A new tenancy, from holding deposit to day 30

This is the order of the legal steps for a new tenancy in England, who does each one, and what the tenant receives.

Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants.

Moving in: each step with its date and what is still open.

Certificates: what each tenant has been given, and when.

What you are deciding

Whether every step that the law requires before and at the start of the tenancy is done, and on record, in time.

Your options

• Everything done before the start date. The tenancy starts with nothing outstanding. The deposit clock runs for 30 days from receipt.
• A step is late. Abide.Rent keeps reminding the landlord side until it is recorded. Some late steps have legal consequences that cannot be undone, such as an unprotected deposit.
• The tenancy is back-to-back with the last one. Add the new tenancy before it starts, so the steps before move-in are tracked while the old tenancy is still running.

The journey at a glance

When	Step	Who	The law
Offer accepted	Holding deposit taken: no more than one week's rent. Agreement reached by the 15th day	Landlord side; tenant pays	Tenant Fees Act 2019 Sch. 1 and 2
Before the tenancy is entered into	Written statement of terms given	Landlord side	Housing Act 1988 s.16D
Before the tenancy starts	Right to Rent check of every adult who will live there	Whoever holds the duty	Immigration Act 2014 s.22
Before the tenant moves in	Copies of the gas safety record and the EICR, and the EPC, given to the tenant	Landlord side	GSIUR 1998 reg. 36; 2020 Regulations reg. 3
The day it starts	Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms checked and working	Landlord side	Smoke and CO Alarm Regulations 2015 reg. 4
Within 30 days of receiving it	Deposit (at most 5 weeks' rent, 6 if the rent is £50,000.00 a year or more) protected, and the prescribed information given to the tenant and anyone who paid it	Landlord side	Housing Act 2004 s.213; Tenant Fees Act 2019
At move-in	Inventory and check-in list confirmed by each tenant	Both sides	Good practice: the evidence for the deposit at the end

What each party does

Letting agency (fully managed)

1. Record the holding deposit and the deadline for agreement.
2. Add the tenancy before it starts, with every named tenant and any guarantor.
3. Do the Right to Rent checks if you accepted that duty in writing; record the result and the evidence.
4. Send the written statement for signature before the tenancy is entered into.
5. Make sure the gas safety record, EICR and EPC are current and sent to the tenants before they move in.
6. On the first day, record that the alarms were checked.
7. Protect the deposit and give the prescribed information within 30 days, and record both.

Landlord

• On a fully managed let you approve and are told; you do not have to act unless asked.
• On a let-only or rent collection service, or your own account, you do the steps above yourself, and Abide.Rent reminds you.
• Whatever the service, the legal duties stay yours except gas safety and Right to Rent accepted by the agency in writing.

Tenant

1. Pay the holding deposit and agree the tenancy by the deadline.
2. Show your Right to Rent documents, and those of every adult moving in.
3. Read and sign the written statement of terms.
4. Before you move in, you should have the gas safety record, the EICR and the EPC. They are in your portal under Safety.
5. On the first day, check the alarms work and confirm the check-in list.
6. Within 30 days you should receive the deposit protection details and the prescribed information.

When Abide.Rent reminds whom

• Holding deposit deadlines, Right to Rent before the start, the written statement and missing certificates: the landlord side, 60, 30, 14, 7, 3 and 1 days before, on the day, then 1, 7, 14 and 30 days late, then monthly until six months late.
• Deposit protection: the landlord side, on the same days, counted back from day 30.
• The tenant is not reminded about these. Each document appears in their portal when it is given to them.

A worked example

A tenant pays a holding deposit on Monday 2 November 2026; the deadline for agreement is Monday 16 November. She signs the written statement on Thursday 12 November and the tenancy is entered into on Friday 13 November, when she pays a deposit of £1,440.00. Her Right to Rent check is done on Tuesday 10 November. She receives the gas safety record and EICR in her portal before moving in on Tuesday 1 December 2026, and the alarms are checked that day. The deposit must be protected by Saturday 12 December 2026.

What Abide.Rent does for you

• Tracks each step from the facts recorded, before the tenancy starts as well as after.
• Records when each document was given to each tenant, and keeps a dated copy for each of them.
• Warns when a deposit is above the cap, or when a step that must come first is not on record.

If something goes wrong

• “A step that must come before the tenancy starts is not recorded.”
  What to do: Record the Right to Rent check, the written statement or the missing certificate before the start date.
• The deposit clock started on the wrong day
  What to do: Edit the date the deposit was received. The 30 days count from that day.

Common mistakes

• Adding the tenancy on the day it starts, so the steps that come before it were never tracked.
• Recording the deposit as protected without giving the prescribed information to everyone who paid it.

What to do next

• Written statement of terms
• Rent in advance
• Open properties