Pillar guide · Updated 2026
London Landlord Compliance: The Complete 2026 Guide
The compliance burden on London landlords has grown sharply over the last decade. In 2026 you are juggling annual gas safety certificates, five yearly electrical inspections, EPC ratings that have to hit band C by 2028, smoke and CO alarm rules, Right to Rent identity checks, deposit protection within 30 days, and a patchwork of council licensing schemes that vary borough by borough. Miss any one of them and the fines run from £500 into the tens of thousands. This guide is the working checklist we use with our property management clients.
Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)
Every property you let with a gas appliance, gas pipework, or a gas flue needs a Gas Safety Certificate every twelve months. The certificate is sometimes still called a CP12. It has to be issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
The certificate must be given to the tenant within 28 days of the inspection, and to any new tenant before they move in. You also have to keep a copy for at least two years.
The check covers every gas appliance (boiler, hob, oven, fire), the pipework leading to them, and the flue. The engineer tests for leaks, checks for adequate ventilation, and confirms that combustion is clean. If anything is unsafe it has to be fixed or isolated before the property can continue to be let.
Costs in 2026: a single appliance check is around £75 to £95, a boiler service combined with a CP12 is around £130 to £160, and a CP12 covering boiler, hob, and fire is usually £110 to £150. Our Bromley plumbing team covers gas safety inspections across South London with annual reminders set up automatically.
The penalty for letting a property without a valid certificate is up to £6,000 per incident, and in serious cases (where harm is caused) it can become a criminal matter under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
EICR (electrical safety)
Every let property in England needs an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) at least every five years, and at the start of every new tenancy. The EICR has to be carried out by a qualified and competent electrician, normally registered with NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA.
The inspection covers the consumer unit, the wiring, the circuits, the sockets, the lighting, and the earthing arrangements. It rates the installation as Satisfactory (in which case you get a certificate valid for five years) or Unsatisfactory (in which case the listed remedial works have to be completed within 28 days).
The most common reasons for an Unsatisfactory result in older South London terraces:
- No RCD protection (a 1980s consumer unit without modern trip switches)
- Old rubber insulated cabling, particularly in pre 1960s properties
- Lack of earthing in metal back boxes or on appliances
- Two way switches wired incorrectly to current standards
- Bonding missing on incoming gas or water service
EICR costs vary with property size: a one bed flat is typically £140 to £180, a three bed house is £180 to £260, and larger HMOs are £280 and up. Remedial works are quoted separately. Consumer unit upgrades, the most common big remedial, run £550 to £900 fitted depending on the unit. Our Bromley electricians, Lewisham team, and full electrical services handle EICRs and remedial work as a single job.
The penalty for not having a valid EICR is up to £30,000 per breach. It is one of the most heavily enforced compliance areas in 2026.
EPC band C minimum from 2028
Currently a let property must have an EPC of band E or better. From 2028 the minimum is band C for all new tenancies, and from 2030 it applies to all existing tenancies. This is the single biggest looming compliance change for London landlords.
An EPC lasts ten years. The cost of getting one is £60 to £120 depending on the property. Lifting a property from band D to band C usually involves a combination of:
- Loft insulation topped up to 270mm
- Cavity wall insulation where the cavity is empty and accessible
- LED lighting throughout
- A condensing boiler with smart thermostat
- Double or triple glazing where the existing windows are single glazed
- Hot water cylinder insulation jacket where one is fitted
The government has indicated a cost cap of £15,000 per property to comply, with exemptions if you have spent that and still cannot reach band C. Even so, planning the upgrades now is much cheaper than rushing them in 2028 when every contractor in London will be booked solid.
We carry out EPC assessments alongside any maintenance visit, and our team can plan the works in stages so the cost is spread across two or three years. See our property management page for how we handle this for landlords with multiple properties.
Smoke and CO alarm regulations
Since the 2022 update to the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations, every let property in England must have:
- A working smoke alarm on every storey of the property where there is a room used as living accommodation
- A carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers)
- The alarms must be tested at the start of every new tenancy
- Faulty alarms must be repaired or replaced as soon as reasonably practicable after being reported
Hard wired interlinked alarms with a battery backup are now best practice. They are not a legal requirement in standard rentals, but they are a requirement in HMOs and they are the standard we recommend for all rental properties because they reduce the risk of tenants disabling battery only units to stop nuisance triggers.
The penalty for non compliance starts at £5,000 per breach.
Right to Rent checks
Every adult who will live in the property has to have their right to rent verified before the tenancy starts. This applies in England under the Immigration Act 2014.
In 2026 the checks can be done in three ways:
- In person, with original documents from list A or list B (passport, biometric residence permit, EEA national identity card with settled status share code)
- Through an Identity Service Provider (IDSP) for British and Irish citizens with a valid passport
- Through the Home Office online checking service for anyone with a share code (most non British and non Irish residents)
You must keep a copy of the document or the share code result for the duration of the tenancy plus 12 months. Follow up checks are needed for time limited rights to rent, before the existing right expires.
Civil penalties for letting to someone without right to rent start at £10,000 per occupier for a first offence, and £20,000 for repeat offences. Knowingly letting to someone without right to rent is a criminal offence with up to five years in prison.
Deposit protection
Any deposit taken on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy must be protected in a government approved scheme within 30 calendar days of receipt. The three approved schemes in 2026 are the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), MyDeposits, and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS).
Within the same 30 days you must serve the prescribed information on the tenant: the scheme details, the dispute resolution procedure, the amount of deposit, the property address, and the conditions under which the deposit can be withheld at the end of the tenancy.
Get this wrong and three things happen. You cannot serve a Section 21 notice to evict the tenant, the tenant can claim back one to three times the deposit through the courts, and you cannot use the accelerated possession procedure.
Deposits are also capped at five weeks rent (where the annual rent is below £50,000) under the Tenant Fees Act. Holding deposits are capped at one weeks rent and have specific rules about when they can be retained.
HMO and fire safety
A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is any property let to three or more people from two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom, or toilet. A large HMO (five or more people, two or more households) needs a mandatory licence from the council. Most London boroughs also operate an additional HMO licensing scheme that catches smaller HMOs, so always check with the local authority.
Fire safety in HMOs is significantly stricter than in standard rentals. The minimum specification:
- Mains powered interlinked smoke alarms on every floor with battery backup, to LD2 or LD1 standard depending on the property
- Heat detector in the kitchen
- 30 minute fire doors on bedrooms, kitchens, and any room opening onto a protected escape route, with intumescent strips and cold smoke seals
- Self closing devices on those doors
- Emergency lighting on the escape route in larger HMOs
- Fire blankets in shared kitchens
- An annual fire risk assessment (FRA), and a fire alarm test every six months
Many older South London HMOs were converted before these standards came in. Bringing them up to compliance is expensive but unavoidable. Our team carries out HMO fire safety upgrades alongside any electrical or compliance work.
Council selective licensing schemes
Selective licensing extends mandatory licensing beyond HMOs. It is set by the local authority and applies to specific wards or the whole borough. In 2026 the picture across South London is:
- Croydon: borough wide selective licensing covers most private rented housing. Licences run 5 years and currently cost £750 to £950 per property depending on the renewal status.
- Greenwich: selective licensing in designated wards. Check the council site for the live map of covered streets.
- Lewisham: additional and selective licensing schemes operate in named wards. Renewals are required every 5 years.
- Bromley: no borough wide selective scheme as of 2026, but mandatory HMO licensing applies as everywhere.
- Bexley and Sutton: mandatory HMO only.
Failing to licence where required is a civil penalty of up to £30,000 per property. It also voids your right to use Section 21, and tenants can apply for a Rent Repayment Order to claw back up to 12 months of rent.
Always check the council website for the property postcode before renewing or starting a tenancy. The schemes change every five years and the boundaries shift.
Tenancy renewal admin
At each renewal point the compliance pack should be re served:
- Current Gas Safety Certificate
- Current EPC
- How to Rent guide (latest version published by the government)
- EICR (or evidence it remains valid)
- Deposit prescribed information re served if deposit terms change
- Updated tenancy agreement reflecting any rent change
If any of these are missing at the start of the tenancy or at renewal, the landlord cannot serve a Section 21 notice until they have been served. This is a common reason landlords find themselves unable to regain possession when they need to.
Repair obligations
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes the landlord responsible for the structure and exterior of the property, the heating and hot water, the sanitary fittings, and the gas, electric, and water installations.
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 expanded the obligation to cover damp, mould, ventilation, infestation, and any hazard listed in the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Tenants can sue directly under this Act if the property falls below standard.
In practice this means responding promptly to repair requests, keeping a written log of what was reported and when, and getting a qualified trade in to deal with anything that affects safety or habitability. Mould and damp in particular have become a focus area since the Awaab Ishak case, with tighter time limits on response.
Our plumbing and electrical teams cover landlord repairs across South London with same day response on safety issues. Plumbers in Bromley, electricians in Bromley and Lewisham, and a wider property management service covering compliance, maintenance, and tenant liaison for landlords with multiple properties.
What happens if you do not comply
The penalty regime stacks. A landlord operating without an EICR, in a borough with selective licensing, with an unprotected deposit, faces three separate enforcement actions. Tenants can also apply for a Rent Repayment Order, which claws back up to 12 months of rent, on top of any local authority fine.
The headline numbers in 2026:
- No EICR: up to £30,000 per breach
- No selective licence (where required): up to £30,000 plus rent repayment
- No HMO licence (where required): up to £30,000 plus rent repayment
- No Gas Safety Certificate: up to £6,000 per incident, criminal liability if harm caused
- No deposit protection: 1 to 3 times the deposit, plus loss of Section 21
- Right to Rent breach: £10,000 to £20,000 per occupier, criminal if knowing
- Smoke alarm failure: up to £5,000 per breach
- Repeat or aggravated offences: banning order, removed from the landlord register
The good news: every single one of these is straightforward to avoid if the compliance calendar is set up properly. Annual gas, five yearly EICR, alarm tests at every changeover, EPC tracking against the 2028 deadline, and a quick check on local authority licensing whenever you take on a new property. That is the whole job.
Related guides
How often should you get an electrical safety check?
EICR rules, what the inspection covers, and the most common remedial findings.
Landlord property maintenance checklist
A month by month maintenance plan that protects rental properties and keeps compliance in order.
Consumer unit upgrade: do you need one?
When an old fuse board fails an EICR, what a modern consumer unit costs, and how long the swap takes.
What to do when your boiler breaks down
The first checks to run before you call out a Gas Safe engineer, especially useful for landlords.
Need landlord compliance help?
Annual gas safety, EICRs, EPCs, and remedial works under one roof. Reminder service included.