The government has updated their ‘How to Rent’ guide with advice on how to access free legal aid services, advice and support, regardless of financial circumstances.
The guide is for tenants and landlords in the private rented sector to help them understand their rights and responsibilities. It provides a checklist and more detailed information on each stage of the process, including:
- what to look out for before renting
- living in a rented home
- what happens at the end of a tenancy
- what to do if things go wrong
This is the second update since March 2023 and the guide must be issued by landlords and letting agents – and to those tenants who are renewing a tenancy. This latest version of the guide must be handed to renters before they move in, failure to do so might invalidate a Section 21 notice.
The guide is for people who are renting a home privately under an assured shorthold tenancy, either direct from a landlord or through a letting agency. Most of it will also apply for individuals in a shared property but in certain cases, rights and responsibilities will vary.
The guide does not cover lodgers (people who live with their landlord) or people with licences (such as many property guardians – see this specific guidance on property guardians) – nor tenants where the property is not their main or only home.
The landlord or the letting agent should give the current version of this guide to the tenant when a new assured shorthold tenancy starts. There is no requirement for them to provide the document again if the assured shorthold tenancy is renewed unless the document has been updated.
Resources
- Guidance: How to Rent
- Checklist: How to rent: the checklist for renting in England
- Full PDF: How to rent – the checklist for renting in England – October 2023
