Many of the England compliance obligations that later affect possession, trigger enforcement action or create evidence problems are established in the first month of a tenancy.

Deposit protection has a 30-day clock. The gas certificate has to be handed over before move-in. The EICR has to be supplied before occupation. Alarms have to be checked on day one. The written tenancy information is due at the start.

Get any of it wrong and nothing happens immediately. It surfaces eighteen months later when you need to serve notice, or when a tenant challenges a deposit, or when a council asks. This is what the first 30 days should look like.

Scope: England, private rented sector, tenancies starting on or after 1 May 2026. Housing is devolved, so Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate different requirements. Local authorities may run additional licensing schemes.

Before the Tenant Moves In

Five things have to be done before occupation, not after:- 

1. Right to Rent check. Before the tenancy begins.

2. Gas Safety Certificate. A copy goes to a new tenant before they move in. Not within 28 days, which is the rule for existing tenants at the annual check. Before.

3. EICR. A copy goes to a new tenant before they occupy the premises.

4. EPC. Provided before the tenancy begins. The property must meet the current minimum standard, which for properties within the domestic MEES regime is an E rating unless a valid exemption applies.

5. Alarms. Required smoke and carbon monoxide alarms must be installed in the relevant locations: at least one smoke alarm on each storey with a room used as living accommodation, and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room used as living accommodation containing a fixed combustion appliance, excluding gas cookers. Check that they are working on the first day of the tenancy, and record the check.

That last one is easy to miss because it's a check rather than a document. There's nothing to file, so nothing prompts it. Add it to the check-in.

The 30-Day Clock: Deposit

This is one of the most important fixed deadlines in the onboarding process, because it runs in calendar days from receipt rather than from anything you control.

Protect the deposit in a government-approved scheme within 30 days.

Give the tenant the prescribed information within 30 days.

Both halves. Protection alone doesn't satisfy the requirement, and this is where the consequence bites later: under the post-May 2026 possession regime, deposit compliance can affect whether a court grants possession. A gap at onboarding can become a possession problem two years on.

Practical points:

• The clock starts when you receive the money, which may be before the tenancy starts, and may be when your agent receives it rather than you. If an agent takes the deposit on your behalf, the landlord still carries the compliance obligation.

• GOV.UK's repossession guidance also states that it is unlawful to take a deposit in anything other than money. If a landlord has taken property instead, it must be returned before the landlord can obtain a possession order.

• Internal planning trigger, not a legal deadline: protect within 5 working days of receipt. Thirty days sounds generous until a bank holiday, a scheme registration issue and someone's annual leave land in the same fortnight.

Written Tenancy Information

For any tenancy starting on or after 1 May 2026, landlords must provide specified written information about the tenancy.

Most agencies handle this inside the tenancy agreement, which is the sensible route, provided the required information is actually incorporated. The alternative is a separate written statement sitting alongside the agreement. For new tenancies starting on or after 1 May 2026, use a tenancy agreement and written information that reflect the new requirements. Simply retaining a pre-May 2026 template without updating it is not sufficient.

Rules That Apply During Onboarding

Three rules constrain the front end of the process, and they apply to agents acting for a landlord as well as to landlords.

• Rent in advance is capped. No rent may be required or accepted before the tenancy is signed. Between signing and the tenancy starting, no more than one month's rent, or 28 days' rent for shorter rental periods. Once the tenancy has begun, rent cannot be required before it falls due.

• Rental bidding is prohibited. Written adverts must state an asking rent, and you cannot ask for, encourage or accept offers above it.

• Discrimination is unlawful. You cannot do anything that makes a prospective tenant less likely to rent because they have children or receive benefits. That covers withholding information about availability, declining viewings, and refusing a tenancy. Affordability assessment remains legitimate, including benefits income, but requirements like guarantors or rent in advance have to be applied consistently rather than selectively.

• The practical consequence is that onboarding needs to be a standard process rather than a series of individual judgements. Same steps, same criteria, same wording, applied the same way every time, with a record of the decision. Inconsistency is where enforcement finds its evidence.

   

The Records That Matter Later

Onboarding is when the tenancy file is either started properly or not started at all.

What to capture, at the point it happens:

• Inventory and condition report, with dated photographs, signed by the tenant if possible

• Meter readings at check-in

• Keys issued, how many and to whom

• Alarm check on day one, recorded

• Copies of everything served, with dates: gas certificate, EICR, EPC, tenancy information, prescribed information

• Proof of service for each

None of this is legally prescribed as a bundle. All of it becomes useful later, whether the later thing is a deposit dispute, a possession claim, a council request or PRS Database registration.

The inventory in particular is worth doing properly. Deposit adjudication turns on evidence of condition at the start, and a photograph without a date is much weaker evidence because its timing is harder to establish.

Structured tenancy and property records holding all of this against the tenancy from day one make the difference between a file that builds itself and one somebody has to reconstruct.

The First 30 Days: A Working Sequence

Set the Clocks That Follow

Onboarding is also where the recurring cycle starts, and where it's cheapest to set up.

These are internal planning triggers, not legal deadlines. They're set early so the actual requirement is met comfortably.

• Rent review at ten months from the tenancy start. Rent cannot be increased in the first year, and requires two months' notice on Form 4A thereafter.

• Gas certificate renewal at ten months from the certificate date, against a twelve-month requirement.

• EICR renewal at four years and nine months, against an at-least-five-year requirement.

• EPC at year nine of ten, or sooner if minimum standards change.

Setting these at onboarding takes minutes. Setting them retrospectively across a portfolio takes days, and usually only happens after something has already lapsed.

Our [landlord compliance calendar for England] covers the full recurring cycle.

Pricing Decisions Are Now Twelve-Month Decisions

One consequence of the new regime that changes onboarding rather than management: rent cannot be increased during the first year of a tenancy.

A property let below market in a quiet month can't be corrected until the twelve months are up. There's no renewal to adjust at, and Section 13 is unavailable in year one.

That makes the initial figure a more consequential decision than it used to be. Worth a proper market comparison at the point of letting rather than a quick judgement to fill a void.

Conclusion

Onboarding used to be paperwork. It's now the point at which much of a tenancy's compliance position is fixed.

The deposit clock, the pre-occupation documents, the day-one alarm check and the written tenancy information all land in the first month, and each has a consequence that shows up much later. A deposit protected on day 31 is a possession problem in 2028. An alarm nobody checked is an enforcement problem whenever someone asks.

None of it is difficult. What makes it fail is treating onboarding as a rush to get someone in, with the paperwork following when there's time. The teams that handle this well run the same sequence every time, record each step as it happens, and set the recurring triggers before the tenant has unpacked.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long do I have to protect a tenancy deposit in England?
Thirty days from receiving it, in a government-approved scheme, with the prescribed information given to the tenant within the same 30 days. Both parts are required. The clock runs from receipt, including where an agent receives it on your behalf.

2. When must I give a new tenant the gas safety certificate?
Before they move in. The 28-day rule applies to existing tenants after an annual check, not to new tenants at the start of a tenancy. The EICR similarly must be supplied before the tenant occupies the premises.

3. How much rent in advance can I take from a new tenant?
No rent before the tenancy is signed. Between signing and the tenancy starting, no more than one month's rent, or 28 days' rent for shorter rental periods. Once the tenancy has begun, rent cannot be required before it falls due.

4. Can I ask a tenant on benefits for a guarantor?
You can apply lawful affordability or guarantor requirements, but you must not discriminate against prospective tenants because they receive benefits or have children. Any affordability criteria or guarantor requirements should be applied consistently.

5. Can I increase the rent during the first year of a tenancy?
No. Rent cannot be increased in the first year, and thereafter only once in any twelve-month period, with at least two months' notice on Form 4A. That makes the rent set at onboarding a twelve-month commitment.

Important Notice

This article applies to England only. Housing law is devolved and requirements differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Information was checked against GOV.UK guidance available as at 17 August 2026. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is being implemented in phases and further regulations are expected, including those relating to the PRS Database. Deadlines, prescribed forms and requirements may change. Local authorities may operate additional licensing requirements.

Always verify current requirements on GOV.UK before acting. This content is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. RIOO is not a law firm.