The compliance checklist every South Lincolnshire landlord needs before letting

Before a tenant moves into a house in Spalding, a flat in Holbeach or a room in Boston, there is a list of things the law expects to be in place. None of it is complicated, but it is easy to let one item slip, and since the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 came into force on 1 May 2026 the cost of slipping has gone up: councils can fine up to £40,000 for the most serious housing offences, and the new landlord database will ask you to confirm your certificates when it reaches Lincolnshire next year.

Here is the checklist we work through on every new let in South Lincolnshire, in four parts.

1. Safety certificates

Gas safety record

If the property has any gas appliance, flue or pipework, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require an annual check by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Give new tenants a copy before they move in, existing tenants a copy within 28 days of each check, and keep records for two years.

Electrical installation condition report (EICR)

Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, the fixed wiring must be inspected by a qualified person at least every five years, or sooner if the report says so. New tenants get a copy before they move in, existing tenants within 28 days. Remedial work must be done within 28 days. Older terraces around Spalding and Boston often fail first time on the consumer unit, so book the inspection well before move-in day.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, as amended in 2022, require at least one smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, such as a gas boiler or wood burner (gas cookers are excluded). They must be tested and working on the day the tenancy starts, and repaired or replaced as soon as a tenant reports a fault.

Energy performance certificate (EPC)

You need a valid EPC, which lasts ten years, and the tenant must be given a copy. Under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 a rented home must be rated E or above unless a valid exemption is registered. Tighter standards have been proposed for later in the decade; we will cover those separately.

2. Paperwork at the start of the tenancy

This is where the Renters’ Rights Act has changed the most:

• Written statement of terms. For every tenancy starting on or after 1 May 2026, the tenant must be given a written statement of the key terms before the tenancy is entered into. It has replaced the old How to Rent booklet as the document to get right on day one; the penalty for missing it is up to £7,000. Tenancies that began before May should have had the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026; if that was missed, send it now and keep proof.
• Deposit. A cash deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days, and the tenant must be given the prescribed information. If you would rather not handle a cash deposit, our Zero Deposit option through Reposit is available on many of our properties, subject to referencing.
• Rent in advance. You can no longer ask for or take more than one month’s rent up front, so referencing and guarantors do the work that six months in advance used to do.
• Right to Rent. Under the Immigration Act 2014 you must check every adult occupier’s right to rent before the tenancy starts, using a Home Office share code or original documents, and keep dated copies.
• Inventory. Not a legal requirement, but a dated, photographed check-in report is your evidence in any deposit dispute.

3. The property itself

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 means the property must be fit to live in at the start of the tenancy and throughout it. The issues we see most across South Holland are damp, condensation and tired heating, so sort them before the first viewing rather than after the first complaint.

Two items are often forgotten. Upholstered furniture you supply must carry the permanent labels required by the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, and the Health and Safety Executive expects landlords to assess the legionella risk in the water system, which for a normal house is a short written assessment, not a test.

Shared houses and HMOs

If the property will be let to three or more people from two or more households sharing a kitchen or bathroom, it is an HMO and must meet the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. Once it reaches five or more people it needs a licence: from South Holland District Council for Spalding, Holbeach, Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge, Boston Borough Council for Boston, or South Kesteven District Council for Bourne. Apply before anyone moves in; our guide to South Holland HMO licensing explains how.

4. You as the landlord

If there is a mortgage, you need the lender’s consent to let, and a leasehold flat may need the freeholder’s too. Check you have landlord insurance rather than a standard home policy, and declare the rental income to HMRC.

Then there is the Private Rented Sector Database. Registration opens for the East Midlands, which includes Lincolnshire, on 15 February 2027, with a deadline of 14 May 2027. The fee is £65 per property per year, and you will be asked to confirm each property’s gas safety record, EICR and EPC. If parts one to three are in order, registration is a quick job; if not, it is where the gaps show. Mandatory membership of the new landlord ombudsman is expected to follow in 2028.

Download the full checklist

The whole list, with more detail on each item, is in our free printable Landlord Compliance Checklist, which you can download from our landlords page. We also offer a free, no-obligation compliance check at the property for landlords across South Holland, Boston and Bourne, and for managed landlords we run the compliance diary and chase the certificates as a matter of course.

If you are about to let a property and want a second pair of eyes on it, call the Spalding office on 01775 666585, message us on WhatsApp on 07399 474491, or use our contact page.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Rules and dates can change; check the current position on GOV.UK or with a solicitor before acting on it.