Full Archive: ‘How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England’ – old and legacy guides

3rd October 2023

The ‘How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England’ (the “Guide”) is one of the many prerequisite documents that needs to be served on the Tenant prior to the service of a Section 21 Notice (Form 6A) in England or the notice will be invalid. The service of the Guide has been required on all new and replacement tenancies from 1st October 2015. In the case of ‘replacement’ tenancy there is no requirement to re-serve the Guide unless a new edition has been released.

The Government website only provides the latest version of the Guide which can be frustrating for Landlords or Tenants who may be required to produce earlier versions of the How To Rent Guide when engaged in possession proceedings.

The Government has amended and updated the Guide on several occasions since its first edition was published on the 10th June 2014. Earlier versions of the booklets sorted by their release date can be found as follows:

  • 2 October 2023 – latest version of the guide – download here
  • 24 March 2023 – incorporated new regulations – download here
  • 21 July 2021 – new ‘easy read’ version to support tenants with learning disabilities – download here
  • 10 December 2020 – added additional information in relation to new electrical safety regulations – download here
  • 7 August 2019 – updated advice links for Shelter, Gov and Safeagent  – please note that the document keeps the ‘May 2019’ footer despite the changes – download here
  • 3 June 2019 – updated the links and rebranding of National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) to Safeagent, and to update links to the GOV.UK client money protection scheme web page – once again please note that the document keeps the ‘May 2019’ footer despite the changes – download here
  • 31 May 2019 – updated guidance following the Tenant Fees Act 2019 – download here
  • 9 July 2018 – updated guidance – download here
  • 26 June 2018 – fixed title error – download here
  • 17 January 2018 – removed reference to the ‘London Rental Standard’ in the renting ‘Direct from the landlord’ section – download here
  • 1 February 2016 – updated format and guidance – download here
  • 1 October 2015 – first edition – download here

Housing How To Guides

A full collection of the Government’s housing ‘how to’ guides including:

  • How to rent – a guide for current and prospective tenants
  • How to rent a safe home – a guide for current and prospective tenants
  • How to let – a guide for current and prospective private residential landlords
  • How to lease – a guide for current and prospective leaseholders
  • How to buy a home – a guide for current and prospective home buyers
  • How to sell a home – a guide for current homeowners

..can be found on the Government website here.

The above is aimed for guidance only. If you require specific legal assistance in relation the Government ‘How to Rent’ Checklist guides or possession then please contact a member of our specialist Property Litigation team here.

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