It has been announced that a new How to Rent: The Checklist for Renting in England (the “Guide”) is being published on Friday 17th March.
The latest version of the Guide must be provided to all tenants for new tenancies. There is no requirement to serve a new Guide for ongoing or periodic tenancies. The Guide should however be provided upon the renewal of the tenancy.
Regulation 3 of The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 states that the Guide may be provided to the tenant in hard copy or, where the tenant has notified the landlord, or a person acting on behalf of the landlord, of an e-mail address at which the tenant is content to accept service of notices and other documents given under or in connection with the tenancy, by e-mail. This means that unless the tenant has specifically consented to service by email and provided their email address, such service will arguably not be effective and the requirements for a valid Section 21 notice will not be fulfilled.
We have not yet seen a copy of the new Guide but understand it to contain new information regarding requirements to provide an EICR to tenants, installation of smart meters and making reasonable adjustments for tenants with disabilities.
A copy of the latest available Guide will be available from the Government website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent
Published 14 March 2023
