No. GOV.UK withdrew the How to Rent guide on 1 May 2026 and the regulation requiring private landlords in England to give it was revoked the same day. New tenancies need a written statement of terms instead; existing written tenancies needed the Information Sheet. The guide still matters only for Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026.
By Stevie Hayes · Updated 16 October 2026 · Figures checked against legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK on 16 October 2026 · How we verify · Statutory penalties are maximums; councils and courts decide the amount.
| Fact | Position | Since / status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Withdrawn by GOV.UK; the page says it is not up to date and is kept only for Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026 | 1 May 2026 | How to Rent guide (GOV.UK, withdrawn 1 May 2026; last edition 2 October 2023) |
| Legal duty | Regulation 3 of the 2015 Regulations revoked for private assured tenancies in England | 1 May 2026, SI 2026/325 reg 10 | SI 2026/325 reg 10: revocation of the 2015 Regulations |
| Last edition | October 2023, published 2 October 2023; no 2024, 2025 or 2026 edition exists | 2 October 2023 | How to Rent guide (GOV.UK, withdrawn 1 May 2026; last edition 2 October 2023) |
| Penalty for not giving it | None; its only effect was that a Section 21 notice could not be given while the landlord was in breach | HA 1988 s.21B(3) | Housing Act 1988 s.21B (prescribed information; omitted for private tenancies from 1 May 2026) |
| Replacement for new tenancies | A written statement of the prescribed terms, before the tenancy is entered into; penalty up to £7,000 | 1 May 2026, s.16D | Housing Act 1988 s.16D (written statement of terms) |
| Replacement for existing written tenancies | The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026, by 31 May 2026 | Sch 6 para 7(2) | Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 para 7 (information for existing tenancies) |
| Still relevant to | Section 21 claims on notices served before 1 May 2026: validity is tested at the date the notice was given | Sch 6 paras 3, 4 | Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 (paras 3, 4, 16, 17: notices given before commencement) |
| How to Let guide | Also withdrawn, replaced by GOV.UK's Assured periodic tenancies guide for landlords | 14 July 2026 | How to Let guide (GOV.UK, withdrawn 14 July 2026) |
Not for any private tenancy in England that is governed by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, which since 1 May 2026 means almost all of them. Three things happened on that date:
The guide never carried a fine. Its only legal force was s.21B(3): a Section 21 notice could not be given while the landlord was in breach of the requirement. With Section 21 abolished, there is nothing left for it to block. This guide describes the position; it is not advice on your tenancy.
The Act replaced one generic booklet with two tenancy-specific documents, and GOV.UK replaced its booklets with web guidance. Which one applies depends on when the tenancy began:
| Tenancy | What the tenant must get | When | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Created on or after 1 May 2026 | A written statement of the prescribed terms (the agreement itself can be the statement) | Before the tenancy is entered into | HA 1988 s.16D(2), (4) |
| Began before 1 May 2026, with any written record of terms | The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026, the exact GOV.UK PDF | By 31 May 2026 | RRA 2025 Sch 6 para 7(2) |
| Began before 1 May 2026, wholly oral | The written statement of terms | By 31 May 2026 | Sch 6 para 7(5) |
Both documents carry financial penalties, which the How to Rent guide never did. Failing to give the written statement, or the Information Sheet, can bring a council penalty of up to £7,000 under s.16I; a failure that continues more than 28 days after a penalty is imposed (or after any appeal ends) is an offence under s.16J(3), with a penalty of up to £40,000 under s.16K as the alternative to prosecution. The twelve items the written statement must contain, and the Information Sheet rules, are in our Information Sheet guide.
The Act did not cancel Section 21 notices that were already in play. Under Schedule 6 paragraphs 3 and 4, a tenancy with a valid pre-1 May 2026 Section 21 notice stayed an assured shorthold tenancy under the old law until the claim concluded (paragraph 3) or, where no claim had been requested by then, until the notice ran out of time or any claim issued in time concluded (paragraph 4). The court had to be asked to issue any new claim within the "applicable period", which for every such notice ended no later than 31 July 2026 (GOV.UK's assured tenancy forms guidance mentions an exception where a debt-respite breathing space extended the deadline). Claims issued in time are still working through the courts, and in each of them the How to Rent guide is a live question, because the old test applies:
The editions, as GOV.UK's page history records them, were: June 2014 (first published), September 2014, October 2015, February 2016, January 2018, June 2018 (retitled "How to rent: the checklist for renting in England" the following month), May 2019 (Tenant Fees Act), December 2020, March 2023 and October 2023. The October 2023 edition, published on 2 October 2023, was the last, and it is the PDF still on the withdrawn GOV.UK page. GOV.UK also corrected the May 2019 edition in June and July 2019 without changing its date. There is no 2024, 2025 or 2026 edition.
One saving for completeness: regulation 12(2) of SI 2026/325 keeps regulations 2 and 3 of the 2015 Regulations alive for a tenancy that is still proceeding on an old-style Section 8 notice served before 1 May 2026 (Schedule 6 paragraphs 16 and 17), because such a tenancy remained an assured shorthold until that notice was spent.
The How to Rent guide used to sit in a bundle of start-of-tenancy documents. The rest of the bundle is unchanged, and each item has its own clock:
| Document | When | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Written statement of terms | Before the tenancy is entered into | HA 1988 s.16D(4) |
| Right to Rent check on every adult occupier | Before the tenancy starts | Immigration Act 2014 s.22 |
| Energy performance certificate | Free of charge to a prospective tenant at the earliest opportunity, and no later than the first written particulars or the viewing; the person who becomes the tenant must have been given it | EPB Regulations 2012 reg 6(2), (5) |
| Gas safety record | To a new tenant before they occupy; to existing tenants within 28 days of each annual check | GSIUR 1998 reg 36(6) |
| Electrical installation condition report | To a new tenant before they occupy; to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection | SI 2020/312 reg 3(3)(b), (e) |
| Deposit protection and the prescribed information | Within 30 days beginning with the day the deposit is received | HA 2004 s.213 |
Several of these still affect possession under the new regime. A deposit that was not protected and documented bars a possession order on most grounds until it is put right (see the deposit guide), and the gas, electrical and EPC duties carry their own penalties (see which certificates a landlord needs). The Right to Rent check is a separate statutory duty with civil penalties of its own.
Government changes that bear on this duty. Where the status says in force the rule already applies; everything else is not yet law for private landlords. Dates are quoted as the government has published them, checked on 15 October 2026.
| Change | Status today | Published timing | Sensible preparation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandatory membership of a Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman scheme | announced, dates to be confirmed | Government roadmap: landlords required to join "in 2028", after the Database launches; scheme conditions set during Phase 2 from 2026 | Keep a written complaints process and records of how tenant complaints were handled; the scheme will expect both. Source |
No. The regulation that required it was revoked for private assured tenancies in England on 1 May 2026 (SI 2026/325 regulation 10), and GOV.UK withdrew the guide the same day. A tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026 needs a written statement of terms under Housing Act 1988 s.16D instead.
The October 2023 edition, published on 2 October 2023. It was the last edition before GOV.UK withdrew the guide on 1 May 2026, and it is the PDF still held on the withdrawn page. There is no 2024, 2025 or 2026 edition.
There never was a fine. Its only legal effect was that a Section 21 notice could not be given while the landlord was in breach (Housing Act 1988 s.21B(3)). The documents that replaced it do carry penalties: failing to give the written statement of terms or the Information Sheet can bring a council penalty of up to £7,000, and up to £40,000 for a failure that continues more than 28 days after a penalty.
The court applies the old test at the date the notice was given: if the landlord was then in breach of regulation 3 of the 2015 Regulations, the notice could not validly be given. Giving the guide late but before service cured the breach. Any claim also had to be requested from the court by 31 July 2026. Whether a particular notice survives is for the court.
Nothing prohibits it, but GOV.UK says the guide is not up to date and it describes Section 21 notices and fixed terms that no longer apply to private tenancies. It does not satisfy the written statement duty. Point tenants to GOV.UK's Assured periodic tenancies guide for tenants instead.
Yes, on 14 July 2026. GOV.UK replaced it with Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords. How to rent a safe home, the tenant guide on hazards, has not been withdrawn, but it was never a document landlords had to serve.
Twelve questions, including whether every tenant has had the written statement or the Information Sheet. Runs in your browser; the app then tracks each start-of-tenancy document, with the How to Rent guide kept as a legacy record for old Section 21 cases only.
Free Renters' Rights Act readiness checkFrom the ComplyWithMe news feed: enforcement decisions and legislation changes, each linked to its official source.
Download the free app, then subscribe on the web at complywithme.co/subscribe — launch offer £59.99 for your first year with one property, then £119/year (until 28 February 2027, while 100 launch places last)from £119 a year for one property. Sign in with the same account and the full app unlocks.
