The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 is the government PDF that every landlord in England with a written tenancy from before 1 May 2026 had to give each tenant by 31 May 2026. Councils can impose a penalty of up to £7,000. A tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026 needs a written statement of terms instead.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who had to give the Information Sheet | Landlords of tenancies that began before 1 May 2026 with any written record of terms, and agents whose contract requires them to ensure compliance | Sch 6 para 7(2), (3) | Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 para 7 (information for existing tenancies) |
| Deadline | 31 May 2026: one month beginning with the 1 May 2026 commencement date | SI 2026/421 reg 2(a) | SI 2026/421: Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 |
| What counts | The exact GOV.UK PDF, printed or attached; a link is not valid | SI 2026/324 reg 3 | The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 (GOV.UK, updated 8 June 2026) |
| Penalty | Council penalty up to £7,000; continuing after a penalty, or repeating within five years, is an offence with a penalty up to £40,000 as the alternative | s.16I(6), s.16J(3), (4), s.16K(3) | Housing Act 1988 s.16I (financial penalties up to £7,000) |
| New tenancies | A written statement of the prescribed terms before the tenancy is entered into | s.16D(4), 1 May 2026 | Housing Act 1988 s.16D (written statement of terms) |
| Oral tenancies from before 1 May 2026 | The written statement of terms, by 31 May 2026 | Sch 6 para 7(5) | Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 para 7 (information for existing tenancies) |
| Ground 4A | The written statement given before the tenancy starts is a condition of the student-HMO ground | Sch 2 Ground 4A(c) | Housing Act 1988 Sch 2 (Ground 4A: prior written statement is a condition of the ground) |
| Possession | No provision found that bars a possession order for a late Information Sheet; the consequence is the penalty | Checked 16 October 2026 | Renters' Rights Act 2025 Sch 6 para 7 (information for existing tenancies) |
It is a four-page document written by the government that explains to tenants how the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed their tenancy on 1 May 2026. The duty to give it comes from paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 6 to the Act: the landlord of an existing tenancy that is "wholly or partly in writing" must give the tenant the information required by regulations within one month of commencement. Regulation 3 of SI 2026/324 names that information as "the version of the document entitled 'The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026', as produced by the Secretary of State, that has effect for the time being".
So the sheet is not a template you write. It is the exact PDF on the GOV.UK Information Sheet page, and GOV.UK says it "is only valid when downloaded from this page". England only. This guide describes the duty; it is not advice on your tenancy.
The commencement date for private assured tenancies was 1 May 2026 (SI 2026/421, regulation 2(a)), so "one month beginning with the commencement date" ended on 31 May 2026. Which document a tenancy needed depends on when it began and whether anything was in writing:
| Tenancy | What the tenant must get | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Began before 1 May 2026, with a written agreement or any written record of terms | The Information Sheet PDF | 31 May 2026 | Sch 6 para 7(2); SI 2026/324 reg 3 |
| Began before 1 May 2026, wholly oral | The written statement of terms | 31 May 2026 | Sch 6 para 7(5) |
| Created on or after 1 May 2026 | The written statement of terms | Before the tenancy is entered into | HA 1988 s.16D(4) |
| Becomes an assured tenancy later | The written statement of terms | Within 28 days beginning with the date the landlord acknowledges a successor's right (succession), or the date the tenancy becomes assured (other cases) | s.16D(5), (7) |
| Had a valid Section 8 or Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 and a written record of terms | The Information Sheet, once the notice ceases to be valid or the proceedings conclude without possession | Before the end of one month beginning with that day (a wholly oral tenancy gets the written statement on the same postponed clock) | Sch 6 paras 3, 4, 16, 17 with para 7(2); GOV.UK Information Sheet page |
Four points from the GOV.UK page and the Act that landlords miss:
Give it now, and record the date and method. The deadline has passed, but giving it now brings the failure to an end, and the Act treats a failure that continues after a penalty as an offence.
Schedule 6 paragraph 7(1)(b) tells councils to read the penalty power in Housing Act 1988 s.16I(1) as if it covered a breach of paragraph 7(2). Under s.16I(6) the local housing authority may impose a financial penalty of up to £7,000, if satisfied beyond reasonable doubt. If the failure continues for more than 28 days after a final penalty notice (or after any appeal ends), that is itself an offence under s.16J(3), and the council may impose a penalty of up to £40,000 under s.16K instead of prosecuting. Conduct that would attract a s.16I penalty within five years of an earlier penalty or conviction for different conduct is also an offence (s.16J(4)), punishable by a fine on summary conviction or the same up-to-£40,000 alternative. These are maxima; the council sets the amount and must have regard to government guidance.
We found no provision, as at 16 October 2026, that bars a possession order because the Information Sheet was late. The consequence is the penalty.
For a tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026, s.16D(2) requires the landlord to give the tenant a written statement of the prescribed terms and information, and s.16D(4) says it must be given before the tenancy is entered into, so before the agreement is signed or the letting is agreed orally. It can be the tenancy agreement itself or a separate document; GOV.UK's landlord guidance says you need not use the statutory wording as long as every item is covered.
The Schedule to SI 2026/324 lists what must be in it:
Three further points. Under s.16D(3) the statement may also say that the landlord wishes to be able to recover possession on certain prior-notice grounds (Grounds 1B, 2ZA to 2ZD, 4, 5 to 5H, 6A or 18); relying on one of those grounds later without having said so is a contravention under s.16E(1)(f), carrying the same up-to-£7,000 penalty, though it does not stop the court making the order (s.16E(5)). Ground 4A (student HMOs) is different: a written statement of the landlord's wish to recover possession on that basis, given before the tenancy is entered into, is a condition of the ground itself (Housing Act 1988 Sch 2, Ground 4A(c)), so without it the ground is not available at all. And the safe harbour in s.16I(2), under which an agent is not penalised where the landlord has complied, applies to the written statement only; it is not carried over to the Information Sheet.
The How to Rent guide was withdrawn by GOV.UK on 1 May 2026 and is kept only for Section 21 notices served before that date, so it is not a substitute for either document. The landlord redress scheme the Act provides for, the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, is not yet in force.
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 |
If your tenancy began before 1 May 2026 with a written agreement and you have not given it, the deadline has passed but giving it now brings the failure to an end. A council can impose a penalty of up to £7,000, and a failure that continues after a penalty is an offence. Give the exact GOV.UK PDF to every named tenant and record the date.
No. GOV.UK says you must give the exact PDF, by printed copy or as an attachment to an email or text message, and that emailing or texting a link to it will not be valid.
No. A tenancy created on or after 1 May 2026 needs the written statement of terms under Housing Act 1988 s.16D, given before the tenancy is entered into. The Information Sheet is for tenancies that already existed in writing on 1 May 2026.
A council financial penalty of up to £7,000 (Housing Act 1988 s.16I(6)). A failure that continues more than 28 days after a final penalty notice is an offence under s.16J(3), as is repeat conduct within five years (s.16J(4)); on conviction the penalty is a fine, or the council may impose up to £40,000 under s.16K instead.
No. The duty attaches to assured tenancies. A lodger who shares accommodation with a resident landlord, and a genuine holiday let, are not assured tenancies, so neither document is required for them.
No, they do different jobs. GOV.UK withdrew the How to Rent guide on 1 May 2026 and keeps it only for Section 21 notices served before then. Existing written tenancies needed the one-off Information Sheet; new tenancies need the written statement of terms.
Twelve questions, including whether every tenant has had the written statement or the Information Sheet. Runs in your browser; the app then records the date each document was served, per tenancy.
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