London Landlord Rights & Responsibilities Explained
Kevin Gold created on 18th August 2025
Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, you are granted several rights and take on specific responsibilities when you sign a rental agreement. As a landlord, you must be aware of these rights and responsibilities to ensure that you stay on the right side of the law and maintain a good relationship with your tenants, hopefully leading to a successful and profitable business.
In this article, we talk you through the legal duties you must abide by and your rights if your tenant doesn’t stick to their side of the bargain.
If you own rental property in exclusive areas such as Mayfair and Soho, your typical tenants will expect high standards for all aspects of their property, including how any issues are managed. So, you may want to go above and beyond your legal responsibilities to ensure you keep your tenants happy.
Landlord Responsibilities
Landlords have the following legal responsibilities, even if they are not mentioned in the tenancy agreement:
Have the right mortgage
Landlords are usually can’t let property on a ‘normal mortgage’, and instead require a specific buy-to-let mortgage instead. Check the rules your mortgage lender has in place and make sure you’re not breaking them by letting your property to tenants rather than living in it yourself.
Right To Rent Checks
Landlords must establish that their tenants have the right to rent in the UK. Landlords must ask their tenants for original documents that prove they are over 18 and have the right to live in the UK. Read more here about the acceptable right to rent documents, or check out our guide on how to check a tenants right to rent.
Conduct Tenant Referencing
As a landlord, you should also conduct tenant referencing to minimise the possibility of missed rent payments and ensure you have trustworthy people living in your property. Tenant referencing checks include credit checks, employer references, previous landlord references and potential guarantors for applicants who have no credit history.
Create an Inventory
To ensure that your property is left in the same condition at the end of the tenancy, it is important to create an inventory that evidences the property condition and the items that have been provided. Taking photos and videos of the property will help prevent any disputes around the property condition. The assured shorthold tenancy agreement should include who is responsible for the condition of the property.
Tenancy Deposits
Landlords must protect their tenant’s deposits in a Government-approved scheme and inform the tenants which tenancy deposit protection scheme they have used. Tenancy deposits must be returned at the end of the tenancy. Private landlords have a right to deduct money to cover damages but will need to prove the tenant was responsible, so it is wise to carry out an inventory at the start and end of the tenancy.
Tenancy deposits are capped at five weeks’ rent if the annual rent is below £50,000. If the yearly rental value exceeds this, landlords can ask for six weeks’ rent as a deposit.
Get The Right Insurance
As a landlord, having the right insurance will provide protection for you, your tenants and your property. If your tenant suffers an injury in your property or there is a fire, for example, having adequate insurance will cover any legal action or fire damage repairs.
There are different types of insurance policies for landlords but the more comprehensive your cover, the more peace of mind you will have. You can also take out landlord insurance that covers missed rent payments to ensure you do not suffer financial losses due to unpaid rent.
Start Of Tenancy Documentation
At the start of a new tenancy, landlords have legal obligations to provide their tenants with the following documents. Failure to do so could make it difficult to evict tenants if they fail to pay their rent or break the tenancy agreement in other ways.
Energy Performance Certificate: An EPC shows your property’s energy efficiency and is valid for ten years. Landlords must obtain one before they can market the property.
Gas Safety Certificate: You must have a gas safety check performed on your property every year by a gas safe engineer.
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR): Landlords must have the rental property’s electrical installations inspected and tested by a ‘qualified’ and ‘competent’ person at least every five years.
How to rent guide: Landlords must give their tenants a copy of the government’s how to rent guide.
Landlords are responsible for ensuring that their property is safe and fit for human habitation. The following checks must be made before a tenant moves in, and landlords must check that the safety of the property is maintained throughout the tenancy.
Gas safety checks – Arrange gas safety checks every 12 months, a Gas Safe registered engineer must carry this out. This involves checking gas appliances are working safely.
EICR – Obtain an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) every five years. A qualified electrician should complete the report, checking that electrical installations are safe to be used.
Fire safe furniture – Ensure that all furniture and furnishings provided meet fire safety standards. Any sofas, cushions, chairs, or mattresses must carry the fire-resistant symbol.
Smoke and CO alarms – Ensure smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are installed in the required rooms. The regulations stipulate that rooms with a coal fire or wood burning stove require a carbon monoxide alarm.
EPC – Obtain and share an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with the tenant. This includes the energy efficiency ratings and recommendations for energy efficiency improvements. The EPC should be provided to a tenant when they move into the property.
Comply with MEES (minimum energy efficiency standards) regulations – The minimum EPC rating for privately rented tenancies should be grade ‘E’. Anything less than this and you could be subject to a hefty fine from the local authority. There are plans for the minimum ratings to be raised in the near future.
Carry out fire safety risk assessments – Landlord are legally required to carry out fire risk assessments to identify and rectify any fire risks.
Protect your property against Legionnaires Disease – A landlord is responsible for minimising the risk of Legionella by taking actions such as replacing eroded pipework and ensuring any stored water is kept at the correct temperature.
Repairs And Maintenance
Landlords are responsible for repairs or maintenance work the tenant does not cause. These include any issues with the exterior and structure of the property and any problems with the water, gas and electricity supply that may make the property unfit for habitation, including heating. Landlords can find full details of their legal responsibilities for repairs and maintenance in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
Once an issue is reported, landlords should carry out repairs within a reasonable timeframe.
Licencing
If you rent a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), you need to check the licencing requirements set out by your local authority. You may be subject to mandatory HMO licencing, a national requirement depending on the size of your property and your tenants’ relationships – for example, if you are renting to students.
Your local authority may require additional HMO licencing for properties in their local area that are not covered by the mandatory licencing rules. They may also call for selective licencing for non-HMO privately rented properties in the local area. You must check your local council’s website to verify the rules specific to your property.
In the near future, landlords will have to sign up for the PRS database, which will be for compliance purposes and local council enforcement.
Marketing Your Property
Unless you choose to use a letting agent, you will need to market the property to find the right kind of tenants for your property. This includes everything from arranging professional photos, listing the property on online portals and conducting viewings of the property. There are many rental properties on the market in central London, so you will need to market your property effectively to attract good quality tenants.
Landlord Rights
Much of the information available relates to tenants’ rights, but landlords have rights too:
Right To Increase Rent
Landlords have the right to increase the rent but must abide by the rules set out in the tenancy agreement. Landlords can only increase the rent at the end of a fixed-term contract or once a year for a periodic tenancy. The upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill will make some significant changes to rent increase rules, with rent increases to be limited to one per year.
Property Access Rights
If you are a landlord, then you have the right to access the property for essential maintenance/repairs and inspections but remember that your property is the tenant’s home whilst they live there. Therefore, don’t turn up unannounced – instead, seek permission and give adequate notice before visiting. Landlords should provide at least 24 hours’ notice to tenants if they wish to visit the property.
If there is a genuine emergency, landlords are permitted to access the property without obtaining permission.
Right To Repossess The Property At The End Of The Tenancy Agreement
Landlords have the right to repossess the property at the end of a fixed-term contract. However, they must give the required notice in the tenancy agreement. The standard notice period is two months. A section 21 notice can be served after a fixed term tenancy ends, but the Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish section 21 evictions, so section 8 will need to be used to evict tenants when the new laws come into force.
Right To Evict A Tenant During A Tenancy
Should the tenant stop paying rent or break specific clauses in the contract, landlords have the right to go to court to evict them. Landlords also have the right to a no-fault eviction if they want to sell the property but this will change under the Renters’ Rights Bill. There are strict rules around evictions and the new legislation aims to provide further protection to tenants.
Tenant Responsibilities
A tenant has several responsibilities to their landlord:
Pay Rent On Time
The tenant’s primary responsibility is to pay the rent on time.
Look After The Property
Tenants must act responsibly, take care of the property, and be considerate to neighbours.
Seek Permission
Tenants should always seek the landlord’s permission to make alterations to the home. They should also ask permission to keep a pet or take in a lodger and inform their landlord if they are away from the property for an extended period.
Allow Access For Repairs And Maintenance
Tenants should allow their landlord to access the property to see if any repairs are required. They should also allow access to tradespeople to make repairs or for gas or electricity safety checks.
End The Tenancy Properly
Tenants must end the tenancy properly or may still be liable to pay rent. Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) can be either periodic or fixed-term tenancies. For periodic tenancies, the notice period is specified in the tenancy agreement (usually, this is two months). A fixed-term tenancy agreement may not allow the tenancy to end until the specified end date, unless there is a break clause. Tenants on a fixed-term tenancy who plan to leave by the last day of the tenancy may still need to give notice, as some contracts continue as period tenancies unless notice is given.
Paying Bills
The tenant also has a responsibility to pay bills in most cases, and this should be written into the tenancy agreement. Utility bills and council tax payments will usually be payable by the tenant unless an alternative agreement is in place.
Tenant Rights
Tenants in the UK are very well protected. There is a lot of legislation to ensure that they are not taken advantage of or forced to live in dangerous accommodation.
Tenants have the right to live in the property for the time specified in the contract. Landlords cannot make their tenants move out before the end of the contract (unless they have breached the terms of the agreement). Tenants also have the right to live in their home peacefully, so the landlord must always give notice and receive the tenant’s permission before turning up at the property.
Tenant Fee Ban
Following the Tenant Fee Ban Act, it is now illegal for letting agents and landlords to charge certain fees to renters. For more information about what tenants can and can’t be charged for read our blog ‘The Letting Agent Fee Ban in the UK’.
Unlawful Discrimination
The Equality Act 2010 gives tenants the right not to be discriminated against during the rental or tenancy process.
Landlord Rights And Responsibilities Under The Renters Rights Bill
When the Renters’ Rights Bill is passed into law, there will be some significant changes for landlords. Amongst the changes will be an introduction of Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard, which will bring about additional responsibilities, including a set timeframe for dealing with health hazards such as damp and mould.
Landlords will also have to follow new rules for evicting tenants to regain possession of the property, driven by the abolishment of section 21 notices. Another responsibility for landlords will be the requirement to become a member of the new ombudsman and registering on the landlord database to provide greater transparency around who is renting out property.
Kubie Gold Associates are an independent local firm of estate agents specialising in the Rental, Sale and Property Management of Residential Property in the North-West and Central London market
