The Tenant Information Sheet must be served on all existing tenants by 31 May 2026. There is no grace period and no provision to retrospectively cure a missed deadline by late service alone. Failure blocks your ability to use certain possession grounds — it is not a fine but a structural consequence built into the new legislation.
Quick Answers
Does this apply to existing tenants or only new ones?
Both. Existing tenancies convert to the new periodic tenancy regime under the Renters' Rights Act. The transitional deadline for sending the sheet to existing tenants is 31 May 2026.
What happens if you miss the deadline?
You cannot serve a valid notice to end the tenancy under the Act's new possession grounds until the information has been properly provided. It blocks possession — it does not fine you.
Does it replace the How to Rent guide?
Yes. The How to Rent guide requirement is abolished under the new regime. The Tenant Information Sheet is the replacement — and it is a different document with different prescribed content.
The short answer: Under the Renters' Rights Act, landlords of assured tenancies must serve a prescribed Tenant Information Sheet on their tenants. For existing tenancies that convert to the new regime, this must be done by 31 May 2026. The sheet replaces the How to Rent guide and must contain specific prescribed information about the tenancy, the property, and the landlord's obligations.
The consequence of non-compliance: a landlord who has not properly served the sheet cannot serve a valid notice using the Act's new possession grounds. This is not an administrative penalty — it is built into the mechanics of the possession process. Until the sheet is served, the landlord's ability to end the tenancy is structurally restricted.
Key Takeaways
The deadline applies to every existing tenancy
There is no exception for long-standing tenancies, periodic tenancies already in place, or tenancies where a How to Rent guide was previously served. Every existing assured tenancy is in scope.
The How to Rent guide does not satisfy this requirement
Landlords who diligently served a How to Rent guide at the start of the tenancy still need to serve the new prescribed sheet. It is a different document with different content requirements.
Missing the deadline blocks possession — it does not fine you
The sanction is structural, not monetary. A landlord without proof of service cannot serve a valid possession notice under the new grounds. This restriction persists until the sheet is properly served.
Managing agents can serve on the landlord's behalf
Landlords with a managing agent should confirm immediately who is responsible for sending the sheet and ensure they have received confirmation of service with proof. Do not assume it has been done.
Proof of service is essential
The document is only useful if you can prove it was sent and received. Retain a read receipt for email, recorded delivery confirmation for post, or a signed acknowledgement for hand delivery.
The prescribed form must be used — an informal letter is not enough
The Tenant Information Sheet is a prescribed form set by secondary legislation. A covering letter with similar information, or an email summary, does not satisfy the requirement.
Why This Requirement Exists
The Tenant Information Sheet is part of the Renters' Rights Act's wider project of rebalancing the landlord-tenant relationship — and it replaces the prescribed information requirements that existed under the previous Section 21 regime.
Under the old regime, a landlord could not serve a valid Section 21 notice unless they had first served certain prescribed documents on the tenant: the How to Rent guide, the property's Energy Performance Certificate, and the Gas Safety Certificate. These documents were the gateway to using no-fault eviction. The theory was straightforward — landlords who want to use the accelerated possession process must first have met their basic informational obligations to tenants.
The Renters' Rights Act abolishes Section 21 entirely and introduces a new framework of defined possession grounds. But the underlying principle — that landlords must have met their prescribed information obligations before they can invoke possession procedures — survives in the new regime. The Tenant Information Sheet is the new prescribed document that anchors this mechanism.
For tenants, the sheet serves a different purpose: it is a plain-English summary of their rights under the new regime, how the tenancy now works, what they can expect from their landlord, and where they can get help. The Act's architects wanted to ensure that when existing tenancies converted to the new periodic regime — without the tenant necessarily having engaged with the legislative change — every tenant received clear information about what had changed.
Who Must Send It — and Who Is Exempt
The obligation applies to any landlord of an assured tenancy in England — which, after the Renters' Rights Act's commencement, means the vast majority of private residential landlords.
| Tenancy Type | Tenant Information Sheet Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Existing AST (converting to new periodic regime) | Yes Deadline 31 May 2026 | All existing assured shorthold tenancies in England convert automatically. Sheet must be served in the transitional window. |
| New tenancy created after commencement | Yes At tenancy start | Must be served at or before the start of the tenancy. No grace period for new tenancies. |
| Social housing / registered provider tenancies | No Exempt | Social tenancies regulated under the social housing regime are outside the Renters' Rights Act's assured tenancy framework. |
| Company lets | No Exempt | Tenancies where the tenant is a company rather than an individual cannot be assured tenancies in law. |
| High-rent properties (above the rent threshold) | Check Threshold applies | Properties with annual rent above the assured tenancy upper threshold fall outside the regime. Check the current threshold against your rent level. |
| Holiday lets and licences | No Exempt | Excluded occupancies and licences are outside the assured tenancy regime. Genuinely structured holiday lets are unaffected. |
| HMOs — individual room lets | Yes — per tenant | Where each room is let on a separate tenancy, each tenant must receive their own sheet. Joint tenants under a single agreement: one sheet, served on all. |
Welsh landlords should note that housing law in Wales is devolved — the Renters' Rights Act applies to England only. Welsh landlords are subject to the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 regime, which has its own prescribed information requirements.
What the Tenant Information Sheet Must Contain
The Tenant Information Sheet is a prescribed form — its content is set by secondary legislation and must be reproduced accurately. Using an informal substitute is not sufficient.
The prescribed form, published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now MHCLG), includes the following required sections. Where the form uses fixed wording, that wording must appear verbatim. Where it includes blanks for property or landlord-specific information, those must be completed accurately.
Do not draft your own version of the Tenant Information Sheet or attempt to replicate the content in a letter. The prescribed form is available from gov.uk and must be used as published. Complete the blank fields accurately for each tenancy — name, address, landlord contact details — and serve the completed form. A self-drafted document, however accurate, does not satisfy the statutory requirement.
How and When to Serve It
Service of the Tenant Information Sheet follows the same rules as service of other prescribed documents under the Housing Acts — and proof of service is essential.
The Renters' Rights Act and its supporting secondary legislation permit service by the following methods:
- Hand delivery to the tenant at the property — obtain a signed acknowledgement if possible
- First class post to the property address — retain proof of posting; service is deemed on the second working day after posting
- Email — only if the tenant has previously agreed in writing to receive documents by email. Retain a read receipt or delivery confirmation
For the transitional deadline, the critical date is 31 May 2026. To be safe, serve before this date with a service method that gives you a reliable proof trail. Serving by first class post on 30 May creates unnecessary risk — if there is any dispute about delivery, you have no margin.
What proof of service should you retain?
- For post: Royal Mail Signed For or Recorded Delivery confirmation with tracking reference, plus a copy of the document served
- For email: the sent email with timestamp, plus a read receipt or delivery confirmation from the recipient's mail server
- For hand delivery: a signed receipt from the tenant, dated, or a contemporaneous note recording the delivery witnessed by a third party
Keep proof of service in the tenancy file indefinitely — you may need it years later if a possession dispute arises.
What Happens if You Miss the Deadline
Missing the 31 May 2026 deadline does not trigger a fixed penalty — but it has a structural consequence that is potentially more serious for landlords who ever need to use a possession ground.
Possession notices become invalid
A landlord who has not properly served the Tenant Information Sheet cannot serve a valid notice under the Act's possession grounds. Any notice served without prior compliance will be defective — the tenant can raise this as a defence in possession proceedings, and the court must dismiss or adjourn the claim.
The restriction persists until you comply
Unlike the old Section 21 regime — where some failures could be retrospectively cured — the new framework does not offer a clean retrospective fix. Late service of the sheet lifts the restriction going forward, but does not validate any notice already served while in breach.
Any possession action is stalled
A landlord who needs to recover the property — even for a legitimate reason such as the property being sold or the tenant in significant arrears — cannot progress that claim until prescribed information has been properly served. This can delay recovery by months.
Tribunal scrutiny of landlord conduct
Courts and Tribunals are explicitly required to consider whether landlords have met their statutory obligations when assessing possession claims. A landlord who cannot demonstrate compliance with the prescribed information requirements starts any hearing in a weakened position.
The practical upshot is this: if you have any tenancy where you might ever want to use a possession ground — and all landlords do — failing to serve the Tenant Information Sheet is a risk you cannot afford to take. The cost of compliance is negligible. The cost of non-compliance is structural.
If Your Property Is Managed by an Agent
Managing agents can and often will serve the Tenant Information Sheet on the landlord's behalf — but landlords should not assume this has happened without explicit confirmation.
If you use a managing agent, contact them now and ask:
- Has the Tenant Information Sheet been sent to all tenants in my properties?
- What method of service was used?
- Do you hold proof of service for each tenancy?
- Can you provide copies of the proof of service?
A professional managing agent should be able to answer all four questions immediately and provide documentary evidence. If they cannot, treat this as a significant compliance gap and escalate urgently.
Even where your agent handles day-to-day management, the legal obligation is yours as the landlord. If the agent fails to serve the sheet and you suffer a possession consequence as a result, you may have a claim against the agent for that failure — but that does not help you in the short term when you cannot take possession of your own property.
We have tracked the Renters' Rights Act transitional requirements since the Act's commencement and have been proactive in serving prescribed information on behalf of the landlords we manage for. If you are a Neon client, check your compliance portal — your tenant documentation should already reflect this. If you are with a different agent and are not sure whether this has been done, now is the time to find out, not after the deadline.
Action Steps Before 31 May 2026
Use the version currently published by MHCLG. Do not use an earlier version, a third-party template, or a version distributed by a trade body unless you have verified it matches the current prescribed form exactly. If the form has been updated since you last checked, use the latest version.
Work through your portfolio and confirm which tenancies are assured tenancies in England. For each one, confirm whether a Tenant Information Sheet has already been served. Do not rely on memory — check tenancy files.
The form includes blanks for property address and landlord contact details. Complete these accurately for each tenancy. A single generic sheet sent to multiple tenants does not satisfy the requirement.
Avoid hand delivery without a receipt. Use Signed For post or email with a read receipt. Serve well before 31 May — if you leave it to the final few days and a delivery issue arises, you have no time to correct it.
Create a compliance record for each tenancy showing: the date of service, the method used, the document served (version date of the prescribed form), and the proof of delivery. Store this permanently alongside the tenancy agreement.
If any of your properties are managed by an agent, request written confirmation that service has been completed for each managed tenancy, with proof of service attached. Do not accept a verbal assurance — obtain documentary confirmation.
Frequently Asked Questions
The requirement applies to all assured tenancies — both new tenancies created after the Renters' Rights Act commencement date and existing tenancies that convert to the new periodic tenancy regime.
Landlords with existing tenants must send the prescribed information sheet within the transitional period, which runs to 31 May 2026 for most existing tenancies.
Failure to provide the prescribed information will prevent a landlord from serving a valid notice to end the tenancy under the Renters' Rights Act's new possession grounds. Until the information has been properly provided, the landlord cannot take certain enforcement steps against the tenant.
In addition, tenants will be able to raise the failure as a defence in possession proceedings.
Yes. A managing agent acting with authority from the landlord can serve the prescribed information on the landlord's behalf. The obligation sits with the landlord as the legal party to the tenancy, but service by an authorised agent satisfies the requirement.
The agent should retain proof of service — a read receipt for email, or recorded delivery confirmation for physical post.
The Tenant Information Sheet is a separate prescribed document from the How to Rent guide, which was required under the previous regime. Under the Renters' Rights Act, the How to Rent guide requirement is replaced by the new prescribed information sheet.
Landlords who previously served a How to Rent guide must still send the new sheet — the earlier document does not satisfy the new obligation.
The Renters' Rights Act and its secondary legislation permit service by hand, first class post to the tenant's address, or email if the tenant has previously agreed to receive documents electronically.
Landlords should retain proof of whichever method they use. For email service, a read receipt or confirmation of delivery is advisable.
Where each tenant in an HMO has a separate tenancy agreement — the most common arrangement for room-by-room lettings — a separate Tenant Information Sheet must be served on each individual tenant.
Where tenants are joint tenants under a single agreement, service on one joint tenant is generally treated as service on all, though landlords should take specific legal advice on their own tenancy structure.
Not sure if your tenancies are compliant with the Renters' Rights Act?
Neon manages landlord compliance across London and Essex — including prescribed information requirements, rent increase notices, and possession ground preparation. If you are not confident your portfolio is in order, talk to us before the deadline.
Book a free compliance call →