The tenant information sheet: what landlords must provide

One of the least-noticed but highest-risk duties in the Renters' Rights Act: landlords must give tenants prescribed written information. Getting it wrong carries financial penalties — for the transition information sheet, up to £7,000 per tenancy.

The transition information sheet (converted tenancies)

Every tenancy that converted from an AST to a periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026 triggered a duty to give the tenant the official government information sheet explaining how the new rules affect their tenancy, by 31 May 2026. If you missed the deadline, serve it now — late is better than never, and continuing failure increases enforcement risk. The official sheet is downloadable from gov.uk.

Written tenancy information (all tenancies)

Separately, for tenancies created on or after 1 May 2026, landlords must give every named tenant prescribed written information about the key terms before the tenancy agreement is signed or the tenancy is otherwise agreed — with fines of up to £7,000 for failure. The required content was set out in government guidance published on 20 March 2026 and includes the parties and notice address, rent and bills, deposit, notice arrangements, repair, gas and electrical safety obligations, disability adaptations and pets. A written agreement covering these matters, given to the tenant before signing, satisfies the duty — which is why the PeriodicTenancy pack pairs the agreement with a dedicated written tenancy information document and tells landlords to provide it pre-signature.

The rest of the paperwork stack

• Deposit protection and prescribed information (within 30 days)
• Gas safety certificate and EPC
• How to Rent guide (current version)
• Electrical installation condition report