The new Renters’ Rights Act requires landlords in England to serve a mandatory Information Sheet to their tenants by 31 May 2026 or face a fine of £7,000, in addition to other penalties.

Unfortunately, many landlords serving this Information Sheet are doing it wrongly, or at least in a way that leaves them completely vulnerable.

The issue is that, as a landlord with property in England, how you serve this Information Sheet matters just as much as what you serve.

This is reflected in the guidance issued by the UK Government where, as just one example, it clearly states that sending a download link to the document is not acceptable.

So, when you tick the box of sending the Information Sheet, it is vital to equally tick the box of confirming that you have served the Sheet correctly.

In real-world practice, when disputes arise or matters reach the tribunal, the validity of your service can be successfully challenged, and therein lies the real danger.

You do not want to discover several months later that, owing to some defects in your service, you cannot rely on the Information Sheet you served your tenants, and you then have to face several consequences, including possible loss of possession rights.

We are seeing many landlords leave the service entirely to their agents.
While the Government’s directive says that letting agents must serve the Information Sheet even if the landlord has done so, what happens in a situation where the letting agent has served the Information Sheet but the landlord has not? Is the landlord covered?

We are also noticing that a lot of landlords are falling into what we call the “Joint Tenancy Trap”, as well as many other risks that need to be corrected urgently.