Which duties can an agent take on?

Abide.Rent shows, for each property, who is recorded as responsible for each duty. You will find it on the Duties page.

Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords.

Each duty and who carries it.

What you are deciding

Whether the agent takes on Right to Rent checks, gas safety, both or neither for a property.

Your options

• The agent takes on Right to Rent checks. Recorded against the agent only if the agent has accepted it in writing.
• The agent takes on gas safety. Recorded against the agent only if the agent has accepted it in writing.
• Neither. Both stay with the landlord, along with every other duty.
• Every other duty. Stays with the landlord, whatever the management agreement says and whatever level of service the agent provides.
• The written statement of terms. Stays with the landlord. An agent who has agreed to make sure it is given is bound by the duty as well (Housing Act 1988 s.16D(8)).
• Rules that bind agents directly. Some rules apply to the agent in its own right whatever the agreement says, such as stating the rent in adverts, not inviting bids above it, and not refusing families or people on benefits.

How to do it

1. Open the property and select the tab for the agent's instruction.
2. Choose the service level, for example let only, rent collection or fully managed.
3. Tick Right to Rent, gas safety, or both, only if the agent has accepted that duty in writing.
4. Save. The duties table for that property updates straight away.
5. If you hold the written agreement, add it under Agreements so the wording is kept with the property.

A worked example

Helen appoints Fern Lettings to manage 12 Market Street on a fully managed basis from Monday 2 November 2026. Their agreement, signed on Tuesday 27 October 2026, says in writing that the agency accepts gas safety but is silent on Right to Rent. The agent ticks gas safety only. The duties table shows gas safety against Fern Lettings and the other thirteen duties, Right to Rent included, against Helen.

What Abide.Rent does for you

• Shows a duties table for each property, with a name against every duty.
• Records a duty against the agent only where you say it was accepted in writing.
• Keeps the agreement with the property, so the wording can be read later.

If something goes wrong

• A duty still shows as the landlord's after you recorded the agreement
  What to do: Only Right to Rent and gas safety can move, and only if the agreement records it in writing.

Common mistakes

• Ticking a duty because the service is fully managed. The level of service does not move a duty; a written term does.
• Assuming a term that says nothing passes the duty. Where the agreement is silent, the landlord keeps it.
• Relying on this record as proof. Whether a particular agreement transfers a duty depends on its exact wording, and a housing solicitor can confirm that.

What to do next

• Open Duties
• Open Agreements
• Agreements and service levels