What is it?
The document How to rent: The checklist for renting in England (more commonly known as the How to Rent Guide) is published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). The latest version is available free to download here
The How to Rent Guide is a ‘Guide for people who are about to rent a house or flat.’
When is it used?
The Guide forms what is known as the ‘prescribed information’ for purposes of The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 and should be provided to a tenant at the time of granting a new tenancy.
The regulations only apply where an assured shorthold tenancy is granted for a dwelling-house in England on or after 1 October 2015 including a written renewal on or after that date. The regulations do not apply where an assured shorthold tenancy becomes a statutory periodic tenancy on or after 1 October 2015 where the original fixed term tenancy was granted before the 1 October 2015.
There is a three year transition applying where all tenancies are caught (even those granted prior to 1 October 2015). However, the prescribed information is only ever required on a new tenancy and never needs to be supplied to an older tenancy even from 1 October 2018 onwards.
If the Guide changes during the tenancy, the new version is not required to be provided.
Where a written renewal is agreed between the same landlord and tenant for substantially the same property, another copy of the Guide only needs to be provided if the Guide has changed since the previous tenancy and previous version supplied to the tenant. Therefore, if agreeing written renewals, landlords and agents will need to check and compare versions with what was given to the tenant previously and provide the new version if necessary.
If the tenancy goes ‘statutory periodic’ at the end of the fixed term and the Guide has changed on that day, the updated one must be provided.
The legislation does not provide any time limit to supply the information however a section 21 notice may not be given at a time when the landlord is in breach of the requirement to give the Guide. The ideal time to provide the Guide is at the same time as granting the tenancy and that would appear to be the intention of the legislation. The requirement is that it be given “under that tenancy”.
How should it be provided?
The Guide may be provided to the tenant:
1. In hard copy; or
2. where the tenant has notified the landlord, or agent, of an e-mail address at which the tenant is content to accept service of notices and other documents given under or in connection with the tenancy, by e-mail.