Let only vs fully managed: who is responsible for compliance

Quick answer

On a let only (tenant find) instruction, the landlord does and is liable for almost every compliance duty. On fully managed, the agent usually does most of the tasks — but only two duties can legally move to the agent: Right to Rent and gas safety, and both need it in writing. Everything else stays with the landlord, whatever the agreement says.

Doing the task is not the same as being liable

A fully managed agent books the electrician, protects the deposit and chases repairs. That is the work. The legal duty for most of it never leaves the landlord.

That gap matters when something is missed. The landlord is exposed for a task they paid someone else to do.

The service levels

• Let only, also called tenant find: the agent finds the tenant and steps away.
• Rent collection, also called let and collect.
• Fully managed, also called let and manage.
• Guaranteed rent: a commercial promise sold by the agent. The named landlord is still the landlord.
• Self-managed: no agent.

Service level is per property, not per landlord. One landlord can be fully managed on one home and self-managing the next.

Duty by duty

• Gas safety: the landlord on let only and rent collection. Can move to a fully managed agent under a written management agreement.
• Right to Rent: agents often do the check. The landlord stays liable unless the agent agreed in writing to take it on.
• EICR: a managing agent may book it. The landlord is liable.
• EPC: needed before marketing. The minimum E rating is the landlord’s duty.
• Deposit and prescribed information: whoever holds the deposit usually protects it. A claim for late protection can still be brought against the landlord.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, including the day-one test: the landlord is liable.
• Repairs and hazards: the agent arranges contractors. The repairing obligation is the landlord’s.
• Rent review and Section 13 notice: the agent can prepare and serve it in the landlord’s name. A defective notice is still the landlord’s problem.
• PRS Database registration: the landlord registers on every service level.
• Property licensing: the agent can hold the licence, but letting without a required licence exposes the landlord too.

Pick a service level in the free agent or landlord responsibility checker and see who does each task and who is liable.

What this means on a let only job

After a let only instruction, the landlord is on their own for gas, EICR, alarms, repairs, rent reviews and registration.

The agent may still hold the deposit or have done the Right to Rent check. Write down which, so nobody assumes the other did it.

What this means on fully managed

The agent does most of the work, so most of the record sits with the agent. If the agent changes, that record has to go with the property, or the landlord inherits gaps.

The exact wording that moves gas safety or Right to Rent is a matter for a housing solicitor, not for us.

A one-page check for every instruction

• Service level recorded per property.
• Whether the agent took gas safety in writing, and where that clause is.
• Whether the agent took Right to Rent in writing.
• Who holds the deposit.
• Who books EICR, EPC and alarm checks.
• Who will register on the PRS Database — always the landlord.

The free Renters’ Rights Act compliance checklist covers every duty on one page.

Who does it, and who answers for it

Duty	Let only	Rent collection	Fully managed
Gas safety	Landlord	Landlord	Agent, if agreed in writing; otherwise landlord
Right to Rent	Agent, if agreed in writing; otherwise landlord	Agent, if agreed in writing; otherwise landlord	Agent, if agreed in writing; otherwise landlord
EICR	Landlord	Landlord	Agent books it; landlord liable
Smoke and CO alarms	Landlord	Landlord	Agent arranges; landlord liable
Deposit protection	Whoever holds it	Whoever holds it	Usually the agent; the landlord can still be sued
Section 13 rent increase	Landlord	Landlord	Agent serves in the landlord’s name
PRS Database registration	Landlord	Landlord	Landlord
Licensing (where required)	Landlord	Landlord, and the agent if it receives the rent	Landlord, and the agent if it receives the rent

When councils went after the agent — and when they did not

Case	Who	Council	Tribunal	Point
LON/00BH/HNA/2023/0059	Letting agent	£12,000	£12,000, confirmed	The agent argued its agreement put licensing on the landlord. It still committed the offence
CHI/00MR/HNA/2020/0005	Letting agent	£6,000	£12,000, increased	Collecting the rent made the agent a person in control of the HMO
BIR/00FY/HNA/2022/0014	Letting agent (franchise branch)	£3,870	£1,788.20	Offence proved; the tribunal also took back the agent’s commission for the period
MAN/00CA/HNA/2026/0001–0002	Joint owners who used a managing agent	£4,500 each	£2,250 each	Having an agent did not shield the owners; the penalty was halved because they were one household

What the cases teach

• A rent-collecting or fully managed agent is exposed for licensing offences in its own right. A clause in the management agreement does not change that.
• The landlord stays exposed too. Paying an agent is not a defence.
• Let only is where nobody owns the gaps. Write down, per property, who does each check after the tenant moves in.

Cases are First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decisions published on gov.uk. Each turns on its own facts; read the full decision before relying on one.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Where Abide.Rent fits

Abide.Rent holds the service level per property under an agreement. Duties shows who does each task and who is still legally responsible, so a let only landlord and a fully managed one see different lists.

Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card.

Not legal advice.