is a practical run-through of what to track and when, so nothing slips through on a growing portfolio.

What are the annual compliance obligations?

Some obligations reset every year, so they're the ones most likely to lapse on a busy managed book.

• Gas Safety Record (CP12): Where there's a gas supply, a Gas Safe registered engineer must carry out a gas safety check every 12 months and issue a Landlord Gas Safety Record. You can arrange the next check up to two months before the current one expires without losing the original date, which gives you useful breathing room. New tenants must receive a copy before they move in, and existing tenants within 28 days of the check.
• Legionella risk assessment: Landlords have a duty to assess and control the risk from Legionella in the water system. For most typical rental properties this is a straightforward assessment; it should be reviewed periodically or whenever the system or its use changes.

The safest approach is to book the gas check on the same rolling date each year and treat it as a fixed calendar event rather than something to remember reactively.

Which obligations run on multi-year cycles?

Several certificates are valid for years at a time, which is exactly why they get forgotten — the renewal is far enough away to fall off the radar.

• EICR (electrical safety): A registered electrician must inspect the fixed electrical installation and provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report at least every five years (or sooner if the report specifies). Any remedial work flagged as needing attention must be completed within the timeframe stated, and evidence supplied to the tenant and, on request, the local authority.
• EPC (Energy Performance Certificate): A valid EPC is required to let a property and is valid for ten years. Under the current Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, a property generally needs to meet the minimum rating to be let lawfully, so it's worth checking the rating well before the certificate expires or a new tenancy begins.

Because these run on five- and ten-year clocks, the discipline is recording the expiry date the moment the certificate is issued — not when it's about to lapse.

What has to be checked or served at each tenancy?

A separate group of obligations is triggered by the tenancy itself — at the start, and again at renewal — rather than by a fixed calendar date.

1. Right-to-rent checks: Before the tenancy begins, verify that each adult occupier has the right to rent in England, using the appropriate manual or online check, and keep dated copies of the evidence. Follow-up checks may be needed where someone has time-limited status.
2. Deposit protection: Any deposit taken must be protected in a government-approved scheme, with the prescribed information served to the tenant, within 30 days of receipt.
3. How to Rent guide: The current version of the government's How to Rent guide must be provided to tenants at the start of the tenancy and, where it has been updated, again at renewal.
4. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: There must be a working smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (such as a gas boiler or a solid-fuel fire). Alarms must be tested and shown to be working at the start of each new tenancy.
5. Prescribed documents: Ensure the tenant has the current gas record, EICR and EPC — serving these correctly also matters for the validity of certain possession notices later.

Getting the start-of-tenancy pack right also protects the landlord's position down the line, which is one reason it pays to treat it as a checklist rather than a habit. Missing or late paperwork here is a common and avoidable failure point, and it's closely tied to how tightly your lettings compliance is tracked across the portfolio.

How do HMO licences and local rules fit in?

Houses in Multiple Occupation add a licensing layer on top of the safety obligations above.

• HMO licensing: Larger HMOs require a mandatory licence, and many councils operate additional or selective licensing schemes that can catch smaller HMOs and even single lets in designated areas. Licences are typically granted for a fixed term — often up to five years — so renewals need diarising well ahead of expiry, as applications can take time to process.
• Local variation: Because selective and additional licensing is set locally, the same landlord can have different obligations street by street. It's worth confirming the position with each relevant local authority rather than assuming a portfolio-wide rule.

HMOs also tend to carry more frequent or more stringent safety requirements, so they reward a property-by-property record rather than a single blanket schedule.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance should I renew a gas safety certificate?

You can have the annual gas check done up to two months before the existing record expires while keeping the original renewal date, so there's no penalty for arranging it early — and early booking is the simplest way to avoid an accidental lapse.

Do I need a new EPC for every tenancy?

No. An EPC is valid for ten years and covers multiple tenancies within that period, provided the property still meets the minimum energy efficiency standard. You only need a fresh one when it expires or the rating needs improving.

Who is responsible if compliance is missed on a managed property?

Legal duties sit with the landlord, but a managing agent who has taken on that responsibility is expected to keep the property compliant — which is why robust diarising and dated evidence matter for both parties.

Keeping the calendar under control as you grow

The obligations themselves are stable and knowable; the difficulty is scale. Every property carries its own overlapping clocks — annual, five-yearly, ten-yearly and per-tenancy — and a portfolio of a few hundred tenancies quickly becomes hundreds of individual dates to watch. That's where a system beats memory, and where a real team chasing contractors and certificates earns its keep, much as vetted contractors handle repairs and maintenance without the agency lifting the phone.

If you'd rather your compliance calendar ran itself — every certificate tracked, every renewal chased, every record filed and evidenced under your brand — see how Solace handles lettings compliance for managed portfolios, or book a demo to see the full back office in action.