Knowledge

How can we help?

Search the public guides, or browse by topic. Each guide shows when it was written or last reviewed. Not legal advice.

Getting started

What Abide.Rent is, signing in, your first property and getting help.

Ask the assistant about your records — Ask a question about your properties, certificates, notices, repairs and deadlines, and get an answer that links to each record it used.
Getting started as a landlord — Add a property you let, record its tenancy and dates, and invite your tenant. If an agent manages it, invite your agent instead.
Getting started as a letting agency — Set up your agency in the order that pays off soonest: business details, a first property, its tenancy, its dates, then your team.
Getting started as a tenant — Your portal is free. It shows your tenancy, every notice you are sent and the dates that matter, and lets you reply.
Migrating your records to Abide.Rent: we do it for you, free — Switching from another system, spreadsheets or folders of documents? Send us what you have and we import it and set you up, at no cost.
Your business details and where they appear — Your trading and legal names, registered address, company number and redress scheme appear on notices, emails, invoices and your tenants' portal.
Your work on the dashboard — One list on the dashboard of what needs doing now: overdue items first, then this week, pet requests, replies, signatures and approvals.
How to open a support ticket — Open a ticket from Help inside Abide.Rent. We reply on the ticket and by email. There is no live chat.
Sign in and switch between views — One sign-in for everything. Agency, landlord and tenant are separate views, and one person can hold more than one.
The dashboard — The dashboard is what needs doing: today's work, the compliance score, figures that open the list behind them, and what is waiting on other people.
What Abide.Rent is — One record for each property you let: the tenancy, the compliance dates, the rent reviews and the notices, with reminders before each deadline.

How it works

Each journey from start to finish: who does what, the legal dates and when Abide.Rent reminds whom.

A change of agent, or a sale: what moves and who is told — What happens to control, documents, duties and the deposit when a landlord changes agent or sells, and the letters the tenant must get.
A new tenancy, from holding deposit to day 30 — Every step before and just after a tenant moves in: what the agency or landlord does, what the tenant gets, and the legal date for each.
A pet request, from asking to the written answer — The tenant asks, the landlord side answers in writing within 28 days, or asks for more information first.
A rent increase: what each side does, and when — From the first reminder to the new rent: the agency's proposal, the landlord's approval, the Form 4A, the tenant's options and the tribunal.
A repair, from the tenant's report to the fix — How a repair moves between the tenant, the agency, the landlord and the contractor, with the response targets and visit notices.
A tenant leaving: notice, move-out and the deposit — From the tenant's notice to the deposit being returned: the dates, who does what, and the reminders.
Every legal date Abide.Rent tracks, and when it reminds you — Each date, the law behind it, who is asked to act and the exact days Abide.Rent sends reminders.
How Abide.Rent works: three parties, one record — Who the agency, the landlord and the tenant are in Abide.Rent, who is asked to act on each legal date, and how reminders reach them.
Rent arrears and a Section 8 notice — From the first unpaid rent to the earliest date for court: the Ground 8 threshold, Form 3A, notice periods and the reminders.
Safety checks: gas, electrical, EPC and alarms — When each check is due, who arranges it, when the tenant must have a copy, and how the reminders run.

Properties and tenancies

Properties, tenancies, deposits, repairs, moving in and out, the rent account.

Add a tenancy and joint tenants — Record who lives in a property, the rent and the start date. Add joint tenants, permitted occupiers and guarantors to the same tenancy.
Damp, mould and emergencies: Awaab's Law stages (proposed) — Choose to work to the Awaab's Law timescales on damp, mould and emergency repairs. They apply to social housing; for private renting they are proposed, not law yet.
Documents, templates and signing — Start a statement of terms, privacy notice, pet letter or agreement from a template, fill it from the tenancy, and have everyone sign it in order.
Is it fixed? The tenant's answer on a repair — When you mark a repair fixed, the tenant is asked whether it is. A yes is recorded; still a problem opens it again.
Moving in and out, and settling the deposit — Checklists both sides sign off, the details the law asks to be on record, and deposit deductions the tenant answers one by one.
Moving your tenants, deposits and dates across in an import — An import can bring each tenancy's named tenants, the deposit and its protection, the dates documents were given and the Right to Rent check. It sends no emails and invites nobody.
Record a deposit, its protection and the prescribed information — Record the deposit amount, the date it was received, the scheme, the date it was protected and the date the prescribed information was given.
The rent account: rent due, payments and arrears — Keep each tenancy's rent account in Abide.Rent: the rent due each period, every payment, the running balance and the Ground 8 level.
The repairs register and response targets — Tenants report repairs with photos in their portal. Each one has a severity, a response target and a dated trail everyone can follow.
Add a property — Add one property by hand, with or without its tenancy, in a couple of minutes.
Import properties from a spreadsheet — Bring in many properties at once from a CSV or Excel file, matching your columns to ours.
Record a management agreement — Record what a landlord has instructed the agency to do: the reference, the properties, the written terms, fees and the signed PDF.
Rent in advance — Abide.Rent will not record more than one rent period paid in advance on a new tenancy.
Self-managed and mixed portfolios — Manage some properties yourself and use an agent for others. The service level sits on each property, so a mix is normal.
UPRN, LRN and PRN — Store each property's identifiers: the UPRN, and the Landlord and Property Registration Numbers once the PRS Database issues them.
Vacant, next tenancy, end of tenancy — A property stays on file between tenancies. End a tenancy, keep the property vacant, or set up the next tenancy while the current one runs.
Written statement of terms — Record the date the written statement of terms was given, and send it to the tenant to acknowledge.

People and access

Seats, roles, landlords and tenants, notes, who can see what.

Invite a landlord, a tenant or a colleague — Send an email invitation so a landlord, tenant or colleague can sign in and see the records that concern them.
Notes and @mentions on any record — Write a note on a property, notice, rent review, agreement, landlord or tenant, and type @ to tell a colleague or the landlord.
Notifications and which ones you can switch off — Choose which emails and reminders you get. Statutory messages, such as a notice served on you, cannot be switched off.
What your landlord sees: the activity feed — A landlord's home page lists what was done on their properties in the last 30 days, and by whom: notices, safety records, deposits, repairs, inspections and registrations.
Who can see what — An agency sees the properties it manages, a landlord sees their own, and a tenant sees their own tenancy. Each page shows who has access.
Landlord and tenant at the same time — One person can be a tenant at one address and a landlord at another. The roles are kept apart, and each side sees only its own.
Team seats and what each can do — Five seats: owner, manager, negotiator, accounts and read only. The seat decides what a colleague can change, serve and see.
Who can serve a notice — Serving needs two things: the landlord's written authority recorded on the agreement, and a seat that is allowed to serve.

Compliance

Certificates, the compliance score, contractors, documents and signing.

A contractor's job link and their uploads — Each job is sent with a private link that works for 30 days. Certificates a contractor uploads count only once you approve them.
Agreements and service levels — Record the management agreement and the level of service for each property: let only, rent collection, fully managed or self-managed.
Contractors and the jobs you send them — Keep your own list of contractors with their trades, areas, registrations and insurance, and send them jobs from a repair or a renewal.
Gas safety, EICR and EPC dates — Record when each certificate expires and be reminded 30 days before. One page lists every date across your properties.
Giving tenants the gas safety record and EICR — When you add a new gas safety record or EICR to a let property, Abide.Rent gives the tenants a copy and asks them to confirm receipt.
Giving the deposit prescribed information to the tenant — Give the tenants the deposit scheme's prescribed information through Abide.Rent, and see when each one confirms receipt.
How the compliance score works — A score out of 100 for each property and your portfolio, from the records Abide.Rent can see. Each record that applies counts equally.
Reports across your properties — Six read-only reports: compliance risk, tenant responses, evidence gaps, PRS readiness, landlord scorecard and team activity.
The monthly compliance statement for each landlord — On the 1st of each month every landlord client gets a statement for the month just ended, in your agency's name. You can also prepare and send any of the last twelve months by hand.
Upload several certificates at once — Drop up to ten certificate PDFs or photos. Abide.Rent reads each one, and you check and confirm every row before anything is saved.
Upload a certificate and record its expiry date — Add a gas safety, EICR or EPC certificate to a property and be reminded before it expires.
Which duties can an agent take on? — Two duties can be taken on by an agent through a written term: Right to Rent checks and gas safety. The rest stay with the landlord.

Rent reviews

The rent range, landlord approval and what the tribunal can do.

A rent increase from start to finish — The whole path of a rent increase: the figure, the landlord's approval, Form 4A, service, the tenant's reply and, if it comes to it, the tribunal.
Comparable lettings: the evidence that wins at the tribunal — The tribunal sets the rent from lettings of similar homes nearby. Achieved rents count far more than asking rents; three strong lettings make a case.
Condition and improvements: what the tribunal disregards (s.14(2)) — The tribunal values the home as it is let, but ignores the tenant's own improvements and any damage the tenant caused. Record both on the review.
How the rent band is worked out — The band comes from comparable lettings first, then your own lettings nearby, and only then from an area average, which is not evidence.
The tribunal can set a rent below today's — A referral can end with a rent lower than the tenant pays now, if the evidence shows the market is lower. Check before you propose.
What the tribunal can and cannot do — The tribunal decides the market rent. It cannot set more than the landlord proposed, cannot backdate, and can delay the start for hardship.
Area statistics and tribunal decisions — Area statistics show what tribunals did in each postcode district. The decisions list holds every published decision. Both show risk, not a rent.
How the rent range is worked out — Each rent review shows a defensible range for the home, and where your proposal sits against it, with the evidence behind it.
Start a rent review — Propose a new rent for a tenancy, see how it compares with published tribunal decisions, and move on to the notice.
What happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal? — A tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide the rent. The tribunal cannot set it higher than the landlord proposed.
When the landlord approves a rent review — Where the agreement asks for it, the landlord approves or declines the proposed rent before a notice is generated.
Using tribunal decisions to sense-check a proposed rent — Published tribunal decisions show how proposed increases have fared when challenged. Use them to judge risk, not to set the price.

Notices

Form 4A, dates, service, proof and the evidence pack.

Bring past notices and dates onto the record — Record a notice you served before you used Abide.Rent, a safety record you gave the tenant on paper, or a request received long ago, each with the day it really happened.
Following a tribunal referral — From the tenant's application to the decision: record the directions, prepare and send your statement, and keep track of an inspection or hearing.
Record how a notice was served — Record the method, the date and any tracking reference. Abide.Rent works out the date a posted notice counts as served.
A notice that never took effect can be served again — A notice with a defect may never take effect. It does not use up the 52 weeks, so a corrected notice can be served.
Generate and serve a notice — Create a rent increase notice or a possession notice for a property, check it, sign it and serve it.
Ground 8: rent arrears — Ground 8 needs at least 3 months' rent to be unpaid, or 13 weeks' where rent is weekly, and four weeks' notice.
Legal hold: records that stay open whatever happens — Anything attached to a live notice, a tribunal referral or a possession claim stays readable on any plan, and cannot be deleted.
Proof of service for a rent increase notice — Record how and when you served the notice and attach the proof, so it is ready if the tenant says they never got it.
Section 13 rent increase notices (Form 4A) — Form 4A is the notice used to propose a new rent. Abide.Rent generates it from an approved rent review and checks the dates first.
Section 21 notices — Section 21 notices ended on 1 May 2026. Abide.Rent does not generate them.
Section 8 grounds and notice periods — A possession notice names the grounds relied on. Abide.Rent works out the notice period from the grounds you choose.
Tenant acknowledgement and the receipt — Once service is recorded the tenant can open the notice, confirm they have it, query it or refer it. Each answer is dated and both sides get a receipt.
The evidence pack — Assemble the evidence for a referred rent increase in one PDF: the notice, proof of service, the rent range and the decisions you rely on.
The twelve-month protected period — Grounds 1 and 1A are not available in the first twelve months of a tenancy. Abide.Rent shows when that period ends.
The two-month minimum, explained — Form 4A must give at least two months' notice, counted from service, and the new rent must start at the beginning of a rental period.
Why is my notice date being rejected? — Abide.Rent checks the start date of a new rent three ways. Here is what each message means and how to fix it.

The Act

The Renters’ Rights Act, duties and letting models. Not legal advice.

Repairs and incidents: what to record and who deals with them — Who handles a repair depends on the service level for the property. Keep a dated note of each report and what was done.
Respond to a pet request — Approve a request, refuse it with a written reason, or ask the tenant for more information.
A tenant's notice to quit, and withdrawing one — A tenant ends a tenancy by giving notice in writing. Abide.Rent records it, checks the end date and records a withdrawal both sides agree.
Pet requests and the 28-day deadline — A tenant can ask in writing to keep a pet. Abide.Rent counts 28 days from the request and shows who is to answer.
The re-letting restriction after Ground 1 or 1A — Serving a notice on Ground 1 or 1A starts a period in which the property cannot be let again. Abide.Rent shows the dates on the property.
Let only, rent collection or fully managed: who does what — The service an agency sells changes who does the work, not who holds the legal duty. Abide.Rent records the service on each property.

PRS Database

Opens 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands, then region by region. Registration windows and numbers.

PRS Database register pack and renewals — Each property's register pack lists what the government's form asks for, ready to copy, with what to fix first. The landlord registers, pays the yearly fee and renews each year.
Getting your records ready for the PRS Database — See which properties are missing a registration number, and record the numbers as you receive them.
The PRS Database: what it is and when it opens — The government's register of landlords and rented properties opens region by region, from 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands. Each region has 3 months to register. Registration is made with the government, not through Abide.Rent.

Billing

The free trial, Portfolio, Solo and one-off packs.

How billing works — Portfolio is £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. Solo is free for 1 property.
Choosing between Portfolio, Solo and a one-off pack — Portfolio suits anyone who reviews rents or serves notices. Solo is free for 1 property. It suits small portfolios that only keep records. A pack covers one notice.
Do I pay again for a notice on Portfolio? — No. On Portfolio, rent reviews, notices and evidence packs are included.
Failed payments and cancelling — If a payment fails, Portfolio stays on for 14 days while you put it right. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid period.
What you can do on the free Solo plan — Solo is free for 1 property. You keep everything you have recorded and can export it at any time.
Your free trial and what happens after it — Free trial — 30 days, unlimited properties, every feature, no card needed. Nothing is deleted when it ends.

Changing agent and leaving

Handover, selling, export and who keeps the file.

Continuity offers: when an account closes or moves to Solo — If the account that holds a property closes or drops to Solo, an agency working on that property is offered the record so nothing is stranded.
Changing agent: handing a property over — A change of managing agent is an offer the new agency accepts. The property, its rent history and every issued notice move together.
Control follows payment; evidence does not — Whoever pays runs the account. Documents already issued stay with each party, and a legal hold stays open.
Export your file — Download a copy of your records at any time, on any plan, including Solo.
Exporting your records and leaving Abide.Rent — Export everything at any time, on any plan. If you leave, landlords and tenants keep their own copies of what was issued.
Selling a property — Record a sale with the tenant staying. The tenancy and its history move with the property, and the 52 weeks do not start again.
Take over after the agent changes — When an agency stops managing your property, take it over in your landlord account. The file and its history come with it.

For tenants

Free access. Open the notice. Report a repair. Keep your copy.

I cannot see my tenancy — Your tenancy appears once your landlord or letting agent invites you using the email address you signed up with.
Reporting a repair — Report a repair to your landlord or agent in writing. Their contact details are on your tenancy.
What you can do in the tenant portal — See your tenancy, read and answer notices, ask to keep a pet, give notice, and keep your own copy of everything.
Your rent account and deposit information — See the rent due and the payments your landlord or agent has recorded, and confirm you have received your deposit information.
Past tenancies and your copies — When a tenancy ends it moves to Past tenancies. Every notice and letter you were sent stays readable and downloadable, free.
Referring a rent increase to the tribunal — The First-tier Tribunal can decide the rent. It cannot set more than your landlord proposed, and the new rent starts from the first rent day on or after its decision.
Understanding a rent increase notice and your options — A rent increase notice shows your current rent, the proposed rent and the date it would start. You can accept, ask a question or refer it to the tribunal.

Integrations and API

The API, MCP, CSV import and requested connectors.

API keys — Create a key to use the Abide.Rent API. Each key is shown once, has scopes, and can be deactivated or deleted.
Bringing properties across from other software — Export a spreadsheet from your current system and import it, or send it to us and we import it for you, free.
Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor (MCP) — Let an AI assistant work in one Abide.Rent account with your permissions: read only, or read and make changes. You sign in and choose; remove it any time. Serving a notice is never a tool.