# Abide.Rent — full text > Renters’ Rights Act compliance for letting agents and landlords Not legal advice. Form 4A and Form 3A follow the prescribed forms in SI 2026/354, checked against the GOV.UK versions. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ## Pricing Start with a one-month free trial of everything, for as many properties as you like. No card needed. After that, Portfolio is £8.99 a month including 3 properties and £2.00 for each extra property — £22.99 a month for ten. Or stay on Solo, free for 1 property. Tenants never pay. The trial runs for 30 days from the day you sign up and includes every feature, for as many properties as you like. We do not ask for a card to start it. When the trial ends, choose Portfolio or the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted. Free trial: £0. 30 days from sign-up. Everything in Portfolio, for agents and landlords. No cap on properties. No card needed. Portfolio monthly: £8.99. A month, including 3 properties. Then £2.00 a month for each extra property, £1.00 from the 21st. Portfolio includes every feature: rent reviews, notices, evidence bundles, monthly landlord statements and the compliance score. You are not charged again for each notice. Portfolio yearly: £75.51. A year for 3 properties — 30% off twelve monthly payments. Extra properties get the same discount. Solo: £0. Free for 1 property. Read and export your records at any time. A new rent increase or evidence bundle needs a one-off pack. The API, integrations and AI assistants (MCP) need Portfolio. One-off packs: £29 / £120. Only on Solo. £29 for one rent increase. £120 for one evidence bundle. Never charged during the trial or on Portfolio. Scale: Agreed price. Scale: an agreed price per property for larger books, with branches and onboarding support. Tenants: Always free. See the notices and safety records given to you. Confirm or query them. Keep your copies. If you are also a landlord, that stays separate. What counts as a property: A property on your working list, let or empty. Archiving one frees its place; its issued documents stay on the record. The base price covers 3 properties. When you are charged: Nothing during the trial. On Portfolio you pay by card, in advance, for the month or the year. The amount follows the number of properties on the account. How to cancel: Cancel in the product, under Billing, at any time. Portfolio stays on until the end of the period you have paid for. Then the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted. If a payment fails: If a payment fails you have 14 days’ grace. After that the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted, and anything under legal hold stays readable. No VAT is charged. Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and a UK business accounts for any VAT under the reverse charge. Tenants never pay. A tenant is not a seat, and nor is a landlord the agency invites. Legal hold overrides everything. Anything attached to a live notice, tribunal referral or possession claim stays readable on any plan, including after a failed payment. ## Compare Under the Act, a rent increase is a pricing question and a compliance question about the same property. Most products answer one of them. We looked for one that answers both on one record, and did not find it. Most products cover one part of the Act. Abide.Rent keeps the parts on one record. Agency CRMs run lettings day to day. Some tenancy tools and portals now fill and send a Section 13 notice. Rent-evidence products collect comparables. Checklist tools list the duties. A First-tier Tribunal cannot award more than you asked, a notice that never took effect can be served again, and almost every duty stays with the landlord. What the Act asks for is the risk on the figure, who approved it, proof it was received and who is still legally responsible — on one record each party still has after the instruction ends. ## Integrations Your CRM stays the master record. Abide.Rent covers the part of the Act it leaves to you: the figure, proof of service, who is still legally responsible, the next date. Connectors are planned. None is live yet, and we will not say one is until it is. Today you import a CSV. There is no shared UK lettings data standard, so every connector needs its own field mapping. Alto has no open API. The PRS Database has no public API planned. Serving a notice is never an inbound or outbound API. ## Developers Everything in the interface is available over the API except serving and signing a notice. The OpenAPI document is public, keys come from your own account — no partner programme, no sales call — and every operation an assistant may use is also an MCP tool for Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants. There is no POST /serve. Generate, preview and sign a prescribed form over the API. Recording service is POST /api/v1/issued-documents/{id}/record_service — a human confirmation that a notice was served, not a machine that serves it. CRM connectors and outbound webhooks are planned and are not live yet. Import a CSV or use the API until they are. Serving a notice is never available over the API. The API and MCP are on Portfolio and the free trial; Solo, the free plan, has no API access. AI assistants connect to the MCP server by signing in as a person, not with an API key. ## MCP and AI Abide.Rent runs a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Each operation of the product API is a tool that calls that same API, as the person who connected the assistant, in the one account they chose: properties, tenancies, certificates, deposits, rent reviews and comparable lettings, notices and tribunal referrals, repairs, contractors, documents, reports, tasks and the team. The person chooses read only or read and make changes. Connecting an assistant needs Portfolio or the free trial; Solo, the free plan, cannot connect one. Assistants connect only by signing in (OAuth): API keys are for the REST API and are refused here. A read-only connection lists and calls only tools that read. Whatever the access, some operations are never tools: signing in and credentials, approving assistants, API keys, payments and plan changes, closing or transferring the account, and signing or serving a notice. No tool registers a property on the PRS Database or files anything with a tribunal: an assistant can prepare the register pack or draft a tribunal statement, and a person sends it. What an assistant reads is sent to the company that runs it, under its terms. Abide.Rent is not listed in a connector directory: add it as a custom connector. Server: https://mcp.abide.rent/mcp. Protocol 2026-07-28 (also 2025-03-26 to 2025-11-25). OAuth sign-in only, one account per connection, read only or read and make changes. 432 tools in 19 toolsets. Serve and sign are never tools. No tool registers a property on the PRS Database: prepare_prs_registration returns the register pack and the landlord registers on GOV.UK. ## FAQ ### Can a tribunal award more than the landlord asked? No. The First-tier Tribunal cannot set the rent higher than the landlord proposed. The new rent starts from the first rent day on or after the decision, or from the date on the notice if the decision comes first. There is no backdating. For undue hardship the tribunal can set a later start, within two months of the decision. Evidence protects the figure you asked for. It does not raise it. ### What do the July 2026 figures actually say? There were 166 market-rent determinations in July 2026, against a pre-Act average of about 42 a month. In Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules, 60% set the rent below the landlord’s proposal, 40% confirmed it, and the median cut was 5%. In 18%, the rent did not go up at all. The median wait from application to decision was 82 days across 2026 decisions; London was no slower, the Midlands slowest at 169 days. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ### What does Abide.Rent cost? One-month free trial of every feature. No card needed. After the trial, Portfolio is £8.99 a month including 3 properties, then £2.00 for each extra property (£1.00 from the 21st). Paying yearly saves 30%. Or stay on Solo, which is free for 1 property. On Solo, a new rent increase or evidence bundle is a one-off pack: £29 for a rent increase, £120 for an evidence bundle. Tenants never pay. Portfolio includes every feature: rent reviews, notices, evidence bundles, monthly landlord statements and the compliance score. You are not charged again for each notice. No VAT is charged. Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and a UK business accounts for any VAT under the reverse charge. The government’s PRS Database fee (£65 per property per year) is not an Abide.Rent charge. ### How does the free trial work? The trial runs for 30 days from the day you sign up and includes every feature, for as many properties as you like. We do not ask for a card to start it. When it ends, choose Portfolio or the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted. ### Can you move our existing data in for us? Yes, free, on every plan. Tell us where your records are — another CRM, spreadsheets, folders of certificates, inboxes or paper — at abide.rent/switch-to-abide-rent. We reply within one working day, agree the plan on a short call, then send a secure upload link. We import, check and tidy everything, flag gaps and expired certificates, and you review it before it counts. We never need your login to another system. ### Is there a yearly plan? Yes. Portfolio yearly is £75.51 a year for 3 properties — 30% off twelve monthly payments. Extra properties are discounted the same way. Everything in Portfolio is included. Prices are in pounds sterling. No VAT is charged. Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and a UK business accounts for any VAT under the reverse charge. ### When does the PRS Database open? That is a government register, not Abide.Rent. It opens on 15 December 2026, with regional deadlines running into 2027. The government’s fee is £65 per property per year. It issues a Landlord Registration Number and a Property Registration Number, and the government says adverts will have to show them once later advert rules start. Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. We do not file the registration. We store the numbers you enter. No public API is planned. ### What happens if a property is not on the government’s PRS Database? Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. That is a government requirement. Abide.Rent does not file that registration. The government says both registration numbers will have to appear on adverts once the government’s later advert rules start. Not legal advice. ### Does Abide.Rent replace Reapit, Alto or Goodlord? No. Those tools run the day-to-day — properties, applicants, the diary, referencing, listings. We work alongside them on what the Act asks of you: whether the increase is likely to survive, proof the tenant got the notice, who is still legally responsible after a let-only job, and the next date when people change. Reapit, PayProp, Arthur and Agent OS have real APIs. Alto does not. Connectors are planned. None is live yet. ### Which letting products do you cover? Let only (also tenant find), rent collection, fully managed (also let & managed), guaranteed rent as an agent product, and self-managed. Service level is per property. Guaranteed rent is a commercial promise — the named landlord is still the landlord. Rent-to-rent is a different legal shape: if you are the immediate landlord of the person living there, that tenancy is self-managed. ### Which duties can an agent take? Only two, and both must be in writing: Right to Rent and gas safety. Everything else stays with the landlord regardless of the agreement. The exact wording is a matter for a housing solicitor, not for us. ### What is Ground 8, and does Ground 8A exist? Ground 8 is the rent arrears ground: at least 3 months’ rent unpaid (13 weeks if rent is paid weekly), with 4 weeks’ notice. It is not two months. There is no Ground 8A. ### Is this legal advice? No. Nothing on this site is legal advice. Form 4A and Form 3A follow the prescribed forms in SI 2026/354, checked against the GOV.UK versions. ### Who pays, and what about tenants? Whoever pays runs the account. Tenants never pay. A notice already sent is not taken away. Each party keeps their own copy. ### What happens if a payment fails or I stop paying? If a payment fails you have 14 days’ grace. After that the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted, and anything under legal hold stays readable. A notice already sent is not taken away. If you cancel, Portfolio stays on until the end of the period you have paid for, and then the account moves to Solo. ### How do I cancel? Cancel in the product, under Billing, at any time. Portfolio stays on until the end of the period you have paid for. Then the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted. The full wording is in the billing terms . ### Do I pay again for a notice or pack on Portfolio? No. Portfolio includes every feature: rent reviews, notices, evidence bundles, monthly landlord statements and the compliance score. You are not charged again for each notice. The one-off packs (£29 for a rent increase, £120 for an evidence bundle) are only for accounts on Solo. ### What is Solo? Solo is the free plan. It is free for 1 property. On every plan you can always read and export your records. On Solo, a new rent increase or evidence bundle is a one-off pack: £29 for a rent increase, £120 for an evidence bundle. If you already have more than 1 property when the account moves to Solo, the others stay readable; you cannot add another until you are on Portfolio. Anything under legal hold stays readable. ### What do you keep after a sale, a change of agent, or a missed payment? The tenancy file continues. Selling does not restart the 52 weeks. A new agent sees the history; the old agent keeps a read-only copy of their own time. You can export on any plan. Each party keeps what was already sent. A live case stays open. Tenants never pay. ### Can I serve a notice through the API? No. Serving a notice is never available over the API. It is a recorded human act. ### Do you connect to Alto? Alto has no open API. Partner Hub is a commercial conversation. Reapit, PayProp, Arthur and Agent OS have real APIs. Connectors are planned against those and will not be listed as live until they are. ### Does anything else cover both the rent and the compliance? Not that we found in public materials on 13 September 2026. Agency CRMs run the day-to-day. Some tenancy tools and portals now fill and send a Section 13 notice. Rent-evidence products collect comparables. Checklist tools list the duties. What the Act asks for is the risk on the figure, a per-property record of who is responsible, and a pack each party still has — on one record. ### What about MarketRent? MarketRent is a rent-evidence product for agents, integrated with Alto. It complements what we do. It collects comparables. We add what the First-tier Tribunal actually decided, as a measure of challenge risk. Neither replaces the other. ### What about Reapit, Alto, Arthur and PayProp? They run the day-to-day. Reapit, PayProp, Arthur and Agent OS have real APIs; connectors are planned against those and will not be listed as live until they are. Alto has no open API — Partner Hub is a commercial conversation. Reapit has published a Renters’ Rights Act programme. We work alongside the CRM. We do not replace it. ### Are you replacing our CRM? No. Abide.Rent covers the increase, the duties, the notice, the pack and the legal hold. The CRM remains your master record. Serving a notice is never available through the Abide.Rent API. ### Are any CRM connectors live today? No. Reapit, PayProp, Arthur and Agent OS have real APIs; connectors are planned against those and will not be listed as live until they are. Alto has no open API — Partner Hub is a commercial conversation. Until a connector is live, import a CSV or use the product API. ### Where is the OpenAPI document? On this site: /openapi.json, rendered at /platform/reference. It describes the same /api/v1 surface the signed-in product already uses. There is no /serve route. ### Do you have an MCP server? Yes. Add https://mcp.abide.rent/mcp as a custom connector in Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and sign in. Every API operation an assistant may use is a tool. The assistant works in one account, with your permissions, read only or read and make changes as you choose. Serving or signing a notice, payments and changing who has access are never tools. Abide.Rent is not listed in connector directories. ### Can my AI assistant make changes, or only read? You choose when you connect it. Read only lets it look things up and report. Read and make changes lets it also log repairs, add notes and tasks, record payments, raise contractor jobs and send reminders, within what your role allows. Every change is recorded under your name. To switch, remove the connection and connect again. ### Can the assistant use Abide.Rent together with Gmail, Outlook or Xero? Yes, if your assistant has those connectors too. Claude or ChatGPT can, for example, read which certificates expire from Abide.Rent and draft the emails in Gmail, or check the rent roll against payments in your accounts software. Each connector is approved separately in the assistant, under that provider’s terms. ### Can I connect an assistant with an API key instead of signing in? No. The MCP server only accepts assistants that sign in as a person, so every action has a named person, their chosen account and their chosen access. API keys are for the REST API, for systems rather than people. ### Which plan do I need to connect an AI assistant? Portfolio or the free trial, for an agency or landlord account; only the account owner can connect one. Tenants can connect an assistant to their own tenancy free. ### Can ChatGPT or Claude serve a notice? No. Serving a notice is never available through the API and will never be an MCP tool. A person records service in the product. ### Where should a language model read from? Start at /llms.txt, then /llms-full.txt for longer excerpts. The product API is described at /openapi.json and /platform/reference. Nothing here is legal advice. Tribunal figures need the Open Government Licence attribution. ## Features ### Rent reviews you can defend Page: https://abide.rent/features/rent-reviews Check the new rent against comparable lettings you add, graded like-for-like. See what tribunals cut, and the warning that a tribunal can go below today’s rent. See the earliest date your file allows — and a flag if the figure or the date looks risky. If a tenant takes the increase to the First-tier Tribunal, the tribunal cannot give you more than you asked. The new rent starts from the first rent day on or after the decision, or from the date on the notice if the decision comes first. There is no backdating. Extra evidence cannot raise the figure — it can only help you keep it. So the number on the notice is the whole decision. Ask too much and you may live with a cut for a year. Ask without checking and you may wait about 82 days for an answer — about 169 in the Midlands — and the answer can only match or reduce what you asked. Local rents for similar homes The suggested range comes first from comparable lettings you add to the review — your own lettings, an agent’s letter or a let-agreed listing — graded like-for-like and adjusted. Then from rents you have already achieved on similar homes. Tribunals treat real lettings as evidence. You already have them. Where there are not enough, an area average (the ONS private-rent index or Local Housing Allowance) is shown and labelled as an area average, not evidence. It is never used to count up a potential rise in the rents-below-range report, and we do not invent a “flat on the next street” from a handful of far-away decisions. It can go below today’s rent If the tenant refers the increase, the tribunal decides the open-market rent. It can be below the current rent. The landlord sees that warning, and the evidence gathered so far, before approving. The review also records the condition and the improvements the tribunal must ignore. What is contestable Published decisions are too sparse to price one street: 478 market-rent decisions across 323 postcode districts after the Act, and only four districts have five or more. We use them to show risk, not as a comparable. In Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules, 60% set the rent below the landlord’s proposal, 40% confirmed it, and the median cut was 5%. In 18%, the rent did not go up at all. On a £1,500 rent proposed at £1,650, a 5% cut is about £990 in the first year. Next year starts from the lower rent. We show how often a figure like yours was cut, and what the parties argued about. The earliest date — and a flag if it looks too early Reviews are worked out from the last increase, the start of the tenancy and the 52-week rule. We show when a review is due, why that date applies, and what to check first: too soon, documents missing, landlord not yet approved, or a figure that looks easy to contest. Nothing is sent until the landlord says yes. When it is sent, the next allowed date is written back on the property. Selling the property does not start the 52 weeks again. ### Section 13 notices and proof of service Page: https://abide.rent/features/notices How it was sent, whether the email was reported as opened, and when the tenant confirmed. That record is evidence you can put in front of the tribunal. It is not a guarantee of valid service. A Section 13 increase can take effect once every 52 weeks. A notice that never took effect can be served again. You lose the two months’ notice — and longer if nobody spots the defect until the tribunal. That is why the record of service matters more than the form. Filling the form is the easy part. Abide.Rent fills in the official GOV.UK Form 4A — and Form 3A for a Section 8 notice — from the property file, so names, dates and the address match. What matters is whether you can still show it was served a year later. What you can still show later An email that you pressed send is not proof the tenant received it. A PDF in a tenancy folder is not either. We keep how you sent it and the evidence that goes with the method — a tracking number for Signed For or courier, a certificate of posting for first class, or who handed it over, with a witness and photo, for hand delivery — added later if proof arrives later; whether the email was reported as opened, and when the tenant confirmed after signing in. Each party keeps that copy. You cannot rebuild it from an inbox search after the agent has gone. An “opened” report is a signal, not proof. Some email programs block it and others trigger it automatically. The tenant’s own confirmation is the stronger record. A person sends the notice. We do not send it for you, and a computer cannot send it on its own. The product is the record of that day — not another PDF. What stays with you You are still responsible for any notice you send. Check the form against the current GOV.UK version before you serve it for real. Nothing here is legal advice. Once it is served, the agent, the landlord and the tenant each keep a copy of the record. We do not take anyone’s copy away if the account changes hands or a payment fails. ### Tribunal evidence pack Page: https://abide.rent/features/evidence The pack holds proof of service, your achieved comparable lettings with their adjustments, the condition record and real tribunal decisions. It can only defend the figure you asked for. It cannot raise it. In reasoned decisions, 47% showed a problem with the evidence. 39% of tribunals used their own market knowledge. In 21% of cases at least one side sent nothing. If the tenant challenges, you should not be starting from a blank folder. The same numbers you used to pick £1,650 sit in the pack: lettings you have already done, official local rent averages (ONS) for similar homes in the area, and what tribunals did to figures like yours. We do not invent a comparable on your street from three far-away decisions. What goes in the pack Proof of service — the notice as sent, how you sent it, whether the email was reported as opened, when the tenant confirmed — plus the tenancy and rent history, the deposit, the certificates and the condition record, including the improvements and damage the tribunal must disregard. Achieved lettings first: each comparable with its adjustment table and the document behind it. Then published tribunal decisions on similar homes, as context. Then any asking rents, marked as weak evidence. Ready at three strong achieved lettings; until then, the pack says how many more are needed. Plus a list of gaps — for example no recent inspection. The tribunal cannot award more than you asked: the pack defends £1,650. It does not win £1,800. It also cannot stop the tribunal going below today’s rent if the market is lower. If the tenant applies, the referral tracker keeps the directions, the statement deadline, a draft statement and a record of what you sent. Licence Tribunal data is Open Government Licence v3.0. Attribution required: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ### Certificates and renewals Page: https://abide.rent/features/certificates The same property holds certificate expiry dates, the deposit, the official property number, and empty slots for the government’s registration numbers. Missing documents are easier to find now than in the middle of a possession claim. A rent increase you can evidence does not help if the certificates are missing when you need them. Safety documents and property numbers sit on the same file as the notice — not in a side folder. Gas, electrics (EICR) and EPC have expiry dates. The deposit has the scheme and the date it was protected. The list across your portfolio shows the gaps: due soon, expired, not on file — so you chase them before a claim needs them. Why the official property number, not only the address “Flat 2, 49 Essex Dr” and “49a Essex Drive” can be the same home. The Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) is the stable id. It is free. It is what lets a tribunal decision nearby be matched to this home with any confidence. The title number sits next to it for ownership. The government’s register will later issue a landlord number and a property number. We keep empty slots for both. We do not file that registration, and we do not invent the numbers. Gas safety still needs it in writing Only gas safety and Right to Rent can move to an agent, and both need it in writing. A certificate date on the file is not the same as who is legally responsible. The duties view shows who that is. ### PRS Database readiness, region by region Page: https://abide.rent/features/prs-database The government opens its register one region at a time, from the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 to the South West in August 2027. We place each property in its region from the postcode, show its own window and deadline, build a register pack of what the government service will ask for, plan the fees month by month, and remind you to renew each year. The government’s Private Rented Sector Database does not open everywhere at once. It opens in the West Midlands on 15 December 2026 and then one region a month, each with a window of 3 months: East of England, East Midlands, South East, Yorkshire and the Humber, North West, North East, London (15 July 2027, deadline 14 October 2027) and finally the South West. Every landlord should be registered by 14 November 2027. Abide.Rent works out each property’s region from its postcode. Where a postcode area straddles two regions — Stockport, Sheffield, Peterborough, the edges of London and others — we check the exact postcode against the official lookup rather than guess. You can always correct the region by hand. What you see A region table: how many of your properties sit in each region, when it opens and the deadline. Per property: the region, the date registration opens there and the date it must be done by. A register pack for each property: every item the GOV.UK “Register your rental property” service is expected to ask for — landlord names and address for notices, the property’s address, type and bedrooms, gas, EICR and EPC records, any licence — marked ready or missing, with what to fix. A fee planner: £65 for each property, by the month its region opens, over the next 12 months. Slots for the landlord number and the property number once the register issues them, and a yearly renewal reminder from the date you registered. Why the date matters Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. Adverts will have to show both identifiers once the government's later advert rules start. Our possession checks use the property’s own regional date, not a single national one. What we will not claim Abide.Rent never registers for you. We are not the register, there is no public API, and the landlord registers through the government’s service. Their fee is £65 per property per year, renewed every year. An assistant connected to Abide.Rent can prepare the pack, but it cannot register either. When you have the numbers, you enter them; we store what you tell us. ### Who is responsible Page: https://abide.rent/features/duties Only Right to Rent and gas safety can move, and only if it is in writing. Everything else stays with the landlord. We show this per property — let only, rent collection, fully managed, guaranteed rent or self-managed. Only two duties can move to an agent, and both must be in writing: Right to Rent and gas safety. Everything else stays with the landlord, whatever the management agreement says. The exact wording matters. A housing solicitor confirms that, not us. We show two columns: who does the task, and who is still legally responsible — including on a let-only or rent-collection job. Per property, not per landlord The same landlord can have one property fully managed and the next self-managed. The service level lives on that property. A single “this landlord is fully managed” switch would be wrong. Doing the task is not the same as being responsible for it An agent can chase a gas certificate on a fully managed job and the legal duty can still sit with the landlord. We keep both columns. That is what you still need after the instruction ends. The name of the service is not the duty Let only is also sold as tenant find. Fully managed is also let & managed. Guaranteed rent is a commercial promise — the named landlord is still the landlord. Rent-to-rent is a different legal shape: the operator is the immediate landlord of the person living there, so that tenancy is self-managed. ### Legal hold Page: https://abide.rent/features/legal-hold A notice already sent, a tribunal challenge, or a possession claim stays readable on any plan — including if a payment fails. Each party keeps their own copy. We do not take those away. Whoever pays owns the account. That is who invites people and sends the next notice. A notice already sent is like a receipt. Each party keeps their copy. That is what keeps us out of other people’s arguments. If a notice has gone out, the tenant has gone to the tribunal, or a possession claim is attached, those records stay readable — even on Solo, even after a failed payment. We do not lock a live case. What puts a file on hold A notice has been served and is still live The tenant has referred the notice to the tribunal A possession claim has been recorded An evidence record has been saved for a statutory deadline After the hold ends We keep the file for six years after it is finished, in line with the usual time to bring a contract claim in England. After that it is deleted or anonymised, as the privacy notice sets out. A tenant can still get their own copy. Changing who pays, changing agent, or leaving does not break a live hold. The case keeps its documents. ### When the agency or owner changes Page: https://abide.rent/features/continuity One file through a change of agent, a sale, or a missed payment. The person who leaves keeps a copy of their own time. You can export on any plan. The 52 weeks do not restart. A tenancy that has had two agents and a sale, with every notice still attached and dated, is what you cannot rebuild after a dispute starts. It is also what a messy change of agent usually loses. The property file, rent history, notices and certificates stay with the home. The people around it change. When the agent changes The landlord keeps the file. The old agent keeps a read-only copy of the time they managed — they may need it; a notice they sent can be questioned years later. They cannot change or delete it. We flag what a new agent will ask for and has not yet got. When the property is sold with a tenant in place The tenancy continues. The buyer gets the rent history and the next allowed increase date. The seller keeps a copy of their time as owner. Until the buyer accepts, nothing moves, and the tenant sees no change. When someone leaves, or nobody pays You can export on every plan, including after a failed payment: the records, the original PDFs, how notices were sent, the rent history. Landlords are told their files are still there and can take over the bill. Tenants keep their own notices. Anything in a live case stays open. We do not decide who owns the underlying data. The management agreement and the title do that. We decide who can run the account, and we will not take back documents that have already been sent. ### Compliance score Page: https://abide.rent/features/compliance-score Every property gets a score out of 100 from the things the law actually asks for: gas, electrics, EPC, PRS registration once its region opens, and — while it is let — the deposit, prescribed information and the tenancy terms given to the tenant. A list of forty dates does not tell you where to start. The score does. It is built only from things a court, a council or the tribunal would ask about, and it shows exactly which item cost the points. How it is worked out Gas safety, EICR and EPC: valid counts in full, expiring within the warning window counts half, expired or missing counts nothing. PRS Database registration: counted only once the property’s region has opened. While the property is let: deposit protected, prescribed information given, and the right tenancy terms given — the How to Rent guide for tenancies before 1 May 2026, the written statement of terms after. Anything that does not apply is left out rather than scored as a pass. Where you see it On the dashboard for the whole portfolio, on each property with the items behind it, and on the monthly statement the agency sends to each landlord. Good is 90 and above, attention is 60 to 89, at risk is below 60. It is a working aid, not a legal opinion. A high score does not mean a notice is valid; it means the file has what it should. ### Monthly landlord statements Page: https://abide.rent/features/landlord-statements On the first of each month the agency’s landlords receive a statement for each of their properties: the score, what changed, what is due next and who is acting on it. A PDF copy stays on the record for both sides. The most common reason a landlord moves agency is not price. It is not knowing what is going on. The monthly statement fixes that with no extra work for the agency. What is on it The portfolio score and each property’s score, with the items behind it. Everything falling due within 60 days of the statement date — certificates, PRS registration, rent review dates — with who is arranging it. The property’s PRS Database region, when it opens and the deadline. Rent reviews and notices in progress. Anything that is the landlord’s own duty, said plainly. An optional weekly summary, every Monday, switched on per landlord. How it is sent Statements go out at 9am on the first of the month for the month just ended. The agency can also choose any of the last twelve months, preview it and send it by hand, or switch the automatic statement off for a landlord. Once sent, a statement is kept exactly as the landlord received it, as a PDF both sides can download later. ### Safety records given to tenants Page: https://abide.rent/features/safety-records Upload a gas safety record or EICR and Abide.Rent gives it to the tenant through their free portal, records the date, and lets the tenant confirm receipt. A 28-day clock runs until it is done. Having a valid certificate is half the duty. The tenant must also be given a copy — for a gas safety record and an EICR, within 28 days of the check. What happens When a certificate is uploaded, it is given to the current tenants automatically (or later, with one click). Tenants see it in their portal, download it and confirm they have received it. The property shows a “Tenant copy” column: given on, confirmed on, or still due. Until it is given, a 28-day reminder runs for whoever is responsible. The record shows what was given and when. Whether that meets the rules in a particular case is a question for your solicitor. ### Moving in and out, and the deposit Page: https://abide.rent/features/moving-in-and-out Steps that are already records tick themselves; the rest are ticked by whoever did them. The agency signs the list off and the tenant confirms it from their portal. At move-out, rent arrears come from the rent account, each deduction carries its photos or invoice, and the tenant agrees or disputes each one before anything is released. The start and end of a tenancy are where records go missing: keys, meter readings, the inventory, a forwarding address, and at the end an argument about the carpet. Abide.Rent keeps each step with the date and who did it, and asks the tenant to confirm the list. At move-in Inventories and check-out reports sent to every named tenant, who agree or comment on the record. Guarantors and their signed guarantee kept on the tenancy. The written statement, deposit protection, prescribed information, safety records and Right to Rent tick themselves from the record. The landlord's address for notices must be on record before the list is signed off. The tenant confirms the list, or says what is not right, from their portal. At move-out Rent arrears are filled in from the rent account. Each other deduction carries its check-out photos, quote or invoice. The tenant agrees or disputes each one, with a reason; the undisputed part is shown as due back now. Agreed: a 10-day release date is set and chased. Disputed: revise and send again, or record the scheme's decision. Every message, answer and release is in the trail, and the deposit's outcome is kept. ### One shared record Page: https://abide.rent/features/shared-record Certificates, notices, approvals, statements and messages live on the property, not in inboxes and spreadsheets. Each person opens the same file from their own login and sees what concerns them. Nobody has to ask for a copy, or ask where it went. Today the file for one property is spread across an email inbox, a shared drive, a spreadsheet, a WhatsApp thread and somebody's memory. Every request for a copy is a small interruption, and the one that matters most is always the one nobody can find. What lives on the record Agent, landlord and tenant logins on the same record; tenants are always free. Share a read-only link to a property’s file with a solicitor or buyer, for up to 90 days. Certificates and their history: gas, electrics, EPC, licences and the rest. Notices with proof of service: sent, delivered, opened, confirmed. Rent reviews and the landlord's approval. Deposit, prescribed information and Right to Rent checks. Monthly landlord statements, exactly as sent. Who did what and when, for every change. Who sees what The agency works the whole file. The landlord sees their own properties and approves from their phone. The tenant sees their notices and safety records and confirms receipt — free. A solicitor or buyer gets a read-only link that ends when you say. Each person keeps their own copies, even after the agent changes. ### Right to Rent checks Page: https://abide.rent/features/right-to-rent Record how each adult occupier was checked — documents seen, a Home Office share code or a certified identity provider — and when. If their permission is time-limited, the follow-up check goes in the diary on the day you record the first one. A Right to Rent check is quick. Proving it later is the hard part: who looked at what, on which day, and whether anyone remembered the follow-up for a tenant with time-limited permission. What is recorded Each adult occupier on the tenancy, checked one by one. How: documents seen in person, the Home Office online service with a share code, or a certified identity service provider. When it was done and who did it. For time-limited permission, the date the follow-up check is due — it appears on the dashboard and in the calendar feed. Right to Rent and gas safety are the only duties that can move to an agent, and only in writing. The property’s service level shows whose duty it is, so the reminder goes to the right person. ### Inspections and visits Page: https://abide.rent/features/inspections Pick the visit time and Abide.Rent sends the tenant written notice straight away. It will not let you book a visit less than 24 hours ahead, and the notice sits on the tenancy file with the time it went out. Inspections are routine work that still goes wrong: the tenant was never told, the email went to an old address, or nobody can show when notice was given. How it works Choose the date and time of the visit on the property. The tenant gets written notice by email and in their portal at once. Visits less than 24 hours away are refused, so the minimum notice is built in. The visit and the notice time stay on the tenancy timeline. Repeating inspections: set how often, and a task for the property manager appears ahead of each one. ### Possession tracker Page: https://abide.rent/features/possession On any Section 8 notice, record each stage — claim issued, hearing, order, warrant, possession — with its date. The hearing date goes into the deadlines, and the whole file stays on legal hold until the case is closed. Since Section 21 ended, every possession case starts with a Section 8 notice and a ground. What happens next is slow, and it is easy to lose track of. What it shows The notice it started from, with its proof of service. Each stage with its date: claim issued, hearing, order, warrant, possession. The hearing date in the deadlines list and in the calendar feed. Legal hold on everything attached, on any plan, until the case closes. Abide.Rent does not file anything with the court. It keeps the record of what was filed and when. ### Energy rating and MEES Page: https://abide.rent/features/energy Each property’s EPC rating is checked against the minimum standard. A home rated F or G is flagged unless an exemption is recorded, with the type of exemption and when it ends. The EPC is on file for most homes. What is often missing is someone noticing that the rating is an F, or that an exemption ran out last spring. What it checks The EPC rating against the minimum standard of E. Any exemption: its type, when it was registered and when it ends. A flag on the property and the compliance score when the home is below the standard with no exemption. ### Pet requests Page: https://abide.rent/features/pets Tenants ask from their portal. The request lands with whoever decides, with the date the answer is due. The reply, and the reason for any refusal, are kept on the tenancy. Pet requests come by text, email or at the door. Each one now has a deadline and needs a written answer. The tenant asks from their portal, with details of the pet. The request goes to whoever decides under the property’s service level. The due date shows on the dashboard until it is answered. The answer and any reason are kept with the tenancy. ### Bring your properties in Page: https://abide.rent/features/import Upload a CSV or Excel export. Match the columns once, check the rows, and the properties arrive with their tenants, deposits, certificate dates and the dates notices and documents were served — plus a gaps report of what is still missing. CSV or Excel, from a spreadsheet or a CRM export. Column names are recognised however they are written, including common alternatives. Up to four tenants per row, with names, emails and phone numbers. Deposits: amount, date received, scheme (DPS, TDS or mydeposits), reference and date protected. Served dates: the Information Sheet, the written statement of terms, the prescribed information and the last Section 13 notice, plus the Right to Rent check date. Certificate dates come in as history, so the compliance score is right on day one. See every row and any problems before you save. A gaps report, not a surprise Each imported row lists what is still missing — no EICR, no named tenant, deposit not recorded, no Right to Rent check, no PRS registration numbers, no record of the Information Sheet — and the import totals them, so you can see the work in one list. Nobody is emailed An import sends no emails and no portal invitations. Invite tenants and landlords when you are ready, from the bulk invite. Our team can also do the import for you, free. ### Repairs Page: https://abide.rent/features/repairs Tenants report repairs from their portal or phone, with photos. Each repair gets a category, a severity and your own response target, and moves from reported to fixed with every step dated. Your targets, not legal deadlines: Abide.Rent shows the clock you set, so you can see what is late before anyone else does. Tenants report from the portal with photos; staff can log a repair from a call or email. Ten categories, from heating and hot water to damp and mould, pests and locks. Emergency, urgent or routine, with response targets you set (defaults: 24 hours, 7 days, 28 days). Reported, acknowledged, visit booked, in progress, fixed, closed — each step dated, with notes. Send it to a contractor from the repair; the job and the repair stay linked. The tenant gets a receipt with the time the repair was received and your target. When a contractor visit is booked, the tenant is told the day in writing — and staff are warned if it is less than a day’s notice. Damp, mould and serious hazards An account can switch to staged clocks — make safe, investigate, a written summary to the tenant, start works, complete — following the proposal to extend Awaab’s Law to private renting. They are labelled as proposed, not law, until the regulations are made. ### Contractors and jobs Page: https://abide.rent/features/contractors Keep your own list of trades with their insurance dates. Send a job from a repair, a certificate renewal or an inspection. The contractor works from a secure link — accepts, books the visit, uploads photos and the new certificate — and you approve it onto the property. Contractors never need an Abide.Rent account. Each job has its own link, which expires, can be revoked, and turns read-only once the job is done. Your contractor list: trades, the postcode districts they cover, and insurance expiry — flagged when missing, expired or due within 30 days. Jobs from a repair, a certificate renewal or an inspection, or on their own. The contractor accepts, books the visit, adds notes, uploads photos and certificates, and marks it done. You approve or reject each certificate. Approved, it goes on the property with its dates — and to the tenant if you choose. No one for a trade in that area? Find local contractors from Google Maps listings near the property, check them, and add them to your list in one step. Book a visit and the tenants are told the day in writing; every message about the job keeps its sent, delivered and opened times. ### Management agreements Page: https://abide.rent/features/agreements Record each landlord’s management agreement — service level, authority to serve, landlord approval, who carries Right to Rent and gas safety — and attach the signed original. Those terms decide who is reminded, who may serve a notice and whose approval comes first. Where a term is not recorded, Abide.Rent assumes the landlord keeps the duty and the agency has no authority to serve. Record your own agreement, or start from a template and send it for signature. Service level, fees, notice period, inspection frequency, client money and deposit arrangements, all on one record. Authority to serve and landlord approval set who may serve a notice and whether the landlord signs off first. Right to Rent and gas safety move to the agency only when the agreement says so in writing. Upload the signed original; a record PDF of the terms is produced for the file. Tenancies: issue the written statement of terms from the tenancy file, and the tenant records receipt in their portal. ### Today Page: https://abide.rent/features/today Overdue statutory steps, certificates running out, tenant replies waiting, repairs past their target, jobs due and documents waiting for a signature — in one list, most urgent first, each with the button that does it. Every item says why it is there and what happens if it waits. Filter by person, property or landlord, and tick it off by doing it — the list updates itself. Every page works on a phone, with push alerts alongside email. Overdue statutory items first, then what is due this week. Tenant replies to notices, pet requests and documents waiting for you. Repairs past your response target and contractor jobs due. Documents waiting for a signature from you. ### Reports Page: https://abide.rent/features/reports Compliance risk, tenant responses, evidence gaps, PRS readiness by region, a scorecard per landlord, repairs and contractors, arrears and team activity. Each report shows its charts, and clicking a bar filters the table to exactly those records, ready to act on or export. Figures are worked out from your own records when you open the page, so they match the property pages exactly. Not legal advice. Compliance risk: what expires or is overdue, by week, certificate and landlord. Tenant responses: who accepted, asked a question or referred, and how fast. Landlord scorecard: each landlord against your average. Repairs: time to fix against your targets, spend, and each contractor’s on-time rate. Arrears: who is behind, by how much, and how close to the Ground 8 level. ### Rent account Page: https://abide.rent/features/rent-account The rent due is set out from the tenancy’s rent and frequency, including any increase. Record payments by hand or import a bank CSV, see the running balance, and see the day arrears reached the Ground 8 level. Download the account as a PDF for the file. Abide.Rent does not collect rent. It keeps the account you would otherwise keep in a spreadsheet, with every change recorded and nothing deleted — a correction is a reversal. Not legal advice. Rent due per period, from the tenancy’s rent and frequency, including increases. Payments recorded by hand or imported from a CSV, with duplicates skipped. Arrears in money and in rent periods, with the date the Ground 8 level was reached. A rent account PDF, and the figures in the possession pack. Tenants see their own account in their portal. ### Documents and signing Page: https://abide.rent/features/documents-and-signing Start a statement of terms, an Information Sheet letter, a pet consent, a management agreement, a privacy notice or a rent receipt from a template. Names, addresses and rent come from the record. Send it for signature in order — agency, landlord, tenant — and the signed copy is locked with its audit certificate. Edit the starter templates to suit your business and keep your own clauses. Signing is a simple electronic signature. Not legal advice. Fields fill from the record; a document with a missing field cannot be issued. Signers sign in their own account, or by an emailed link with a one-time code. Typed or drawn signatures; the signed PDF carries each signer’s time, method and the document’s fingerprint. A signed statement of terms or Information Sheet counts towards the tenancy’s record. Versions, comments between parties and a clause library for your own wording. ### Notes, mentions and tasks Page: https://abide.rent/features/notes-and-tasks Write a note on a property, tenancy, repair or review, @mention a colleague, or turn it into a task with an owner and a due date. Notes are internal, or shared with the landlord. Tenants never see them. Two audiences only: internal to the agency, or shared with the landlord. A note can be edited for 15 minutes, every version is kept, and it can be redacted with a reason but never deleted. Notes on properties, tenancies, repairs, jobs, rent reviews, deposits, documents and pet requests. @mentions tell a colleague; pinned notes stay at the top. Tasks with one owner, a due date, followers and a history; overdue tasks are flagged. The team board shows the latest notes across the book, by property or by mention. Landlords see the notes their agent shares with them on agent-managed properties. ### Team calendar Page: https://abide.rent/features/team-calendar One calendar for the agency: inspections, contractor visits, tasks, certificate expiries, rent review dates and statutory deadlines, in layers you switch on and off. Move a task or a contractor visit by dragging it. Every entry comes from a record, so moving it moves the record too. Your own private calendar feed still works alongside it. A private calendar feed puts deadlines in Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar. Month, week, day and list views. Ten layers, from inspections and contractor visits to certificate expiries and review dates. Drag a task or a contractor visit to reschedule it. Only the properties each person can see. ### Team, cover and leavers Page: https://abide.rent/features/team-and-cover Give each property a lead, a backup, someone for move-ins and move-outs and someone for maintenance. Record holidays and cover, on-call and working hours. When someone leaves, the exit wizard hands their properties and tasks to named people. Alerts go to the lead and the backup. Escalation is set by the agency: by default, managers hear 7 days before a deadline and owners 7 days after it is missed. Lead, backup, progressor and maintenance roles on every property. Holidays and cover, on-call, working hours and England and Wales bank holidays for Abide.Rent’s own targets — statutory dates never move. The exit wizard is the only way to remove someone who still holds work: their properties and tasks go to named people. The handover note is pinned on each property for 30 days. Joiners get an onboarding card; managers see their progress. ### Scorecards Page: https://abide.rent/features/scorecards Each person sees their own scorecard: deadlines met, tasks done on time, replies within target, repairs fixed on time and records kept up to date. Managers set targets and see their team. There is no public ranking. Scorecards use work records only. Each person sees their own; their managers see their team. Nobody else does. Overdue deadlines and tasks on time. Replies to tenants and landlords within your target. Repairs fixed within target. Records kept up to date. Targets per person, set by managers. ### Branches Page: https://abide.rent/features/branches Put properties and people into branches. Choose whether each person sees every branch or only their own. Move properties between branches in bulk, and import the branch from your spreadsheet. Branches are part of the custom plan. Everything else on this site is in every plan. Properties and people belong to branches. Reach per person: every branch, or only their branches. Move properties to a branch in bulk; import a Branch or Office column. A branch board for each office. ### Access, sign-in and audit Page: https://abide.rent/features/security-and-access Give each person the access their job needs, from read-only to owner. Turn on two-step sign-in for the agency, sign everyone out everywhere when a laptop is lost, and see an audit log of who changed what and when. Removing someone who still holds work goes through the exit wizard, so access ends without orphaning their properties. Someone who is both a tenant and a landlord keeps two separate files; an agency never sees the other one. Seats with roles and permissions, including read-only. Two-step sign-in, set by the agency. Sign out everywhere. An audit log of changes, with who and when. Landlords and tenants see only what concerns them. ### Holding deposits Page: https://abide.rent/features/holding-deposits Record a holding deposit against a proposed tenancy. Abide.Rent checks it is no more than one week’s rent, counts down to the deadline for agreement, and tells you when it must be repaid or applied — and whether you gave written reasons in time to keep it. Not legal advice. The rules are those of the Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedules 1 and 2. No more than one week’s rent, and only one holding deposit per home at a time. The deadline for agreement, and what happens when it passes. Applied to the rent or the deposit, repaid, or kept for a permitted reason. Kept only if written reasons were given within 7 days; otherwise it is flagged for repayment. ### Message trails Page: https://abide.rent/features/message-trails Repairs, contractor jobs, rent reviews, landlord statements, certificates given to tenants, inspections, notices and pet answers each keep a trail: who was told, by which channel, and when it was sent, delivered, opened, read in the app, bounced or failed. An “opened” report is a signal, not proof: some email programs block it and some open every email automatically. On repairs, contractor jobs, rent reviews, landlord statements, certificates, inspections, notices and pet answers. Sent, delivered, opened, read in the app, bounced or failed — each with its time. A bounced email becomes a task to fix the address. ### Tribunal decisions and area statistics Page: https://abide.rent/features/tribunal-explorer Filter published First-tier Tribunal rent decisions by district, rent, outcome and date, and open each one. Area statistics show local rent ranges and outcomes by postcode district, alongside your own lettings. Determinations are corroboration, not the rent range. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Filter by district, regime, proposed and determined rent, outcome and date. Open each decision with its details. Area statistics by postcode district. Export the rows you filtered. ### Exports and leaving Page: https://abide.rent/features/exports Every list exports: pick the rows and columns and download an Excel file. Request a full export of your workspace at any time. If you leave, you take everything — and live notices and claims stay readable for the people who need them. Exports work on every plan, including the free Solo plan. Files under legal hold stay readable on every plan. Excel files from your lists, with the rows and columns you choose. A full workspace export on request, with an export history. A guided exit that hands records over cleanly. Legal-hold files stay readable after a downgrade. ### Comparable lettings evidence Page: https://abide.rent/features/comparables Add comparable lettings to each rent review: one click from your own lettings, an agent’s letter or a let-agreed listing uploaded with its date, or typed in. Each is graded strong, usable or weak against the home you are reviewing, with the reasons, and the review counts how many strong ones you have against the three you need. The landlords who kept their full figure at the tribunal brought achieved rents for similar homes nearby. Asking prices and portal guides on their own lost. The comparables locker makes the strong kind easy to gather while you price the increase. Three ways to add one From your lettings: any of your own lettings in the last 18 months, current or ended, in one click. Upload: an agent’s letter or a let-agreed listing with its date (PDF or photo, up to 10 MB), with the key details. Type it in: address, postcode, bedrooms, type, furnished, rent and the date it was let. Graded against the home you are reviewing Strong, usable or weak, with the reasons and any mismatches — bedrooms, type, furnishing, distance, how long ago it let. Achieved lettings need an address, postcode, bedrooms and let date. Asking rents are allowed but always marked as weak evidence. Adjustments with a reason and an amount, such as −£50 a month for no parking, and the adjusted figure. The summary: “2 of 3 strong comparables · proposed rent at the 62nd percentile”. Feeds the rent range When there are enough strong or usable comparables, the suggested range is worked out from them first. Without them, an area average (ONS or Local Housing Allowance) is shown and labelled as an area average, not evidence — and it is never used to count up potential uplift. Into the evidence pack The pack lists achieved lettings first, each with its adjustment table and document, then tribunal decisions, then asking rents marked as weak. It is marked ready at three strong achieved lettings, and says how many more are needed until then. The tenant does not see your comparables before the notice is served. Not legal advice. ### Condition record and the tribunal’s disregards Page: https://abide.rent/features/condition-record Each rent review holds the home’s condition, whether it is furnished, the landlord’s improvements and the tenant’s improvements and damage, which the tribunal must disregard. The landlord sees a plain warning before approving: the tribunal can set the rent below what the tenant pays now. Tribunals value a home as it is: worn flooring, single glazing or a damp patch each come off the rent, and bad enough disrepair can stop the increase altogether. They must also ignore two things (Housing Act 1988, s.14(2)): improvements the tenant made at their own cost, and any fall in value caused by the tenant breaking the tenancy. What the review records Furnished, part furnished or unfurnished. Condition notes. The landlord’s improvements: what, when and what they cost. The tenant’s improvements, marked as disregarded. Damage by the tenant, marked as disregarded. You can add or correct the condition record later, until the review is cancelled; it does not reset the landlord’s approval. The warning the landlord sees If the tenant refers the increase, the tribunal decides the open-market rent. It can be below the current rent. When the comparables sit below today’s rent, the warning names the market figure. It appears on the review before Request landlord approval, and in the approval email with the evidence gathered so far. The condition record is printed in the evidence pack. Not legal advice. ### Tribunal referral tracker Page: https://abide.rent/features/tribunal-referrals When the tenant applies to the tribunal, a referral opens on the notice. Record the directions and the statement deadline goes onto Today. Abide.Rent drafts the landlord’s statement from the review, and you record what you sent, how and when. A referral opens on its own when you record that the tenant has applied, and closes when you record the decision or a withdrawal. In between, it keeps the case reference, each date and each document in one place on the notice. What it tracks Awaiting directions → statement due → submitted → awaiting the decision → decided. The directions: date received, the landlord’s and the tenant’s statement deadlines, and whether it will be decided on paper. Inspection and hearing dates, and whether a hearing was asked for. The expected decision date, from the typical wait in published decisions. Your statement A plain-text draft of the landlord’s statement, from the review: the notice, the comparables and adjustments, the condition record and the disregards. A list of gaps to fix before you send it. Record what you sent, the date and how (email, post, portal or by hand), with the file. Deadlines that find you The statement deadline, inspection and hearing go onto Today and the deadlines list, with “Prepare the statement” or “Open the referral”. Ready for the Valuation Office The government has announced that rent cases will move from the tribunal to a rent service run by the Valuation Office Agency. Each referral records which body it is with, so the tracker carries on when that happens. Abide.Rent does not file anything with either for you. Not legal advice. ### What your agent did Page: https://abide.rent/features/landlord-activity Landlords see a feed of what their agent did on their properties: notices served and the tenant’s answer, certificates added and given to tenants, deposits protected, repairs reported, closed or overdue, inspections, Right to Rent checks and PRS registration. The agency sees exactly what the landlord sees. Landlords who use an agent often go from managing the property to managing the agent: emails asking whether the gas check was done, whether the notice went out, whether the tenant answered. The feed answers those questions before they are asked. What appears Notices served and the tenant’s response. Certificates added, and given to the tenant. Deposits protected and the prescribed information given. Repairs reported, closed, or overdue — the overdue ones highlighted. Inspections done and Right to Rent checks recorded. PRS Database registration recorded. What does not Internal team notes and messages, and tenants’ contact details. The feed shows statutory and evidential events only, for the properties the landlord owns, for as long as the agency manages them. For the agency The agency can open the same feed for any landlord: “what your landlord sees”. It turns the work you already do into something your landlords can see. Each line links to the record behind it. ### Damp and mould stages Page: https://abide.rent/features/damp-and-mould-stages Switch a repair to staged clocks: make safe, investigate, a written summary to the tenant, start works and complete, each with its own due date and a record of when it was done. The stages follow the proposal for private renting and are labelled as proposed, not law. Today each repair has one target, set by you: by default 24 hours for an emergency, 7 days for urgent and 28 days for routine. Awaab’s Law in social housing works in stages instead. A private rented version has been proposed and is being consulted on. The stages Make safe, for an emergency. Investigate. A written summary to the tenant of what was found and what happens next. Abide.Rent emails it to the tenants and keeps it on the repair’s trail. Start works. Complete. Proposed, not law The staged ruleset is switched on per account and every stage is marked as the proposed standard. Your own targets remain the default. When the regulations for private renting are made, the dates will be updated to match. Not legal advice. Tenants: to report damp or mould in writing, use the free damp and mould report letter . ## Guides ### 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 property can move to a new agent, or to a new owner. Abide.Rent moves control with whoever is now responsible, keeps each side's evidence, and sends the tenant the letters the law requires. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. The handover: the old agreement ends and the new agency accepts. Chain of custody: each holder of the file, with dates. What you are deciding Whether the property is changing agent, changing owner, or both, and from what date. Your options Change of agent. The new agency takes over from the agreed date. Duties the old agency accepted in writing end with its agreement. Sale. The buyer becomes the landlord on completion. The tenant must be told the buyer's name and address. The landlord takes the property back. The landlord's own account takes control from the date the agreement ends. The journey at a glance Step Who The law The old agreement ends; authority to serve and duties accepted in writing end with it Landlord and old agency — The new agency accepts the handover New agency — The tenant is given the address in England or Wales where notices can be served Abide.Rent sends the letter Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 s.48 On a sale, the tenant is told the buyer's name and address by the later of the next rent day and two months after the sale Abide.Rent sends the notice of assignment Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.3 The deposit is moved, or re-protected, by whoever now holds it Both sides Housing Act 2004 What each party does Outgoing agency Hands over open repairs, jobs, draft notices and reviews in the exit wizard. Your own internal notes stay with you. Incoming agency or buyer Accept the handover, check the duties table and the certificates, and confirm who holds the deposit. Landlord Agree the end date with the old agency and the start with the new one. The rent increase timing does not reset. Tenant You are sent a letter with the new name and address for service. Your past notices and copies stay in your portal. A worked example Helen Shaw moves 14 Mill Lane from Ainsworth Lets to Northgate Residential from Monday 1 February 2027. Ainsworth's authority to serve ends that day and Northgate accepts the handover. The tenant is sent Northgate's address for service the same day. Helen then sells the house; completion is on Friday 26 February 2027 and rent is due on the 1st. The buyer must tell the tenant by Monday 26 April 2027, two months after the sale, and Abide.Rent sends the notice of assignment on completion. What Abide.Rent does for you Moves control with whoever is responsible, and keeps each side's own evidence. Sends the tenant the address for service and, on a sale, the notice of assignment. Keeps the earliest date for the next rent increase as it was. If something goes wrong The old agency can still see the property What to do: Its access to the property ends when the handover is accepted. It keeps its own copies of what it sent, as evidence. The tenant was not sent the new address What to do: Check the tenant's email on the tenancy, then send the letter again from the property. Common mistakes Assuming duties the old agency accepted in writing carry over to the new one. They end with the old agreement. Leaving the deposit protected in the old agency's name without recording who now holds it. What to do next Who can see what How Abide.Rent works Open handovers ### 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. When you send a job, the contractor is emailed a private link. It opens that job only: the address, access notes, what to do, and the repair's description and photos when the job came from a repair. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Jobs: property, contractor, status, due date, link and uploads to approve. What you are deciding Whether to accept what a contractor uploaded, and when to stop or replace their link. Your options Approve a certificate. It is added to the property, the current certificate of that kind is replaced, and the tenant is given a copy, just as when you upload one yourself. Do not accept it. Say why. The contractor sees your reason on their link and can upload a corrected one. Stop the link. The link stops working at once. Send the job again to issue a new one; only the newest link works. How to do it Open the job under Contractors , on the Jobs tab. Check what the contractor did: accepted, the visit date, notes, photos and certificates. For a certificate, check the date of the check and the expiry date, then select Approve certificate or Do not accept . If the link may have gone to the wrong person, select Stop the link . What the contractor can do From the link a contractor can accept the job, book a visit date, add a note, upload a certificate (PDF) or photos, and mark the job done. Each step is recorded on the job and you are told. Once a job is done or cancelled the link is read-only. The link ends after 30 days, and Abide.Rent stores only a fingerprint of it, never the link itself. A worked example On Friday 16 October 2026 Dave Hughes uploads the gas safety record for 12 Acacia Avenue through his link, with the check dated 16 October 2026 and an expiry of 15 October 2027, then marks the job done. The agency opens the job, checks the dates against the PDF and approves it. The old record, which was due to expire on 9 November 2026, is replaced, the tenant is given the new copy, and the gas safety date on the property moves to 15 October 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps a draft certificate out of your compliance figures until you approve it. Runs the same steps on approval as an upload by your team. Records each contractor step with the time, and tells you. If something goes wrong “This link has ended or does not exist.” What to do: Job links expire. Send the job again from the repair. “Photos must be 5 MB or less.” What to do: Take a smaller photo or reduce its size. “Say whether this is a certificate, a photo or an invoice.” What to do: Choose what the file is. “Say why the certificate was not accepted.” What to do: When refusing an upload, give the reason so the contractor can fix it. Common mistakes Approving a certificate without checking its dates against the PDF. Forwarding the link to someone else: anyone holding it can act on the job until it ends or is stopped. What to do next Open the jobs Contractors and jobs Upload a certificate yourself ### 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. 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) Record the holding deposit and the deadline for agreement. Add the tenancy before it starts, with every named tenant and any guarantor. Do the Right to Rent checks if you accepted that duty in writing; record the result and the evidence. Send the written statement for signature before the tenancy is entered into. Make sure the gas safety record, EICR and EPC are current and sent to the tenants before they move in. On the first day, record that the alarms were checked. 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 Pay the holding deposit and agree the tenancy by the deadline. Show your Right to Rent documents, and those of every adult moving in. Read and sign the written statement of terms. Before you move in, you should have the gas safety record, the EICR and the EPC. They are in your portal under Safety . On the first day, check the alarms work and confirm the check-in list. 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 ### 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. Under the Renters' Rights Act a tenant can ask to keep a pet, and the landlord must answer in writing. This guide shows the timeline and who does what. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Pet requests: agree, refuse with a reason, or ask for more information. What you are deciding For the landlord side: whether to agree, refuse with a reason, or ask for more information first. Your options Agree. Record the decision. The tenant is sent it in writing. Refuse. Give a written reason. The landlord may not refuse unreasonably. Ask for more information. Ask within 28 days; the answer is then due 7 days after the tenant replies. The journey at a glance When Step Who The law Day 1 The tenant asks, in writing, in the portal Tenant Housing Act 1988 s.16A By day 28 A written answer, or a request for more information Landlord side s.16A 7 days after the tenant replies The written answer, if more information was asked for Landlord side s.16A What each party does Tenant Ask in your portal under Pets , describing the pet. If asked for more information, reply in the portal. You are nudged on the day, then 4 and 11 days late. You are sent the decision in writing. Letting agency or landlord Read the request when it arrives. The due date is on it. Agree, refuse with a reason, or ask for more information before the due date. Where the landlord's head lease or superior landlord must consent, record that and its date. When Abide.Rent reminds whom The landlord side: 7 days before, then 1, 7 and 14 days late the due date. The tenant: told in writing at each step. A worked example A tenant asks to keep a dog on Monday 2 November 2026. A written answer is due by Sunday 29 November. The agent asks for the dog's details on Wednesday 11 November, and the tenant replies on Wednesday 18 November 2026. The answer is now due 7 days later, by Wednesday 25 November. The landlord agrees on Monday 23 November, and the tenant is sent the decision that day. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the due date, and moves it when more information is asked for and received. Sends the tenant each step in writing. Records the request, the deadline and the answer. It does not decide whether a refusal is reasonable. If something goes wrong The due date is past and no answer was given What to do: Give the written answer now and record it. The request shows as overdue until you do. The tenant has not replied to a request for more information What to do: The decision is not due until 7 days after their reply. Abide.Rent nudges the tenant. Common mistakes Asking for more information after the 28 days have passed. Ask before the due date. Refusing without a written reason. What to do next Pet requests and the 28-day deadline Open pet requests ### 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. A rent increase has six stages. Each one has a date that the next depends on, so it pays to see them together before you start. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Rent reviews: each proposal with its risk and approval. A served notice with its service record. What you are deciding What rent to propose, when it should start, and how the notice will be served. Your options Propose a figure your own lettings support. The tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one proposed, and in 60% of published decisions it set a lower one. A careful figure matters more than an ambitious one. Choose a start date with room to spare. The new rent cannot start until at least two months after the notice is served, on the first day of a rent period, and at least 52 weeks after the tenancy began or the last increase took effect. Serve by hand or courier. The day it is handed over, once recorded, is the day it counts as served. Serve by post. It counts as served on the second working day after posting. Weekends and bank holidays are not counted. The six stages Market evidence. Set the figure against your own recent lettings. See Using tribunal decisions to sense-check a proposed rent . Propose. Start a rent review with the figure and the start date. Landlord approval. Where the agreement asks for it, the landlord approves before a notice is generated. Form 4A. Generate the notice from the approved review, check it against the official form and sign it. Serve and record. Serve it yourself and record how it was served . The tenant's reply. The tenant accepts, asks a question or says they are referring it to the tribunal. See What happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal? A worked example A tenancy began on Saturday 1 March 2025 at £1,250.00 a month, with rent due on the 1st. The agent proposes £1,325.00, an increase of 6%. The landlord approves on Friday 30 October 2026. Form 4A is posted first class on Monday 2 November 2026 and counts as served on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Two months from service is Monday 4 January 2027, and rent periods begin on the 1st, so the new rent can start no earlier than Monday 1 February 2027. The 52-week check is already met: 52 weeks after the start of the tenancy was Saturday 28 February 2026. What Abide.Rent does for you Checks the start date three ways before the notice can be generated, and says which check a date fails. Works out the date a posted notice counts as served, skipping weekends and bank holidays. Carries the approved rent from the review into Form 4A, so the two cannot differ. Shows the tenant the notice only once service is recorded. If something goes wrong “Generate the notice from an approved review before recording service.” What to do: Have the landlord approve, then generate the notice. “Form 4A is generated. Sign it before anyone records service.” What to do: Open the notice and sign it. “Record service of this notice before applying the increase.” What to do: Record how and when it was served. Common mistakes Choosing a start date exactly two months after the day you post. A posted notice counts as served two working days later, so the start date moves. Picking a start date that is not the first day of a rent period. Generating the notice before the landlord has approved the figure. Serving the notice and not recording it. The tenant cannot see or answer it until service is recorded. What to do next Start a rent review See your rent reviews Section 13 rent increase notices (Form 4A) Why is my notice date being rejected? ### 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 rent increase on an assured periodic tenancy in England is made with a Section 13 notice on Form 4A. This guide shows each step, who takes it, and the reminders. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Rent reviews: each proposal with its risk and the landlord's approval. A served notice: service, the tenant's options and what happens next. What you are deciding When to propose a new rent, how much, and, for the tenant, whether to accept it or apply to the tribunal. Your options The tenant does nothing. The new rent starts on the date in the notice. A tenant does not have to reply. The tenant applies to the tribunal before that date. The rent stays as it is until the tribunal decides. It cannot set more than the notice proposed. Both sides agree a different figure in writing. The agreed rent starts from the agreed date instead. The journey at a glance When Step Who The law 90, 75 and 60 days before the earliest date Reminder that a review is coming Landlord side — Any time before serving Proposal, with the evidence for the figure; the landlord approves where the agreement asks Agency proposes; landlord approves — At least two months before the new rent starts Form 4A served on every named tenant Whoever has authority to serve Housing Act 1988 s.13(2) The start date The beginning of a rent period, at least 52 weeks after the last increase — s.13(2), (3A), (3B) 14 days before the start date Letter to the tenant setting out their options Abide.Rent — Before the start date The tenant may apply to the First-tier Tribunal (fee £47.00) Tenant s.13(4) The start date New rent goes on the rent account; confirmation sent to the tenants, any guarantor and the landlord Abide.Rent — If the tribunal decides Its rent starts on the date in the notice if it decided before then; otherwise on the first rent day on or after the decision. For hardship it can set a later date, within two months Tribunal s.14ZB What each party does Letting agency Prepare the proposal and the evidence for the figure when the first reminder arrives. Send it to the landlord for approval if the agreement asks for that. Abide.Rent chases the landlord 3 and 7 days after asking. Generate Form 4A, check the dates Abide.Rent shows, sign it and serve it on every named tenant. Record how and when. If the tenant applies to the tribunal, record the application, then the decision when it comes. Landlord Approve, query or counter the proposed figure. Nothing is served without your approval where your agreement requires it. On your own account, or a let-only or rent collection service, you serve the notice yourself. Tenant Read the notice in your portal. You do not have to reply. If you think the rent is above the market rent, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal before the start date. 14 days before the start date you are sent a letter setting out your options. If you do nothing, pay the new rent from the start date. When Abide.Rent reminds whom The landlord side: 90, 75 and 60 days before the earliest date a new rent can start, then 60, 30, 14, 7, 3 and 1 days before, on the day the start date in a served notice. The landlord, when asked to approve: 3 and 7 days after. The tenant: one letter, 14 days before the new rent starts. A worked example A tenancy at £1,250.00 a month, rent due on the 1st, can next go up from Monday 1 March 2027. The agency is reminded on Tuesday 1 December, Wednesday 16 December and Thursday 31 December 2026. The landlord approves £1,325.00 and the notice is served by hand on Friday 11 December 2026. The tenant is sent her options letter on Monday 15 February 2027. If she does not apply, the new rent starts on 1 March 2027. If she applies and the tribunal decides on Monday 3 May 2027, its rent starts on Tuesday 1 June 2027, unless it sets a later date for hardship, no later than Friday 2 July 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the earliest start date and refuses one that is too early or not at the start of a rent period. Puts the new rent on the rent account on the right date, and pauses it while a tribunal application is open. Sends the confirmation of the new rent to the tenants, any guarantor and the landlord. If something goes wrong “The start date is too early.” What to do: Choose a date at least two months after service, at the start of a rent period and at least 52 weeks after the last increase. Abide.Rent suggests the earliest. The tenant says they will refer the notice but no application arrives What to do: After the start date, record that no application was made and how you checked. The new rent then applies from the date in the notice. Common mistakes Serving one joint tenant only. Every named tenant must be served. Expecting back rent after a tribunal decision. The tribunal's rent is never backdated. What to do next What the tribunal can and cannot do What happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal? Open rent reviews ### 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. Repairs follow the same path whoever reports them. This guide shows each step and who takes it. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Repairs: from the tenant's report to the contractor's job and the tenant's answer. What you are deciding How urgent a repair is, who pays for it, and whether it is fixed. Your options Emergency. A target of 24 hours by default. Visits can be made at short notice. Urgent. A target of 7 days by default. Routine. A target of 28 days by default. The targets are Abide.Rent's defaults, which each account can change. They are not legal deadlines. The landlord's repairing duty itself comes from the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11. The journey at a glance Step Who What Abide.Rent does Report the repair, with photos Tenant (or staff, for a call) Sets the target date from the urgency Decide what to do; send to a contractor Landlord side Sends the contractor a job link Approve the cost if it is above the landlord's spend limit Landlord Holds the job until approved Book the visit Contractor or landlord side Gives the tenant at least 24 hours' notice in writing, except in an emergency Do the work and upload photos or an invoice Contractor Records it on the job Is it fixed? Tenant Closes the repair, or reopens it if not What each party does Letting agency or landlord Check the report and its urgency. Change the urgency if needed; the target moves with it. Send a job to a contractor, within the landlord's spend limit, or ask the landlord to approve. On a let-only or rent collection service the landlord arranges repairs; on a fully managed service the agency does and the landlord is told. Tenant Report the repair in your portal under Repairs , with photos. You are told when a visit is booked, moved or cancelled. When the work is done you are asked whether it is fixed. Say no if it is not: the repair reopens. When Abide.Rent reminds whom Repairs past their target are checked each morning at 8:20am every day, and the landlord side is told. On a fully managed service the landlord is told of each repair, its completion and its cost. A worked example On Monday 7 December 2026 at 6pm a tenant reports that the boiler has stopped. Her agent marks it urgent, so the target is Monday 14 December. The quote is £180.00, within the landlord's spend limit of £250.00, so it goes straight to the contractor. The visit is booked for Wednesday 9 December 2026 and the tenant is told on Tuesday 8 December. The boiler is fixed that day, the contractor uploads the invoice, and on Thursday 10 December the tenant confirms it is fixed. What Abide.Rent does for you Sets and moves the target date from the urgency. Gives the tenant written notice of visits, and tells the contractor when a visit moves. Asks the tenant whether it is fixed before closing the repair. If something goes wrong The contractor cannot see the job What to do: Send the job link again from the job. A cancelled job's link stops working. The repair closed but is not fixed What to do: The tenant can say it is not fixed when asked, which reopens it. Staff can reopen it too. Common mistakes Closing a repair before the tenant confirms it is fixed. Sending a job above the landlord's spend limit without approval. What to do next How Abide.Rent works Every legal date Abide.Rent tracks Open repairs ### 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. A tenant ends a periodic tenancy by giving notice in writing. This guide follows the tenancy from that notice to the deposit being returned. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. The tenant's notice, the move-out list and the deposit settlement. What you are deciding For the tenant: the end date. For the landlord side: what, if anything, comes out of the deposit. Your options At least two months' notice. The tenancy ends on the date given, which should be a rent day or the day before one, at least two months away. Shorter notice. Only if the landlord agrees in writing. On a joint tenancy every named tenant must be party to that agreement as well. One joint tenant gives notice. It ends the tenancy for every tenant and occupier, not just the one who gave it. The journey at a glance When Step Who The law Notice given Notice in writing, in the portal or on paper Tenant Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5 Straight away Acknowledgement with the end date, sent to every tenant and the landlord Landlord side — Before the end date Move-out checklist; forwarding addresses; check-out booked Both sides — The end date Check-out against the inventory Landlord side — After check-out Deductions proposed with evidence; each tenant agrees or disputes each one Landlord side; tenants answer Deposit scheme rules Within 10 days of agreement Deposit released through the scheme Landlord side Deposit scheme rules If disputed Referred to the scheme's free dispute service Either side Housing Act 2004 What each party does Tenant Give notice in your portal under Leaving , choosing an end date Abide.Rent accepts. Agree the move-out checklist and give a forwarding address. Answer each proposed deduction: agree, or dispute with your reason. Letting agency or landlord Check the notice and its end date. Record a notice received on paper or by email with a copy of it. If the landlord agrees a shorter date, record the written agreement; on a joint tenancy confirm every named tenant is party to it. Do the check-out, propose deductions with evidence, and release the deposit through the scheme within 10 days of agreement. When Abide.Rent reminds whom The landlord side, and the tenants for information: 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before, on the day, then 1, 7 and 14 days late the end date. An incoming tenancy's start date is reminded on the same days, so a back-to-back let is not missed. A worked example Rent is due on the 15th. On Thursday 5 November 2026 Kiran gives notice on a joint tenancy with Sam. The earliest end date Abide.Rent accepts is Thursday 14 January 2027, the day before a rent day more than two months away, and it ends the tenancy for both. Reminders go on Tuesday 15 December, Thursday 31 December, Thursday 7 January, Wednesday 13 January and Thursday 14 January 2027. Deductions of £135.00 are proposed on Monday 18 January; both tenants agree on Thursday 21 January, and the deposit is released by Sunday 31 January 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the earliest valid end date and refuses one that is too soon. Applies one joint tenant's notice to the whole tenancy, and tells every tenant. Takes nothing from the deposit without the tenants' agreement or the scheme's decision. If something goes wrong “The end date is too soon.” What to do: Choose a date at least two months away that is a rent day or the day before one, or record the landlord's written agreement to a shorter date. One joint tenant wants to stay What to do: One joint tenant's notice ends the tenancy for everyone. Those who want to stay need a new tenancy agreed with the landlord. Common mistakes Accepting an earlier date agreed by the tenants alone. A shorter notice needs the landlord's written agreement. Releasing the deposit before every joint tenant has answered. What to do next A tenant's notice to quit, and withdrawing one Every legal date Abide.Rent tracks Open tenancies ### 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. A tenancy belongs to one property and has one or more named tenants. Its start date and rent drive every deadline that follows. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Add tenant: their role, name, email and phone. A notice must go to every joint tenant. What you are deciding Who to name on the tenancy, and in what role. Your options Named tenant. Named on notices and able to reply to them in their portal. Add each joint tenant as a named tenant. Permitted occupier. Lives there but is not a tenant. Sees the tenancy but cannot reply to a notice. Guarantor. Recorded with the tenancy and kept informed. Not named as a tenant. How to do it Open the property and select its tenancy tab. Select Add a tenancy and enter the first tenant's name, email address and phone number. Enter the rent, how often it is paid, and the date the tenancy started. Save. The tenant is invited to their free portal. To add a joint tenant, a permitted occupier or a guarantor, select Add tenant on the tenancy and choose their role. A worked example Sam and Emma rent 8 Orchard Close, Bury, together from Saturday 1 August 2026 at £1,100.00 a month. The agent adds the tenancy with Sam as the first tenant, then adds Emma as a joint tenant. Both are invited. A rent increase notice served later names both, and either can reply from their own portal. Their start date gives Saturday 31 July 2027 as the earliest date a new rent could start, 52 weeks on. What Abide.Rent does for you Invites each person you add, so each has their own sign-in. Works out the earliest date for a rent increase from the start date. Stops a second current tenancy being added to a property that already has one. If something goes wrong “Occupier role must be named tenant, occupier or guarantor.” What to do: Choose a role for each person. “The start date of the next tenancy must be after today.” What to do: A next tenancy starts in the future. For a tenancy that has already started, edit the current one. “That person is not on this tenancy.” What to do: Add them to the tenancy first, then record what you were recording. A joint tenant does not get the notice What to do: Every joint tenant must be on the tenancy with an email, or the notice must be served on them another way and recorded. Common mistakes Recording only one of two joint tenants. A notice then names one person where the tenancy has two. Using the date the tenant was found instead of the date the tenancy began. Adding a new tenancy before ending the old one. What to do next See your properties Record a deposit Invite a landlord, a tenant or a colleague Rent in advance ### 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. The service level is set for each property, under an agreement. One landlord can have a fully managed flat and a let-only house with the same agency. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Agreements: one row each, with authority to serve and linked properties. An agreement: terms, what it unlocks, signing and the properties on it. What you are deciding Which level of service applies to each property, and what the agreement says about approvals and duties. Your options Fully managed. The agency looks after the property day to day, prepares rent reviews and generates notices, in the landlord's name. The landlord can be asked to approve each increase. Rent collection. The agency collects rent and deals with arrears first. Most certificates and repairs stay with the landlord. Let only. The agency finds the tenant and draws up the tenancy. The landlord then runs rent reviews and serves notices from their own Abide.Rent account. The agency can do so only if the agreement records the landlord's written authority to serve. Self-managed. No agent. The landlord keeps the records and serves their own notices. How to do it Open Agreements and select New agreement . Choose the landlord and the properties the agreement covers. Record the terms that matter here: the fee, whether the landlord approves rent increases, and whether Right to Rent or gas safety has been accepted in writing. Attach the signed agreement as a PDF if you hold it. Set the service level on each property the agreement covers. A worked example Fern Lettings agrees terms with a landlord on Tuesday 27 October 2026 for two properties: 12 Market Street, fully managed, and 3 Mill Lane, let only. The agreement says the landlord approves every rent increase. From Monday 2 November 2026 the agency can prepare a rent review for Market Street and must send it to the landlord before the notice is generated. For Mill Lane the agency records the tenancy; the landlord prepares and serves any notice from their own Abide.Rent account, because the agreement records no written authority for the agency to serve. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps the agreement, its terms and its PDF with the properties it covers. Leaves notices and rent reviews on a let-only property to the landlord's own Abide.Rent account, unless the agreement records the landlord's written authority to serve. Sends a rent review to the landlord for approval where the agreement asks for it. If something goes wrong “The service level sits with the managing account” What to do: Only the managing account sets it. Notice actions are unavailable on some properties What to do: They are let only, or the agreement does not record authority to serve. Common mistakes Setting one service level for a landlord and assuming it applies to all their properties. It is set property by property. Recording terms from memory. Attach the agreement so the wording is there to read. Changing agent by editing the service level. A change of agent is a handover the new agency accepts. What to do next Open Agreements Open Duties Which duties can an agent take on? Changing agent: handing a property over ### 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. The assistant answers questions about the records in the account you have open. Open Help and select Ask . Each answer links to the records it relied on, so you can check them. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The help panel: guides for the screen you are on, search, and Ask where the assistant is switched on. Search results open the guide in the panel, without leaving your page. What you are deciding Whether the answer is enough, or whether to open the records it cites and check them yourself. Your options Use the answer as a pointer. Quick for questions like what is due this month. Open the linked records before acting on anything. Open each cited record. Slower, but you see the full record, its history and its documents. Search instead. When the assistant is not switched on, or for a record you can name, search finds it directly. How to do it Select Help in the top bar, then Ask . Type a question, for example which gas safety records expire in the next 60 days. Select Ask . The answer names the records it used; select one to open it. Check anything that matters against the record itself before acting on it. What it can see Only the records in the account you have open: its properties, current occupancies, certificates, notices, open repairs and the deadlines Abide.Rent works out for them. It never sees another account's records, and no names, email addresses or phone numbers are sent with your question. Each person can ask a set number of questions each day; the panel shows how many are left. Answers are not legal advice. Where the law matters, a solicitor should confirm. If the assistant is not switched on, the panel says so and offers search and the help guides instead. A worked example On Monday 19 October 2026 an agent asks which gas safety records expire before Christmas. The assistant answers that two do: 49 Essex Drive on Friday 13 November 2026 and 7 Ashfield Grove on Thursday 3 December 2026. Each address is a link to that property's Compliance tab. The agent opens both, books the engineers and asks nothing further, leaving 29 questions for the day. What Abide.Rent does for you Answers from the records in the open account only, and links to each one it relied on. Leaves out any record it was not given, so a link always opens a real record. Marks every answer as not legal advice. If something goes wrong “The assistant is not switched on for Abide.Rent yet. Search your records or open the help guides instead.” What to do: The assistant is not available on this account yet. Use the search box at the top, or the help guides. “The assistant could not answer just now. Try again in a minute, or search your records.” What to do: Wait a minute and ask again. If it keeps happening, open a ticket. “Keep the question under … characters.” What to do: Shorten the question, or split it into two. The answer looks wrong What to do: Open the records it links to and check them; the record is always the source. Tell us on a ticket with the question you asked. Common mistakes Treating an answer as a record. The record is the source; the answer is a summary of it. Asking about another account. Switch to that account first. What to do next Open Compliance Open the dashboard Gas safety, EICR and EPC dates ### 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. What matters in law is the day something happened, not the day it was typed in. Abide.Rent keeps both: the real date, and a note that it was entered later and why. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Past notice: the facts of a notice served before Abide.Rent. What you are deciding Whether you are recording today's step a little late, or bringing an older event onto the record. Your options A step taken in the last 30 days. Record it as usual and give the date. A posted notice can be recorded up to 30 days after posting. A notice served before Abide.Rent. Use Record a past notice on Notices. Give the day it was served, how, the date it named, the tenant's answer if any, and attach the PDF. Nothing is sent to the tenant. A safety record already given to the tenant. Add the certificate with the date of the check, then choose Already given and the date. Nothing is sent to the tenant. A pet request received in writing long ago. Tick that it is a past record and say where it comes from. The 28-day decision clock runs from the date given. How to do it Open Notices and choose Record a past notice , or open the certificate or the request you want to date. Give the date it happened and where the record comes from, for example our previous system. Attach the document you hold. Save. The record shows the date it happened and the date it was entered. What Abide.Rent checks A date in the future, or before the tenancy began, is refused. The dates you give are checked against the rules (notice periods, the 52-week rule) and the result is shown on the record. An older notice that would not have been valid stays on the record as it was; it is not changed or hidden. Every record entered after the event says so, with your reason, on the record and in exports and evidence packs. The moment it was entered is kept in the audit trail. A worked example Northgate Residential starts using Abide.Rent on Monday 12 October 2026. A Form 4A for 49 Essex Drive was posted first class on Wednesday 1 April 2026 and counted as served on Friday 3 April 2026; the tenant accepted it on 20 April. Northgate records it as a past notice served on 3 April 2026, attaches the PDF from its old system, and the 52-week clock for the next increase runs from the date the new rent started, not from 12 October. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps the day an event happened apart from the day it was entered. Marks every later entry, with the reason, wherever the record appears. Sends nothing to the tenant for an event that already happened. If something goes wrong “Say where this record comes from, for example “Imported from our previous system” or “Served before we used Abide.Rent”.” What to do: Give the source. “The date served cannot be in the future.” / “… cannot be before the tenancy began.” What to do: Check the dates. “Choose how the notice was served.” What to do: Pick the method. Common mistakes Using today's date for a notice served months ago: every clock would then run from the wrong day. Recording a past notice without the copy you served, when you have it. Leaving the date of the check empty on an old certificate, so the 28-day clock starts from the upload. What to do next Record a past notice Record how a notice was served See your notices ### 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. When a tenant refers a rent increase, the tribunal decides the market rent by looking at what similar homes nearby actually let for. Comparable lettings are that evidence, kept on the rent review. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding Which lettings to put forward for a review, and whether you have enough to stand behind the rent you propose. Your options An achieved rent. A rent a tenant actually agreed: a letting agent's letter, a let-agreed listing, or one of your own lettings. This is the evidence the tribunal gives most weight. An asking rent. What a landlord advertised for. It shows the market's mood but not what anyone paid, so it is always graded weak. A published tribunal decision. Useful context for the area, shown as a decision rather than a letting. It is not a substitute for lettings. Your own lettings. A home you let, now or before, can be added straight from your records with Add from our lettings . Its address, size and the rent agreed when it was let come across with it. How to do it Open the rent review and go to Comparables . Select Add a comparable , choose where the rent comes from, and enter the address, postcode, bedrooms, the rent and the date it was let. Attach the letter or listing if you have it. Record any adjustment, with its reason: for example a parking space the other home has and yours does not. Check each letting's grade and reasons. Aim for three strong lettings before you send the notice. Archive a letting you no longer rely on. It leaves the review but its record is kept. How lettings are graded Abide.Rent grades each letting against the home under review. This is our own guide to weight, not a rule the tribunal applies. Strong : an achieved rent for a home with the same number of bedrooms and of the same kind, within a mile (or in the same postcode district where no exact location is known), let in the last 12 months. Usable : an achieved rent for the same number of bedrooms, let in the last 18 months, within two miles or in the same district. A different kind of home is noted against it. Weak : anything else, and every asking rent. The review shows how many strong lettings you have and how many more you need. With three strong lettings it says the evidence is ready. Adjustments No two homes are the same. An adjustment moves a letting's rent up or down for one named difference, so the figure compared is like for like. Keep adjustments few and explain each one: the tribunal will look at them. A worked example On Monday 2 November 2026 an agent prepares a review for a two-bedroom flat let at £1,150.00 a month, proposing £1,225.00. She adds a let-agreed letter for a two-bedroom flat 400 metres away, let at £1,240.00 on 14 August 2026 (strong), one of her own lettings in the same block at £1,210.00 from 1 June 2026 (strong), and an asking rent of £1,300.00 on a portal (weak). The third strong letting comes from a colleague's letter: £1,250.00, let on 3 October 2026, adjusted down by £50.00 because it has a parking space. The review now shows three strong lettings and the evidence as ready. What Abide.Rent does for you Grades every letting strong, usable or weak against the home under review, with the reasons. Works out each letting's monthly rent, applies adjustments and shows where the proposed rent sits among them. Lists your own current and past lettings nearby so you can add them in one step. Keeps each letting, its file and who added it with the review. Archived lettings are kept, not deleted. If something goes wrong “Attach the evidence as a PDF or a photo (JPG, PNG, HEIC or WebP).” What to do: Save the agent's letter or the listing as a PDF or take a photo of it, then attach that. Files over 10 MB are refused. “Use “Add from our lettings” for one of your own tenancies.” What to do: Your own lettings come straight from the record. Choose Add from our lettings and pick the tenancy. A comparable shows as weak What to do: Asking rents and lettings far away, let more than a year ago or with a different number of bedrooms count for less. Add achieved rents for similar homes nearby. “That letting is already in this review's evidence.” What to do: It is already listed. Edit the existing row instead of adding it again. Common mistakes Relying on asking rents. A tribunal wants rents people agreed. Using a letting with more bedrooms or a different kind of home without saying how it differs. Stacking adjustments until the figure says what you want. Each one needs a reason the tribunal will accept. Waiting for a referral before gathering evidence. It is easiest to collect when the review is prepared. What to do next Open rent reviews How the rent band is worked out The tribunal can set a rent below today's ### 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. When it sets a market rent, the tribunal looks at the home as it stands and the terms of the tenancy. Section 14(2) of the Housing Act 1988 tells it to leave certain things out, so the condition record on a review matters. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding What to record about the home's condition and improvements, so the comparison the tribunal makes is a fair one. Your options Improvements the landlord made. A new kitchen or better heating paid for by the landlord counts. Record what was done, when and what it cost. Improvements the tenant made. Work the tenant did at their own expense, which the tenancy did not require, is disregarded: the tenant does not pay rent on their own work. Record it so nobody relies on it. Damage or neglect by the tenant. Where the home is worse because the tenant broke the tenancy's terms, the tribunal disregards that too: the rent is not lowered for it. Record what and when. Disrepair the landlord is responsible for. Not disregarded. A home in poor repair lets for less, and the tribunal will see that. How to do it Open the rent review and find Condition . Record whether the home is let furnished, part furnished or unfurnished, and a short note on its condition. Add each improvement with who paid for it, when it was done and the cost. Note any damage the tenant caused. You can update the condition record after the notice is sent, and doing so does not reset the landlord's approval. A worked example On Thursday 12 November 2026 an agent prepares a review for a three-bedroom house at £1,350.00 a month. The landlord fitted a new boiler on 9 March 2026 for £3,200.00; the tenant laid new flooring in the living room in 2025 at their own expense; and a bedroom door was broken by the tenant last winter. The agent records all three. A tribunal could take the new boiler into account, would leave out the tenant's flooring, and would not reduce the rent for the broken door. Comparable lettings are adjusted the same way. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps the condition record, landlord improvements, tenant improvements and tenant damage with the review. Lets you change the condition record at any point until the review is cancelled, without resetting approval. Carries the record into the evidence for a referral. If something goes wrong “This review has been cancelled.” What to do: A cancelled review's condition record cannot change. Start a new review if you still need one. The tenant's improvement appears under disregards What to do: That is right: the tribunal ignores improvements a tenant made and damage the tenant caused when it sets the rent. They print separately in the evidence pack. Common mistakes Pricing in the tenant's own improvements. The tribunal disregards them. Leaving out disrepair you are responsible for. The tribunal will see the home. Recording damage without a date or a photo. The tribunal needs to see it was the tenant's breach. What to do next Open rent reviews The tribunal can set a rent below today's Comparable lettings: the evidence that wins at the tribunal ### 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. Control of a record follows whoever pays for it. Evidence does not: documents already issued stay with every party who received them. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Who held each property’s file, and when. What you are deciding Whether to accept a property that is offered to you. Your options Accept. The property and its tenancies move to your account now and count towards your billing. Issued notices and rent history move with it. Leave the offer. The property stays where it is. The account it belongs to keeps it on whatever plan it is on. Nothing is offered. You still keep your own copy of anything already issued to you. How to do it Open the offer from the notification, or from Continuity . Read which property is offered and who it comes from. Select Accept and take over , and confirm. A worked example A landlord's account moves to Solo on Monday 1 February 2027 with five properties, more than the 1 that Solo covers. Moorside Lettings, which works on one of those properties, receives a continuity offer for it. Moorside accepts on Wednesday 3 February 2027: the property, its tenancy and its history move to Moorside's account, and its property is added to Moorside's next bill. The rent review the landlord began in January is still there, with its dates unchanged. What Abide.Rent does for you Offers the record to an agency already working on the property, so it is not stranded. Keeps the chain of dates unbroken: a sale, a handover or a missed payment does not start the year again. Leaves issued copies with the account the property leaves. If something goes wrong “That offer is no longer pending.” What to do: It was accepted, declined or has expired. “This property has changed hands since the offer was made.” What to do: Ask the current owner. Common mistakes Accepting without noticing it adds to your bill. Ignoring an offer and later adding the property afresh, losing its history. What to do next Open Continuity Changing agent: handing a property over What you can do on the free Solo plan ### 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. Contractors are the tradespeople you send work to. They are not Abide.Rent users: each job reaches them by email with a link to that job only. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Contractors: trades, areas, insurance and open jobs. Add a contractor: name, company, email, phone and trades. What you are deciding Which contractor to send a job to, and what they need to know before they go. Your options Send a job from a repair. The address, the tenant's description and photos go with it, and the job appears on the repair's trail. Send a certificate renewal. From a property's Repairs tab, a gas safety record, EICR or EPC that is due can be sent to a contractor, who uploads the new certificate for you to approve. Keep it as a draft. A job is saved before it is sent. Send it when you are ready; until then the contractor is not told. Find one locally. No one for a trade in an area? Find local contractors searches Google Maps listings near a postcode or town. Adding a result puts it on your list to complete: a Google listing does not confirm registration or insurance, so check those first. How to do it Open Contractors and select Add a contractor . Record their trades, email, the postcode districts they cover, their Gas Safe or NICEIC/NAPIT number and when their insurance ends. From a repair, or a certificate on a property's Repairs tab, select Send to contractor . Choose the contractor. Those covering the property's postcode district are listed first. Add the due date, what to do and any access notes, then select Email the job . Follow the job under Contractors , on the Jobs tab. A worked example On Monday 12 October 2026 the EICR at 4 Moss Lane, Bury, is due to expire on 9 November 2026. From the property's Repairs tab the agency sends the renewal to Sana Iqbal of Iqbal Electrical (NICEIC registered, covering BL9), due by 6 November 2026, with the note "Tenant in after 3pm; key safe code from the office". Sana accepts the next morning and books Tuesday 20 October 2026. Her insurance ends on 14 November 2026, so Abide.Rent reminds the agency on 15 October and again on 7 November. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps your contractors with their trades, areas, registration numbers and insurance date. Reminds you 30 days and 7 days before a contractor's insurance ends. Emails the job and records every step the contractor takes. If something goes wrong “Add the job's cost before asking the landlord.” What to do: Enter the cost, then ask for approval. “No landlord on this property has an Abide.Rent login to ask. If they approved by phone or email, record that instead.” What to do: Record how the landlord approved it. “The cost is above the landlord's limit of …” What to do: Ask the landlord to approve before the work goes ahead. “Searching local businesses is not available just now. Add the contractor by hand instead.” What to do: Use Add a contractor . “Say where to search: a postcode, a town or a property.” What to do: Give a place for Find local contractors . Common mistakes Adding a contractor with no email address: a job cannot be sent to them. Sending a gas job to someone whose Gas Safe number you have not recorded. Forgetting to check insurance after the reminder. What to do next Open Contractors How a contractor's job link works The repairs register ### 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. Awaab's Law sets deadlines for landlords to deal with damp, mould and other serious hazards. It is in force for social housing. The government is consulting on applying it to private renting; until that is decided it is not law for private landlords. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding Whether to work to the proposed stages now, or keep your own response targets. Your options Abide.Rent targets. The default. Each repair has one response target by severity, set by your account. Awaab's Law stages (proposed for private renting, not law yet). Damp and mould repairs, and any emergency, also get dated stages to work to. Your response targets still apply to everything else. How to do it Open Repairs and select Change settings . The account owner chooses the rules for damp, mould and emergencies. From then on, a new damp or mould repair, or one reported as an emergency, shows its Stages with a due time for each. Select Mark done as each stage is completed. For the written summary, write what the investigation found, what will be done and when. It is emailed to the tenants and kept on the repair's trail. The stages Emergency : make the home safe within 24 hours of being told. Damp, mould and other significant hazards : investigate within 10 working days; send the tenants a written summary within 3 working days of the investigation; start the works within 5 working days of the investigation. Working days leave out weekends and bank holidays in England and Wales. Marking the investigation done restarts the later stages from that moment. Each stage shows a Proposed standard label, because that is what it is for a private landlord today. A worked example An agency switches to the proposed stages. On Monday 9 November 2026 a tenant reports black mould in a bedroom. The repair shows: investigate by Monday 23 November 2026. The surveyor visits on Thursday 12 November 2026 and the agency marks the investigation done that day, so the written summary is due by Tuesday 17 November 2026 and the works must start by Thursday 19 November 2026. The agency sends the summary on Monday 16 November 2026, quoting £850.00 for a new extractor fan and treatment, and the tenants receive it by email. What Abide.Rent does for you Adds dated stages to damp, mould and emergency repairs when you choose the proposed rules. Counts working days without weekends and bank holidays, and restarts the later stages when the investigation is done. Emails the written summary to the tenants and keeps it on the trail. Labels every stage as a proposed standard, never as a legal deadline. If something goes wrong “This repair has no such stage.” What to do: Stages only exist for damp, mould and emergencies when the account uses the Awaab's Law stages. Change it under Repairs → Change settings . “Write the summary for the tenant: what was found and what will be done, and when.” What to do: The written summary needs at least 20 characters. Say what you found and what will happen next. “No tenant on this tenancy has an email address, so the note was not sent. Contact them another way.” What to do: Add the tenant's email to the tenancy, or give them the summary another way and note how. Common mistakes Telling a tenant these timescales are the law for private renting. They are proposed. Writing a summary that does not say what will be done and when. Marking the investigation done before it happened. The later stages run from that moment. What to do next Open Repairs The repairs register and response targets Contractors and the jobs you send them ### 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. Documents in Abide.Rent start from a template. Fields such as the tenants' names, the rent and the address are filled in from the records, and everyone signs in the order chosen. A signed document cannot be changed, and each party keeps their own copy. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Templates: edit one or start a blank template. Statutory wording is locked. Fields filled from the records, the signing order, comments and versions. What you are deciding Which template to use, who signs and in what order, and whether the wording is ready to send. Your options Use a starter template. Every account has six: a written statement of terms, an Information Sheet cover letter, a pet consent letter, a management agreement, a tenant privacy notice and a rent receipt letter. Edit or copy a template. Change the wording around the fields. Each save is a version, and you can compare any two. Wording marked as statutory is locked. Sign in Abide.Rent. Anyone with an Abide.Rent account signs there: the agency, the landlord in their own account, the tenant in their portal. Sign from an emailed link. Anyone without an account gets a link by email and a six-digit code to the same address before they can sign. No account is needed. Read and confirm. A privacy notice only needs reading. The tenant selects I have read this , which is recorded like a signature. How to do it Open Documents and select Start a document , or select Start a document on a tenancy. Choose the template. The draft opens with the fields filled in from the tenancy, the property, the landlord and your business details. Fill in anything still missing. A document cannot be sent while a field is empty, and the missing fields are listed. Check the signers and their order: by default you, then the tenants. Add someone by name and email to send them a link. Select Send for signature . The first signer is asked; each of the others is asked in turn. When everyone has signed, download the signed PDF. It ends with an audit certificate. What the audit certificate shows The SHA-256 fingerprint of the wording that was sent for signature, and for each signer their name, how they signed (in Abide.Rent, or by emailed link and code), whether the signature was typed, drawn or a confirmation of reading, the time in London, their IP address and their browser. The fingerprint of the signed PDF itself is kept by Abide.Rent and checked every time it is downloaded. What a signed document updates Preparing the statement of terms on a tenancy opens a draft from your template, with the fields filled in from the records. Complete the draft, then send the full statement to every named tenant. Each tenant confirms receipt for themselves, and the statement is recorded as given on the tenancy once all of them have. A signed statement of terms or Information Sheet cover letter makes the same records: the date the statement was given and each tenant's receipt. A signed privacy notice ticks Privacy notice given on the move-in checklist. About the starter wording The starter templates are written in plain English and you can change them to suit your business. A signature here is a simple electronic signature; it is not suitable for a deed. A worked example On Monday 12 October 2026 Northgate Residential starts a pet consent letter for the tenancy at 12 Acacia Avenue, rent £950.00 a month. The tenant's name, the landlord's name and the address fill in from the records; the agency types in "a small dog called Biscuit". The agent signs first at 10:05. The tenant, Pat Singh, is told in the portal and signs at 18:40 by drawing on a phone. Both download the same signed PDF with its audit certificate. What Abide.Rent does for you Fills each field from the records and lists any that are missing before you can send. Keeps every saved version of a template or draft, with a line-by-line comparison. Asks each signer in turn, by notification or by emailed link and code, and tells everyone when it is complete. Stores the signed PDF with its fingerprint and refuses any change once it is signed. Shows every message about the document, and whether it was delivered and opened. If something goes wrong “Some fields have no value yet. Fill them in before sending.” What to do: Fill each field listed under Fill in before sending , or add the detail to the tenancy or business details. “Locked statutory wording cannot be changed, moved out or removed. Edit only the text around it.” What to do: Leave the locked block as it is. “It is not your turn to sign this document, or it is no longer open for signing.” What to do: Signers sign in order. Wait for the person before you, or check the document has not been cancelled. “Only a draft can be edited. Cancel it and start a new one to change the wording.” What to do: Once sent, wording is fixed. Cancel and start again. “A document can have at most … signers.” What to do: Remove a signer, or split into two documents. “The stored file does not match the hash recorded when it was signed.” What to do: The stored copy may be damaged. Do not rely on it; open a ticket straight away. Common mistakes Sending a document before checking the fields that came from the record, such as names and the rent. Sending a link to a shared email address. The code goes to the same address, so whoever reads that inbox can sign. Starting a new document instead of cancelling the old one when the wording changes. Cancel the old one so its link stops working. What to do next Open Documents The written statement of terms ### 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. This is the reference list: every date Abide.Rent works out, when it is due under the law, who is asked to act, and the days on which the reminders go. Reminders go out each morning at 8:15am every day, London time. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Deadlines: each date, the law behind it and whether it is done. The calendar: every deadline, by day. What you are deciding Which dates apply to your properties, and whether the reminders reach the right person. Your options The reminders go to the right person. Nothing to do. Act on each reminder and record what you did, and the reminders stop. They go to the wrong person. Check the property's service level, the duties accepted in writing and the property's lead. A date looks wrong. Check the dates it is worked out from: the tenancy start, the date a deposit was received, the date a certificate was issued. The reminder schedules Every date below uses one of these schedules. "Before" and "late" count from the due date. Schedule When reminders are sent Standard 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 Before the date 60, 30, 14, 7, 3 and 1 days before, on the day Certificate 60, 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before, on the day, then 1, 7, 14 and 30 days late Rent review 90, 75 and 60 days before the earliest date a new rent can start Approval chase 3 and 7 days after the landlord was asked Options letter 14 days before the new rent starts Pet decision 7 days before, then 1, 7 and 14 days late Pet information on the day, then 4 and 11 days late the tenant was asked Tenancy ending 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before, on the day, then 1, 7 and 14 days late For information 30 days before, on the day Arrears 14 and 7 days before, on the day Before and at the start of a tenancy Date When it is due, and the law Schedule Asked to act Holding deposit: deadline for agreement The 15th day beginning with the day it was received, unless another day is agreed in writing (Tenant Fees Act 2019 Sch. 2) Before the date Landlord side Holding deposit: repayment Within 7 days beginning with the relevant date (Tenant Fees Act 2019 Sch. 2) Standard Landlord side Holding deposit: written reasons for keeping it Within 7 days beginning with the relevant date Before the date Landlord side Right to Rent check Before the tenancy starts (Immigration Act 2014 s.22) Standard Whoever holds the duty Written statement of terms Before the tenancy is entered into (Housing Act 1988 s.16D) Standard Landlord side Gas safety record, EICR and EPC on record Before the tenant moves in Standard Landlord side (gas: whoever holds the duty) Deposit protected and prescribed information given Within 30 days beginning with the day it was received (Housing Act 2004 s.213) Standard Landlord side During the tenancy Date When it is due, and the law Schedule Asked to act Safety record given to the tenant Within 28 days of the check (gas: GSIUR 1998 reg. 36; electrical: 2020 Regulations reg. 3) Standard Landlord side Gas safety record, EICR renewal Gas every 12 months; EICR at least every 5 years Certificate Landlord side (gas: whoever holds the duty) Next rent increase can start 52 weeks after the start or the last increase (Housing Act 1988 s.13) Rent review Landlord side Landlord's approval of a proposed rent Abide.Rent's own chase, counted from the day the landlord was asked Approval chase Landlord New rent starts (Form 4A) The date in the notice Before the date Landlord side The tenant's options before a new rent One letter to the tenant Options letter Tenant (told); landlord side told Pet request answered 28 days beginning with the request, or 7 days after the tenant's reply if more information was asked for (Housing Act 1988 s.16A) Pet decision Landlord side More information for a pet request Courtesy nudges to the tenant Pet information Tenant Right to Rent follow-up check Before a time-limited right to rent ends (Immigration Act 2014) Before the date Whoever holds the duty PRS Database registration Your region's deadline (Renters' Rights Act 2025) Standard Landlord side End of the first 12 months 12 months from the start (Grounds 1 and 1A cannot be used before) For information Told only Repair response target Abide.Rent's targets: 24 hours for an emergency, 7 days urgent, 28 days routine. Not legal deadlines Each morning at 8:20am every day once overdue Landlord side When a tenancy ends Date When it is due, and the law Schedule Asked to act Tenancy ends after the tenant's notice The end date in the notice (Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.5) Tenancy ending Landlord side; tenant told Incoming tenancy starts The start date recorded Tenancy ending Told only Ground 8 arrears threshold The date 3 months' rent (13 weeks' if weekly) is first unpaid (Housing Act 1988 Sch. 2) Arrears Landlord side Earliest date for possession proceedings The end of the notice period on the Form 3A (Housing Act 1988 s.8) Before the date Landlord side Possession hearing The date the court gives For information Told only Re-letting restriction ends 12 months after a Ground 1 or 1A notice (Housing Act 1988 s.16E) For information Told only "Landlord side" means the agency where it fully manages the property, otherwise the landlord. The other one is told. What happens to late items Reminders on the legal dates continue while an item is late: 1, 7, 14 and 30 days late, then monthly until six months late. After six months late an item is no longer sent on its own and stays in the Monday digest (7:30am every Monday). Items that were already late when they were first recorded, for example from an import, are gathered into one summary instead of a reminder each. A worked example A deposit of £1,440.00 is received on Friday 13 November 2026. It must be protected, and the prescribed information given, within 30 days beginning with that day: by Saturday 12 December 2026. Abide.Rent reminds the landlord side on Saturday 28 November, Saturday 5 December, Wednesday 9 December, Friday 11 December and on Saturday 12 December 2026. The 60- and 30-day reminders are not sent because those days came before the deposit was received. When the protection is recorded with its certificate, the reminders stop. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out each date from the facts recorded, and moves it when those facts change. Sends each reminder once per step on the list, however often the record is opened. Stops reminding as soon as the step is recorded as done. If something goes wrong A reminder keeps coming after the work is done What to do: Record the step as done on the property, with its document. Reminders stop when the step is recorded, not when it is done outside Abide.Rent. A date is a day out What to do: Most legal periods count the first day as day one. Check the date the period starts from: the day the deposit was received, the day the request arrived. Common mistakes Treating a repair target as a legal deadline. The targets are your own, and you can change them. Recording a step as done without the document. The reminder stops, but the evidence is missing when you need it. What to do next How Abide.Rent works Open the calendar Notifications and which ones you can switch off ### 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. When a tenant applies to the tribunal about a rent increase, the referral opens on the notice's page as soon as you record the application. It closes when the tribunal decides or the tenant withdraws. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding What the tribunal has asked of you, by when, and what you need to show that you did it. Your options Awaiting directions. The tribunal has the application but has not yet said what it wants. Nothing is due from you yet. Statement due. The directions have arrived with the date your statement is due. This is the deadline that matters. Statement sent. You have sent your statement and recorded how and when. Wait for the decision, or for an inspection or hearing date. Decided or withdrawn. The referral closes and the determined rent goes on the notice's record. How to do it On the notice, record the tenant's application. The referral opens. When the tribunal's directions arrive, select Record directions : the date received, the date your statement is due and the case reference. Attach the directions. Select Draft statement . Abide.Rent drafts a plain-text statement from the review, the comparable lettings, the condition record and the notice, and lists any gaps. Edit it as you need: it is a draft, not advice. Send the statement to the tribunal yourself, then select Record what you sent : the date, how you sent it (email, post, the tribunal's portal or by hand) and a copy of what you sent. Record any inspection or hearing date the tribunal gives. Each one appears in your deadlines. When the Valuation Office takes over The government intends rent referrals to move from the First-tier Tribunal to a rent service run by the Valuation Office Agency. No date has been set. When it is, Abide.Rent will show the new body on new referrals; referrals already open stay where they are. A worked example A tenant applies on Wednesday 18 November 2026 and the agent records it the same day. Directions arrive on Monday 4 January 2027: the landlord's statement is due by Monday 1 February 2027, the tenant's by Monday 15 February 2027, and the tribunal will decide on paper. The agent drafts the statement on Tuesday 19 January 2027; the draft flags that the condition record has no date for the new boiler, which she adds. She emails the statement on Wednesday 27 January 2027 and records it with the PDF she sent. The median wait suggests a decision in the spring; the referral shows the expected date. What Abide.Rent does for you Opens the referral when the application is recorded and closes it on the decision or a withdrawal. Puts the statement deadline, inspection and hearing in your deadlines and on Today. Drafts a statement from what the review already holds, and says what is missing. Keeps the directions, what you sent and when, and each file with who uploaded it. Everything attached to a referral stays available on any plan. If something goes wrong No referral appears after the tenant applied What to do: The referral opens when you record the outcome “Tenant applied to the tribunal” on the Form 4A. Record it with the acknowledgement. “Enter the date the landlord's statement is due, from the directions.” What to do: The directions letter gives the date. Enter it; it becomes a deadline on Today and the calendar. “The statement cannot be due before the directions arrived.” What to do: Check the two dates against the directions letter and correct whichever is wrong. “Attach the statement as it was sent, so the record shows what the tribunal received.” What to do: Attach the signed statement you sent, then record how it went. Common mistakes Recording directions without the statement due date. It is the one date you cannot miss. Sending the draft unread. It is a starting point built from your records. Sending the statement without recording it. Your record of what you sent, and when, is your proof. What to do next See your notices What happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal? Comparable lettings: the evidence that wins at the tribunal ### 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. Each property keeps its current gas safety record, its electrical installation condition report (EICR) and its energy performance certificate (EPC), with the date each one expires. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Compliance: expired, expiring, valid and missing. What you are deciding Which dates to record first, and who renews each certificate. Your options Record every date you hold. You are reminded 30 days before each one expires, and the compliance page shows the whole portfolio in date order. Record dates as certificates are renewed. Less to do today, but nothing reminds you about a certificate you have not entered. Leave gas blank where there is no gas supply. The property is not chased for a certificate it does not need. How to do it Open Compliance to see every property and its dates, with anything expired or expiring soon at the top. Open a property and select its Compliance tab to add or renew a certificate. Enter the expiry date, and attach the certificate as a PDF if you have it. A worked example A property's gas safety record expires on Friday 13 November 2026, its EICR on Sunday 14 March 2027 and its EPC, rated C, on Tuesday 9 May 2034. The agency is reminded about the gas safety record on Wednesday 14 October 2026. The engineer visits on Thursday 5 November; the agency uploads the new record with an expiry of Friday 5 November 2027. The old one moves to Previous certificates and the next reminder is set for Wednesday 6 October 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Reminds you 30 days before each certificate expires. Lists expired and soon-to-expire certificates first on the compliance page. Shows, for each property, who is recorded as responsible for arranging each certificate. If something goes wrong “Expiry worked out from the check date, not read from the certificate. Check it.” What to do: Compare the expiry with the certificate and correct it if it differs. A property shows Missing What to do: No current record is held. Add the certificate, or record that there is no gas supply. “Only the account that manages this property can record its gas supply.” What to do: Ask the managing account. Common mistakes Entering the date of the inspection instead of the date the certificate expires. Replacing a certificate by editing the old one. Add the new one; the old one is kept as a previous certificate. Assuming a date here means the certificate has been checked. Abide.Rent records what you enter. What to do next Open Compliance Upload a certificate and record its expiry date Which duties can an agent take on? ### 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. Whether you manage your properties yourself or through an agent decides what you set up here. Who this is for: landlords. The landlord dashboard: your work, approvals waiting and the compliance score. Your properties: managing agent, service, occupancy and the duties that stay with you. Approvals: approve, decline, ask a question or propose different figures. What you are deciding Whether to keep the records yourself, or to have your agent keep them and see them through your own account. Your options I let the property myself. You add the property, the tenancy and the compliance dates, and you prepare and serve notices yourself. An agent manages it for me. Invite your agent. The properties they manage appear on your account once they add them, and you approve rent reviews when they ask. Some of each. Add the properties you manage yourself. The ones your agent manages appear beside them, each marked with who manages it. How to do it Confirm your details , and say whether you let through an agent. Add your first property . Record the tenancy : the tenant, the rent and the date it started. Enter the compliance dates you have: gas safety, EICR and EPC. Invite your tenant to their free portal. A worked example Asha lets one flat, 4 Orchard Close, Bury, at £950.00 a month. She signs up on Thursday 1 October 2026, adds the flat and its tenancy, which began on Monday 2 June 2025, and enters an EICR expiry of Sunday 14 March 2027. Her tenant receives an invitation the same day. Asha's trial runs for 30 days. With one property she can stay on Solo afterwards at no charge, or subscribe to Portfolio at £8.99 a month. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows which of your properties you manage and which your agent manages. Keeps your own copy of every document issued for your properties, whoever prepared it. Reminds you before certificates expire on the properties you manage yourself. If something goes wrong Your properties list is empty What to do: Your agent may manage them from their account and has not invited you yet. Ask them to invite you, or add your own properties with Add property . “Appointed agents are listed in the landlord workspace.” What to do: You are in the agency view. Switch to your landlord account from your name at the top right. Approvals is empty but your agent says they sent one What to do: Check you signed in with the email the agent has on record. Ask them to check the landlord's email on the property. Common mistakes Adding a property your agent already manages here. Ask your agent to invite you to it instead, so there is one record, not two. Forgetting the tenancy start date. The earliest date for a rent increase is worked out from it. Assuming your agent has taken on every duty. Only two can pass to an agent, each in writing. What to do next Open the set-up steps Add a property Which duties can an agent take on? See the plans ### 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. The set-up steps take about five minutes and can be left and picked up again at any time, on any device. Who this is for: letting agencies. Getting started: each step ticks off once the record exists. Properties: Add property, Propose increase, Serve notice and Import are at the top. What you are deciding What to set up first, and what can wait. Your options Do the set-up steps in order. Business details, first property, tenancy, compliance dates and invitations. You finish with one complete property to look at. Import first. If you manage more than a handful of properties, import your spreadsheet and come back to the steps. They tick themselves off from your records. Skip for now. Every optional step has Skip for now, and Do this later closes the set-up. Your getting-started list stays on the dashboard until it is done or you hide it. How to do it Add your business details : the name you trade under, your registered address and a phone number. They appear on the notices and documents you prepare. Add your first property , with the landlord if you have their email address. Record its tenancy : the tenant, the rent and the start date. The tenant is invited to their free portal. Enter the compliance dates you have to hand: gas safety, EICR and EPC. Invite the landlord and tenant , then your team . Both are optional. A worked example Fern Lettings signs up on Thursday 1 October 2026. Its owner adds the business details, then 12 Market Street, Leeds, let at £1,250.00 a month since Saturday 1 March 2025. She enters a gas safety expiry of Friday 13 November 2026. The dashboard now shows one property, one tenancy and a reminder due on Wednesday 14 October 2026, 30 days before the certificate expires. She invites two colleagues as negotiators and imports the remaining 38 properties the next morning. What Abide.Rent does for you Remembers the screen you reached, so closing the page loses nothing. Ticks each step off from your real records, not from a box you tick. Shows the days left on your free trial, with no card needed. If something goes wrong A Getting started step will not tick What to do: Each step ticks itself off when the record exists. “That step is completed from your records, not by ticking it.” Add the record and the tick follows. Imported properties show no certificates What to do: The certificate columns were empty or had no expiry date. Add the dates on each property, or re-import with the expiry columns. Colleagues cannot see anything What to do: Invite them from People & access → Invite person and give them a seat. Invitations last 14 days. Common mistakes Skipping business details. Without a registered address your notices and emails show only your name. Inviting the whole team before a property exists. They arrive to an empty account. Entering the rent for the wrong period. Rent is recorded per month unless you change the frequency on the tenancy. What to do next Open the set-up steps Add your business details Import properties from a spreadsheet Team seats and what each can do ### 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. You do not pay for anything in your portal, now or later. Who this is for: tenants. Your home screen: what to do now and anything waiting on a decision. Your tenancies, with the rent and the earliest date of the next increase. What you are deciding How you want to hear about your tenancy, and whether the details your landlord or agent recorded are right. Your options Confirm your details now. Your name and phone number are right on every notice and letter from the start. Choose your emails. You pick which emails you get. Messages about a notice sent to you are always delivered, so you never miss one. Do it later. Nothing is lost. Your tenancy and your notices are there whenever you sign in. How to do it Check your details and correct anything that is wrong. Look at your tenancy : the address, the rent and the date it started. If something is wrong, tell your landlord or agent, because they keep the record. Read how notices reach you , so you know where to look when one arrives. Choose your notification preferences . A worked example Nia is invited by her letting agent on Monday 5 October 2026. She creates her account, confirms her phone number and sees her tenancy at 12 Market Street, Leeds: rent £1,250.00 a month, started Saturday 1 March 2025. A month later a rent increase notice arrives. It appears under Notices and letters with the proposed rent, the date it would start and the date to reply by, and she gets an email the same day. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps your own copy of every notice and letter, even if you move out or the property changes agent. Shows the date to act by on anything that needs a reply. Shows who can see your tenancy, under Who can see this. If something goes wrong You cannot see your home What to do: The landlord or agent links your email to the tenancy. Ask them to check the email they hold and resend the invitation. “This invitation has expired. Ask for a new one.” What to do: Invitations last 14 days. Ask the landlord or agent to send a new one. “This invitation has already been accepted. Sign in to continue.” What to do: Sign in with the same email; your tenancy is already there. Common mistakes Signing up with a different email address from the one that was invited. Your tenancy is tied to the invited address. Assuming a reply here is an application to the tribunal. The application is made to the tribunal itself. Ignoring an email because nothing is due yet. Open it: the date to act by is on the notice. What to do next See your tenancy Understand a rent increase notice I cannot see my tenancy Choose your emails ### 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. Tenants must be given a copy of the gas safety record within 28 days of the check, and a copy of the electrical safety report (EICR) within 28 days of the inspection. Abide.Rent records when the copy went and when the tenant confirmed it. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Each certificate shows whether the tenants were given a copy. What you are deciding Whether to give the copy through Abide.Rent straight away, or record that you gave it another way. Your options Give it through Abide.Rent (the default). Adding the record sends each named tenant an email and a portal notice. They open it, download it and press 'I have received it'. You see the date. Hold it back. Untick 'give to tenant' when adding it, then use 'Give to tenant' later. Until then a 28-day deadline shows on the property. A worked example A gas engineer services the boiler at 12 Acacia Avenue on Monday 12 October 2026. The agent uploads the record the same afternoon. Both tenants get an email; one confirms receipt that evening, the other on Wednesday. The property's compliance tab shows 'Received 14 October 2026'. What Abide.Rent does for you Gives the copy to every named tenant on the current tenancy, by email and in their portal. Records the date it was given and the date each confirmation came in. Shows a 28-day deadline until a copy has been given. If something goes wrong “Only gas, EICR and EPC records are given to tenants” What to do: Other documents are given another way. “The copy cannot have been given before the check on …” What to do: Check the date given. “No tenant on this tenancy has an email address or an Abide.Rent account, so the copy was not sent.” What to do: Add a tenant email, or give the copy on paper and record it as given outside Abide.Rent. Common mistakes Uploading the record before the tenancy starts and assuming the new tenants have it. Give it again once they are named on the tenancy. What to do next Your tenancies Open Compliance ### 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. When you protect a deposit, the tenant must be given the prescribed information within 30 days of the deposit being received. You can give it through Abide.Rent, with the scheme's PDF, and see when the tenant confirms receipt. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The deposit: protected and the prescribed information given, with dates. What you are deciding How to give the prescribed information, and how to show later that you did. Your options Give it through Abide.Rent. Attach the PDF the scheme produced and select Give to the tenants through Abide.Rent . The named tenants are sent it, asked to confirm receipt, and today's date is recorded as the date it was given. Record a date given another way. If you handed it over on paper or by email, edit the deposit and enter the date in Prescribed information served on . Give it again. If the tenant has not confirmed, you can give it again. The new date is recorded and the messages are kept. How to do it Open the property and select the Deadlines tab. In the deposit card, choose the scheme's PDF if you have it. Select Give to the tenants through Abide.Rent and confirm. Open Messages in the deposit card to see who was told and when, and when the tenant opened it. What Abide.Rent checks, and what it does not Abide.Rent records when the information was given and whether the tenant confirmed receipt. It does not check the wording, which comes from the deposit scheme. The evidence gaps report lists a held deposit with no date given, and one given through Abide.Rent that the tenant has not confirmed. A worked example A deposit of £1,100.00 is received on 1 September 2026 and protected with the Deposit Protection Service on 9 September 2026. On 14 September 2026 the agent attaches the scheme's PDF and gives it through Abide.Rent. The tenant opens it in their portal and confirms receipt on 15 September 2026, and the deposit card shows both dates, well inside the 30 days. What Abide.Rent does for you Sends the prescribed information to every named tenant, with the scheme's PDF if attached. Records the date given and the tenant's receipt on the deposit and in the deadline's timeline. Keeps the message trail: who was told, by which channel, and when. Lists unconfirmed receipts in the evidence gaps report. If something goes wrong “Record the deposit before giving the prescribed information.” What to do: Record the deposit first. “Attach the prescribed information document from the deposit scheme before recording the date it was given.” What to do: Attach the scheme's PDF. “The date the prescribed information was given cannot be in the future.” What to do: Enter the date it was actually given. Common mistakes Giving it before the deposit is recorded as held. Record the deposit first. Assuming the scheme's own email to the tenant is enough record. Keep the date here too. Waiting for the tenant's confirmation before counting it as given. The date given is the day it was sent. What to do next Record a deposit Open the evidence gaps report ### 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. Abide.Rent keeps one record of each property and tenancy that the letting agency, the landlord and the tenant each see from their own side. This guide explains who does what, and how Abide.Rent decides whom to remind about each legal date. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. One property, one file, shared by the agency, the landlord and the tenant. Duties: the service level decides who is asked to act; gas and Right to Rent move only in writing. What you are deciding Nothing yet. Read this first to understand who is asked to act on each step, so the other guides make sense. Your options An agency manages the property. The service level in the management agreement decides whether the agency or the landlord is asked to act. The other side is told. The landlord manages it alone. The landlord's own account is asked to act on everything. There is no agency side. You are the tenant. Your portal is free. You read notices and safety records, report repairs, give notice and answer requests. You are only reminded about things that are yours. The three parties Party What they have in Abide.Rent What they do Letting agency An agency account with seats: owner, manager, negotiator, accounts and read-only Runs the properties it manages, at the service level agreed with each landlord Landlord Their own landlord account, or a place on the agency's record Owns the property. Holds most legal duties, whoever does the work Tenant A free tenant portal Reads notices and safety records, reports repairs, gives notice, answers pet and deposit questions Who is asked to act Service level Asked to act Told Fully managed (and the service level where the agency pays the landlord a fixed rent) The agency The landlord Rent collection, or let only The landlord The agency Self-managed (the landlord's own account) The landlord — Gas safety and Right to Rent checks are the exception. They are put on the agency only where it has accepted them in writing. Every other legal duty stays with the landlord whatever the service level: the service level only decides whom Abide.Rent asks to do the work. How reminders reach people Every morning at 8:15am every day (London time) Abide.Rent works out every date on every property and sends the reminder each one is due that day. Repairs past their target are checked at 8:20am every day. Within an agency , owners and managers get legal reminders by email and in the app; negotiators get them in the app; accounts seats get billing and service messages, not legal reminders; read-only seats get none. A property with a lead sends its reminders to the lead (or whoever covers them) and the backups. Managers join from seven days before the due date; owners once it is seven days late. Tenants are only sent reminders that are theirs or that they need to know: the letter about their options before a new rent starts, the end of the tenancy after their own notice, and nudges when they were asked for pet information. Late items keep being reminded for up to six months; after that they stay in the Monday digest (7:30am every Monday). Legal reminders cannot be switched off. Service messages and suggestions can, in notification settings. The full list of dates and reminder timings is in Every legal date Abide.Rent tracks . A worked example Northgate Residential fully manages 14 Mill Lane for Helen Shaw and has accepted the gas duty in writing. The gas safety record is due on Monday 1 March 2027. Northgate's lead for the property is reminded on Thursday 31 December 2026, Saturday 30 January 2027, Monday 15 February, Monday 22 February, Sunday 28 February and on the day. Helen is told, not asked. Northgate's managers join on Monday 22 February, seven days before. If no new record is uploaded, the owners are told from Monday 8 March 2027. The tenant, Kiran, is not reminded: she is given the new record through her portal once it is uploaded and approved. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out every legal date from what is recorded, every morning. Asks the party who must act, and tells the others, according to the service level and the duties accepted in writing. Keeps legal reminders on for everyone who must act; they cannot be switched off. If something goes wrong The landlord gets reminders the agency should get What to do: Check the property's service level. On let only or rent collection the landlord is asked to act; change the agreement if the agency now does the work. Every manager gets every reminder What to do: Give the property a lead under its team settings. The lead and backups are reminded first; managers join 7 days before the due date. Common mistakes Assuming a fully managed agreement moves the legal duty to the agency. It moves the work, not the duty, except for gas safety and Right to Rent accepted in writing. Leaving a property without a lead in a large agency, so every manager is reminded about everything. What to do next Every legal date Abide.Rent tracks Open your dashboard Notifications and which ones you can switch off ### How billing works Portfolio is £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. Solo is free for 1 property. Portfolio is charged for the number of properties your subscription is licensed for: at least the 3 included, and at least the properties on your working list. Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and no VAT is charged. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Billing: the plan, the next charge, invoices and the payment method. Plans and what Portfolio would cost. What you are deciding Whether to pay monthly or yearly, and who in your business looks after the card and the invoices. Your options Pay monthly. £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. The charge changes only when you change the licence. Pay yearly. £75.51 a year for the first 3 properties, 30% less. Properties added to the licence part-way through are charged for the rest of the year only. Stay on Solo. Free for 1 property. You can read and export everything you have recorded. How to do it Open the plan page . Before your first payment, under Before you pay , say what kind of business the account is for and give one reference: a VAT number, a company number, or a reference such as your PRS Database or deposit scheme number. This is asked once. Choose monthly or yearly and select the button to subscribe. Enter your card details on the secure payment page. Abide.Rent does not see or store your card number. To add a property beyond your licence, raise the licence on the plan page first. During the free trial this costs nothing. Find each invoice under Invoices , where it can be downloaded. What you are charged for The number of properties your subscription is licensed for. £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. Then £2.00 per extra property. Starting or ending a tenancy does not change the charge. Changing the licence does. Rent reviews, notices and evidence packs are included on Portfolio. On Solo, a one-off pack is £29.00 for a rent increase notice or £120.00 for an evidence pack. If a payment fails You are told by email and on the plan page. You have 14 days to update your card. If the payment is still unpaid after that, your account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted. VAT Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and no VAT is charged. A business registered for UK VAT accounts for it under the reverse charge. Your receipts and invoices say so. Who pays The account that added a property pays for it. A landlord or an agent you invite to a property you already pay for is not charged for it. A worked example An agency on Portfolio is licensed for 60 properties and pays £82.99 a month. In November it wants to take on five more, so it raises the licence to 65 on the plan page; from then the monthly charge is £87.99. Its invoices are billed to the legal name and registered address in its business details. A card payment fails on Monday 2 November 2026; the agency has 14 days, to Monday 16 November 2026, to update the card before the account moves to Solo. What Abide.Rent does for you Charges for the licence you set, never for how many tenancies are running. Asks once, before the first payment, what kind of business the account is for. Shows who each invoice is billed to (your legal name, registered address and VAT number) from your business details. Tells you by email and on the plan page if a payment fails, and keeps Portfolio on while you fix it. If something goes wrong “That promo code is not recognised. Check the spelling and try again.” What to do: Check the code. “Promo codes apply to Portfolio, not to one-off packs.” What to do: Use the code when subscribing to Portfolio. “The card was declined. Update the card from billing and try again.” What to do: Update the payment method under Billing . “Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only. Confirm your business details under Before you pay, then try again.” What to do: Fill in Before you pay on the plan page: what kind of business the account is for and one reference. It is asked once. “This workspace is licensed for … properties. Raise your licence on the billing page to add more properties.” What to do: Raise the licence on the plan page, then add the property. During the free trial this costs nothing. Common mistakes Letting only one person hold the billing seat. Give the accounts seat to whoever pays the invoices. Adding a property beyond the licence. Raise the licence first, then add it. Ignoring a failed-payment email. Nothing is deleted, but new reviews and notices stop after the grace period. What to do next Open your plan page See your invoices See the plans Your business details ### 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. The score is a quick way to see which properties need attention. It is a prompt, not a legal finding. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. A property’s compliance score and the items behind it. What you are deciding Which properties to deal with first. Your options 90 to 100: in good order. Every record that applies is valid and not close to expiry. 60 to 89: needs attention. Something is expiring, due soon or missing. Below 60: at risk. Several records are missing, expired or overdue. What counts Gas safety record, EICR and EPC: valid counts 1, expiring within 30 days counts half, missing or expired counts 0. PRS Database registration: counts once your region's registration window has opened. For a let property: deposit protection, the deposit prescribed information, and the written statement of terms or Information Sheet. Records that do not apply yet are left out rather than marked down, so a vacant property is not scored on a deposit it does not hold. A worked example On Monday 12 October 2026 a let flat in Bury has a valid gas record, an EICR expiring in three weeks, an EPC on file, a protected deposit, prescribed information given and a statement of terms given. Five records count 1 and one counts half: 5.5 out of 6, a score of 92. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the score on each property, on your dashboard and in the monthly landlord statement. Lists the records behind it, worst first, so you know what to fix. If something goes wrong The score does not change after adding a certificate What to do: Check the certificate's dates and that it is on the right property; refresh the page. “No EPC band is recorded, so the minimum standard cannot be checked.” What to do: Record the EPC band on the property's Compliance tab. Common mistakes Reading a high score as proof of compliance. It only reflects what has been recorded. What to do next Open Compliance The monthly compliance statement ### 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. Every rent review shows a band: the range a market rent for the home is likely to fall in. The band always says where it came from. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding How much to rely on the band when you choose the figure to propose. Your options Comparable lettings. Where the review, or your comparables for the same district and size, hold enough lettings, the band is built from them. This is evidence. Your own lettings. Otherwise, from at least three of your own lettings of the same size, current or ended, started in the last year, in the same postcode district or within two miles of the home. Also evidence. Area average (ONS). With too few lettings, the band falls back to the Office for National Statistics' average rent for the area. This is an area average, not evidence. Housing allowance rate. Where there is no ONS figure, the Local Housing Allowance rate is shown as a floor. Also not evidence. Why the source matters The tribunal decides on lettings of similar homes nearby. An area average describes a whole district, all sizes and conditions together, so it tells you little about one home. When the band says it is an area average, add comparable lettings to the review before relying on it. Reports that total up possible increases count only reviews backed by evidence. Area-average figures are shown separately as indicative. A worked example On Monday 16 November 2026 an agent opens a review for a two-bedroom flat in BL9. At first the band reads £980.00 to £1,120.00, labelled as an area average, because the agency has only two two-bedroom lettings in BL9. She adds an ended letting from 1 March 2026 just over the district line, 1.4 miles away, and two let-agreed letters. The band now reads £1,080.00 to £1,185.00 from comparable lettings, and the area-average note disappears. What Abide.Rent does for you Says on every band which source it came from and whether that source is evidence. Uses your ended lettings as well as current ones, and those within two miles across a district line. Keeps area-average figures out of the totals of evidence-backed increases. If something goes wrong The band says “This is an area average, not evidence.” What to do: No comparables or similar lettings of your own were found nearby. Add comparable lettings to the review to base the band on evidence. The opportunities report shows no £ uplift for a property What to do: Uplift is only counted where the band comes from evidence. Area-average rows show an indicative figure apart from the total. Common mistakes Quoting an area average to a landlord as the market rent. Forgetting ended lettings. A home you let last spring is still good evidence. Proposing at the top of an area-average band without any lettings behind it. What to do next Open rent reviews Comparable lettings: the evidence that wins at the tribunal Will this rent increase survive a challenge? ### I cannot see my tenancy Your tenancy appears once your landlord or letting agent invites you using the email address you signed up with. You can sign up on your own, but a tenancy can only be added by the landlord or letting agent who keeps the record of it. Who this is for: tenants. Your tenancies list. What you are deciding How to get your tenancy to appear. Your options Ask to be invited at the address you use here. Your tenancy appears the next time you sign in. You do not need to sign up again. Sign in with the address that was invited. An invitation is tied to the address it was sent to. Your landlord or agent does not use Abide.Rent. They do not have to. You can keep your account, and your tenancy will appear if they start using it. How to do it Check which email address you signed up with. It is shown under Your account . Ask your landlord or letting agent to invite you to your tenancy using that exact email address. When they do, you receive an email. Your tenancy then appears the next time you sign in. A worked example Sam signs up on Monday 5 October 2026 with his personal address and sees no tenancy. His agent had invited his work address on Friday 2 October; that invitation lasts 14 days, to Friday 16 October. Sam asks the agent to send the invitation to his personal address instead. It arrives on Tuesday 6 October, and his tenancy is there when he next signs in. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the email address you signed up with under Your account. Adds your tenancy to your account as soon as an invitation to your address is accepted. Keeps an invitation to the address it was sent to, so nobody else can use it. If something goes wrong “This invitation was cancelled. Ask for a new one.” What to do: Ask the landlord or agent to send a new invitation. You signed up yourself and see nothing What to do: The tenancy is linked to the email the landlord holds. Ask them to check it. Common mistakes Creating a second account with another address. Ask for the invitation to be sent to the one you use. Waiting without telling your agent which address you signed up with. What to do next Check your account's email address Getting started as a tenant Open a ticket ### 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. Everyone signs in with their own email address. Nobody shares a password, and each person sees only what concerns them. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Invite: email, the property or tenancy, and whether they are a tenant, landlord or colleague. What you are deciding Who to invite, to what, and in which role. Your options A colleague. Joins your agency on a seat you choose. They see the agency's properties, within what the seat allows. A landlord. Sees their own properties and nothing else of yours, and can approve rent reviews when you ask. A tenant, joint tenant or guarantor. Sees the one tenancy they are invited to. Tenant access is always free. Your letting agent (if you are a landlord). They join as an agency and the properties they manage for you appear on your account once they add them. How to do it Select Add at the top of any page, then Invite someone . Enter their email address. Choose the property or tenancy the invitation is for. Choose what they are: a colleague in your agency, a landlord, a joint tenant, a permitted occupier or a guarantor. Send the invitation. They receive an email with a link, choose a password, accept the terms and are taken to a short welcome for their role. Invite as you add a property When you add a property and enter the landlord's or the tenant's email address, they are invited automatically. You do not need to do anything else. A worked example On Monday 5 October 2026 an agency owner invites a new negotiator and, for 12 Market Street, the landlord. Both invitations last 14 days, to Monday 19 October 2026. The negotiator accepts on Tuesday and lands on a welcome screen that confirms their details, not the agency's set-up. The landlord has not accepted by Friday; the owner sees the invitation still waiting under Invitations and sends a reminder. What Abide.Rent does for you Ties each invitation to the email address it was sent to, so nobody else can use it. Shows which invitations are still waiting, and lets you cancel one. Tells you when an invitation is accepted. If something goes wrong “Enter the email address to invite.” What to do: Type the person's email. “That kind of invitation cannot be sent from this workspace.” What to do: Landlords and tenants are invited from the agency or landlord account that holds the property. “This invitation has expired. Ask for a new one.” What to do: Resend from People & access → Invitations . Invitations last 14 days. “This invitation link is not valid. Use the link in the most recent email.” What to do: Only the newest invitation link works. The invitation email does not arrive What to do: Check the address, and ask them to check spam. Resend from Invitations . Common mistakes Inviting a landlord as a colleague. A colleague sees every property the agency manages. Sending an invitation to a shared mailbox. Each person needs their own address. Expecting a tenant to appear before a tenancy exists. Add the tenancy first. What to do next Invite someone See invitations still waiting Who can see what ### 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. Marking a repair fixed asks the tenants, in the update they receive and on the repair in their portal, whether it is fixed. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. A repair: the tenant’s description, status, and every update with who and when. What you are deciding What to do with each answer. Your options Yes. Recorded on the repair's history with the time. The repair stays fixed and you can close it. Still a problem. The tenant says what is still wrong. The repair goes back to in progress and you are told. Its original target date stays as it was, so it may show as past target straight away. No answer. After seven days the tenant gets one reminder. After 14 days without an answer, "Not confirmed" is recorded on the history and nothing more is sent. How to do it Mark the repair fixed, with a note for the tenant if it helps. Watch for the tenant's answer on the repair, or in the repairs report. If it is reopened, read the tenant's note and arrange the next visit. A worked example A dripping kitchen tap is reported on 30 September 2026 and marked fixed on 5 October 2026. The tenant answers on 6 October 2026 that it still drips at night. The repair goes back to in progress with its routine target of 28 October 2026 unchanged, and the agency is told. A second visit fixes it on 9 October 2026, the tenant says yes, and the repairs report shows it as fixed with one reopening. What Abide.Rent does for you Asks the tenant in the update message and on the repair. Reopens the repair and tells you when the tenant says it is still a problem. Sends one reminder, then records "Not confirmed" after 14 days. Shows each answer in the repairs report. If something goes wrong “Say what is still wrong, so it can be looked at again.” What to do: If you answer that it is not fixed, write what is still wrong. “You have already confirmed this repair is fixed.” What to do: Your answer is recorded. Report a new repair if something else breaks. “Only the tenant says whether the repair is fixed.” What to do: Agents and landlords mark it fixed; the tenant confirms. Common mistakes Closing a repair the tenant has said is still a problem without a note on why. Expecting the target to reset when a repair is reopened. It keeps its original date. What to do next Open Repairs The repairs register ### 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. Migrating your properties, tenancies, landlords and documents into Abide.Rent should not be a project you have to run. Whatever state your records are in — another system's export, one spreadsheet or several, or folders of PDFs — open a ticket and the Abide.Rent team imports it and checks it with you. There is no charge for this, whatever plan you are on. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Tell us where your records are now and roughly how many properties. New import: drop a file, map the columns, review, done. What you are deciding Whether to import your records yourself with the spreadsheet importer, or send them to us to do. Your options Send them to us. Best when records are spread across systems, spreadsheets and folders, or you have more than a few dozen properties. We map your columns, attach your documents to the right property and tell you what we could not place. Import a spreadsheet yourself. Quick when you already have one tidy spreadsheet. You can still open a ticket if any rows do not import. A mix. Import the properties yourself today and send us the documents and history to add. How to do it Select Help , then Open a ticket , and choose Migrating your data to Abide.Rent (free) . Or use the link on the import page. Say where your records are now: the system's name, or "spreadsheets" or "folders", and roughly how many properties. Attach what you have. Spreadsheets (CSV or Excel), Word files and a ZIP of a folder can each be up to 25 MB, and you can attach up to five files, 40 MB in all on one message; send more in a reply. For more than that, say so and we send you a secure upload link. Tell us anything we should know: properties you no longer manage, landlords who should not be invited yet, or tenancies with a notice in progress. We reply on the ticket with a plan and a date, import into your account, and send you a short list to check before anyone is invited. What to include A list of properties. Address and postcode at least; property type and bedrooms if you have them. Tenancies. Tenant names and email addresses, rent, how often it is paid, and the start date. The date of the last rent increase if you have it. Landlords. Name, email address, and which properties are theirs. Compliance dates. Gas safety, EICR and EPC expiry dates, or the certificates themselves as PDFs. Deposits. Scheme, amount and the date it was protected. Documents. Tenancy agreements, certificates, past notices and inventories. A ZIP of the folders as they are is fine: name folders by address if you can. What not to send Passwords, API keys or bank details. We never need them, and we will ask you to remove them from a ticket. Anything about a tenant beyond what the tenancy needs. How we keep it safe Files you attach are kept with the ticket, seen only by the Abide.Rent support team, and used only to set up your account. Nobody is invited or emailed until you have checked the result and said so. A worked example On Monday 2 November 2026 a six-person agency migrating from another system sends a CSV export of 180 properties, a spreadsheet of landlords, and a ZIP of certificate PDFs in folders named by address. The team maps the export's columns, imports the properties and tenancies, attaches 412 certificates to the right homes, and lists eleven rows it could not place. The agency checks the list, fixes three addresses, and invites its landlords on Monday 9 November 2026. What Abide.Rent does for you Imports properties, tenancies, landlords and compliance dates into your account, and attaches documents to the right property. Lists anything it could not place, so nothing goes missing quietly. Leaves invitations switched off until you say the import is right. If something goes wrong You are not sure what to send What to do: Send what you have: an export from your old system, spreadsheets, folders of PDFs. We list what is missing after we look. The ticket form refuses an attachment What to do: “Screenshots, PDFs, spreadsheets (CSV, XLSX), Word files and ZIP folders only.” For larger files, say so on the ticket and we send a secure upload link. Your records look different after the import What to do: You check every import before it counts. Reply on the ticket with what is wrong and we fix it. Common mistakes Tidying everything first. Send it as it is; sorting it is our job. Including passwords or bank details in a spreadsheet. Remove those columns before you attach it. Inviting landlords and tenants before the import has been checked. What to do next Open a ticket for a free migration Import properties from a spreadsheet Add a property ### 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. Open the property, then Tenancy . Moving in holds the deposit, Right to Rent and the move-in list. Notice and moving out holds the tenant's notice to leave, the move-out list and the deposit settlement. The written statement and documents to sign are under Agreement and documents . Tenants see the same lists under Safety and Leaving in their portal. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Moving in: every step, with what is still open. Moving out: add the check-out report and settle the deposit. What you are deciding Whether everything that should be on record is there before the tenancy starts, and what, if anything, comes out of the deposit at the end. Your options Sign off the list. The landlord side signs the list as it stands. Steps still open need a note saying why. The tenant is then asked to confirm it. Settle the deposit. Propose deductions with evidence. The tenant agrees or disputes each one; nothing is taken without agreement or the scheme's decision. Return it in full. Send a proposal with no deductions. The tenant confirms, and the release is recorded. How to do it Record the landlord's address for notices on the landlord's page. It must be in England or Wales. Move-in sign-off waits for it. Work through Moving in . Steps that are records elsewhere tick themselves; tick the rest as they are done. Select Sign off moving in . The tenant confirms the list, or says what is not right, from their portal. At the end, ask each tenant for a forwarding address, and record the check-out inspection. In Deposit at move-out , select Start settling the deposit . Any rent arrears are added from the rent account. Add each other deduction with its details and evidence, then Send to the tenant . When the tenant agrees, release the money through the scheme within 10 days and select Record the release . If they dispute, revise and send again, or refer it to the scheme and record its decision. What must be on record The landlord's address for notices in England or Wales: on the written statement, on rent demands (Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, sections 47 and 48) and in the deposit prescribed information. Each tenant's contact address for the end of the tenancy : the deposit prescribed information asks for it. A relevant person : anyone other than the tenant who paid the deposit, such as a parent or a council scheme, with their address and contact details. What a sign-off records Each sign-off keeps the list exactly as it stood, with a fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash). If a step changes afterwards, the list says so until it is signed again, and the tenant is asked to confirm the new list. When the tenant gives notice The notice is the first step of moving out: its end date is the move-out date every other step works towards. The landlord side should acknowledge it (the agency on fully managed homes, the landlord on let-only and rent collection); if nobody has after seven days, Abide.Rent reminds them. A notice can only be withdrawn if both sides agree. If the end date passes and the tenancy is still open, Abide.Rent says so: record the move-out if they have gone, and take legal advice if they are still there. The deposit The money moves through the deposit scheme. Abide.Rent records what was proposed, what the tenant answered, the dates and the split. Anything claimed beyond the deposit, such as arrears larger than it, is shown separately: it is a debt to recover, not something the deposit can cover. A worked example On Monday 12 October 2026 an agent starts settling a deposit. The rent account shows half a month's rent in arrears, which is added for them. They add a cleaning charge with the invoice and send it. The tenant agrees both on Tuesday 13 October, so the release date is Friday 23 October. The agent releases the money through the scheme and records the split; the deposit is marked "Returned with agreed deductions". What Abide.Rent does for you Ticks move-in and move-out steps from the records they come from. Keeps every sign-off, answer and release with the date and who did it, and emails each side. Reminds the tenant before the answer date, and the agency before the release date. If something goes wrong “That step is completed from your records, not by ticking it.” What to do: Record the thing itself (the deposit, the Right to Rent check) and the step ticks. “Choose the result of the check: right to rent confirmed, time-limited, or no right to rent shown.” What to do: Pick the result of each Right to Rent check. “Why are … steps still open?” What to do: Abide.Rent asks for a reason before signing off moving in with steps open. Write it, or finish the steps. “Add a named tenant to the tenancy before proposing deductions.” What to do: Deductions go to named tenants: add them first. “Only the landlord, or the agent recording the landlord's written approval, can approve these deductions.” What to do: Ask the landlord to approve, or record their written approval. Common mistakes Taking a deduction because it seems fair. Without the tenant's agreement or the scheme's decision it is not yours to keep. Asking for professional cleaning. You can ask for the home back as clean as it started; requiring a paid cleaner is not allowed. Signing off move-in before the landlord's address for notices is recorded. Abide.Rent will not let you. What to do next Open your properties How pet requests work ### 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. Moving from a spreadsheet or another system is quicker when the whole record comes across, not just the address. These optional columns bring the tenants, the deposit and the key dates with each property. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding Which columns to include, and what to put right after the import. Your options Named tenants. Up to four: tenant_1_name, tenant_1_email and tenant_1_phone, then tenant_2_… to tenant_4_…. A tenant needs a name, email and phone to be recorded; one without is reported as a warning. The deposit. deposit_amount, deposit_received_on, deposit_scheme (DPS, TDS or mydeposits), deposit_reference and deposit_protected_on. Write none or 0 where no deposit was taken. Documents given. information_sheet_served_on or statement_of_terms_served_on, and written_agreement (yes or no). Right to Rent. right_to_rent_checked_on records a check made outside Abide.Rent on that date. How to do it Download the sample file from New import to see every column. Column names are matched on their letters and digits, so Tenant 1 Email and tenant_1_email both work. Fill in what you have. Every new column is optional. Import the file. If its headers look like a known export, such as an agency system or an OpenRent-style sheet, the page says so. Read Still to do on the imported records : for example, 7 properties have no EICR. Each line links to the list where it is put right. Invite tenants and landlords to the portal later, from Tenants or Landlords, when you are ready. Nobody is emailed An import records people; it never contacts them. No tenant, landlord or colleague is emailed or invited because they were in a file. Dates that are only warnings A date the deposit's prescribed information was given, or the date the last rent increase notice was served, is accepted as a reminder, not as a record. Attach the scheme's document on the tenancy, or record the past notice under Notices, so it counts. A worked example An agency moves 64 tenancies on Thursday 3 December 2026 from an export with tenant names, emails, phones, deposit amounts and schemes. All 64 import. The summary reads: 9 tenancies have no Right to Rent check recorded, 5 have a deposit with no protection date, 3 have no named tenant (their phone numbers were missing) and 11 properties have no EICR. Nobody was emailed. Over the next week the agency adds the protection dates, a deposit of £1,100.00 among them, uploads the EICRs, and invites the tenants when the records are complete. What Abide.Rent does for you Reads the new columns, matching headers on their letters and digits and common names other systems use. Records named tenants, the deposit, document dates and the Right to Rent check on each tenancy. Counts what each import left to do and links to where to fix it; each row shows its own gaps. Sends no emails and no invitations. If something goes wrong No tenant was invited after the import What to do: That is deliberate: an import emails nobody. Invite tenants from each tenancy when you are ready. The result lists gaps such as “No EICR” What to do: These are records the file did not have. Each line links to where you add them. A prescribed information date gave a warning What to do: It is kept as a note to check, because the date alone does not prove the right information was served. Common mistakes Leaving out tenants' phone numbers. A tenant without email and phone is not added. Writing the scheme's full name in an unusual form. Use DPS, TDS or mydeposits. Expecting a prescribed information date in the file to count on its own. Attach the scheme's document. What to do next Start an import Import properties from a spreadsheet Record a deposit ### 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. Most records have a Notes tab beside Record history : notices, rent reviews, pet requests, repairs, contractor jobs, agreements, invoices, landlords and tenants. A property has its own Notes section, which also shows the notes on its records. Team notes in the menu lists every note you can see. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Notes: formatting, @mentions, who can see it and pin to the top. What you are deciding Who should see the note, and whether anyone needs to be told about it now. Your options Your team only. Only your own team can read it. Notes on an agreement, invoice, landlord or tenant are always for your team only. Your team and the landlord. On a property's records, an agency can share a note with the landlord, and a landlord can share one with their agent. Mention someone. Type @ and pick a name. They get an email and a notification that opens the record the note is on. How to do it Open the record and select Notes . Write the note. Use B , I and the list buttons for bold, italic and lists. Type @ and the first letters of a name, then pick from the list with the arrow keys and Enter. Property manager tells whoever looks after the property. Under the box, Will notify shows who will be told. Choose who can see it, if you are offered the choice, and select Save note . Who you can mention Only people who can read the note. In a note for your team, that is your colleagues (and, where you have branches, the ones who cover this property). In a note shared with the landlord, the landlord's people too. Changing or removing a note You can change your own note for 15 minutes after writing it; the earlier wording is kept. The author, an owner or a manager can remove a note with a reason. The words go, but the fact that a note existed, who wrote it and why it was removed stay on record. Tenants Tenants never see notes, on any record. A worked example On Wednesday 14 October 2026 a negotiator opens a rent review for 49 Essex Drive, selects Notes and writes "Comparables support the proposed rent, @Property manager please check before Friday". Ellis, the property manager, gets an email and a notification. Selecting it opens the review's Notes tab, where Ellis replies. What Abide.Rent does for you Tells each person you mention, by email and in Abide.Rent, with a link to the record. Keeps every version of an edited note and a record of removed ones. Warns you before saving something that looks like a password, door code or card number. If something goes wrong “Only the author can change a note, and only for 15 minutes after writing it.” What to do: Write a new note to correct an older one. “Notes cannot be added to this kind of record.” What to do: Add the note to the property or the record it belongs to. “Only the agency managing this property can share notes with its landlord.” What to do: Choose Team only , or ask the managing agency. Common mistakes Putting a key-safe code or alarm code in a note. Notes are not a safe place for those. Expecting a tenant to see a note. Write to the tenant from the record itself instead. What to do next Open Team notes Who can see what ### 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. Everything that concerns you is listed under Notifications, whether or not you also get an email about it. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Notifications: deadlines, certificates, notices and pet requests. Turn each kind on or off for email and in Abide.Rent. Some legal deadlines stay on. What you are deciding Which emails you want, and which you would rather read in Abide.Rent only. Your options Keep every email on. You hear about each change as it happens. Switch off the optional ones. Reminders and summaries stop arriving by email. They still appear under Notifications. Choose how often summaries arrive. Every working day: a list at 07:00 of what is overdue, due today, waiting on you and due this week. Or Mondays only, or no summaries. Statutory messages. A notice served on you, and messages like it, are always sent. They cannot be switched off, here or from an unsubscribe link. How to do it Open Notifications , then Preferences . Each kind of message has its own switch. Move a switch and it is saved at once. Switches shown as locked are statutory messages. Under Summary emails , choose Every working day , Mondays only or No summaries . A worked example A landlord with one managed property gets three kinds of email in October 2026: a reminder on Wednesday 14 October that a gas safety record expires on Friday 13 November, a request on Monday 19 October to approve a rent review, and a weekly summary. He switches the weekly summary off. The reminder and the approval request still arrive, and the summary's contents are still under Notifications. His tenant cannot switch off the email that tells her a notice has been served. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps every message under Notifications, with a count of the ones you have not read. Sends certificate reminders before each expiry date. Emails agency and landlord staff a list at 07:00 on their working days of what needs them, each item with its own link. Courtesy reminders about the same things stay in Abide.Rent instead of arriving one email at a time. Puts an unsubscribe link in optional emails only; opening the link changes nothing until you confirm. If something goes wrong You still get an email you switched off What to do: Some legal deadlines cannot be switched off. Everything else follows your preferences from the next email. “Push notifications are not switched on yet.” What to do: Use email and in-app notifications for now. You did not get the daily list What to do: It is sent on your working days only, never while you are on leave, and only when something needs you. Check Summary emails , and that Confirmations and summaries is on for email. Common mistakes Switching reminders off and then relying on memory for expiry dates. The compliance page still lists them. Looking for a way to stop statutory messages. There is none. What to do next Open your preferences See your notifications Who can see what ### 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. Registering a property on the PRS Database is done by the landlord on GOV.UK. The register pack gathers everything the form will ask about one property, so the landlord, or the agent helping them, has it at hand. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding Which properties are ready to register now, what to put right first, and when each registration renews. Your options Ready to register. Every item is on file. Open the pack, copy each value into the form on GOV.UK and register. Items to fix first. The pack says what is missing, such as a gas safety record or the landlord's address for service, and links to where to add it on the property. Registered. Both numbers are recorded. The renewal date is set a year on and appears in your deadlines. Leave it to Abide.Rent. Not possible. Abide.Rent does not register for you or pay the fee: there is no way for software to register on a landlord's behalf. How to do it Open PRS Database and select Prepare registration beside a property. Fix anything marked missing. Each missing item links to the page where it is added. The landlord opens the government's service from the pack's link, registers and pays the yearly fee. Copy each value from the pack into the form with its Copy button. Record the Landlord Registration Number and the Property Registration Number on the property. The renewal date is set a year on. Renewals Registration lasts a year. Each registered property shows the date it renews, and the renewal appears in your deadlines as PRS Database renewal , with reminders before it is due. Renew on GOV.UK, pay the yearly fee again, and record the renewal here. Fees over the next 12 months The PRS Database page shows, month by month, how many first registrations fall due in each region's window and how many renewals, with the fees they add up to. The figures come from the government's yearly fee; the landlord pays it to the government, not to Abide.Rent. A worked example An agency manages 18 properties in the West Midlands. On Monday 4 January 2027 it opens PRS Database: 12 packs are ready and 6 have items to fix, four with no EICR on file and two with no address for service for the landlord. By Friday 15 January 2027 the agency has uploaded the EICRs and the landlords have given their addresses. Each landlord registers on GOV.UK with the pack beside them, and the agency records the numbers. When it opens the page on Wednesday 1 December 2027, the fee table shows 18 renewals due in January 2028, and the agency tells the landlords. What Abide.Rent does for you Builds a register pack for each property: every item the form asks for, ready or missing, with a copy button. Links each missing item to where it is put right. Shows the region's window and deadline, and the yearly fee as the government sets it. Tracks each renewal date and reminds you before it falls due. Shows the fees over the next 12 months, month by month. If something goes wrong The pack shows items as missing What to do: Each missing item links to where it is fixed, such as the property's certificates or the landlord's details. Fix those, then reopen the pack. The window has not opened for your region What to do: Registration opens region by region. The pack shows the opening date and deadline for the property's region. Abide.Rent did not register the property What to do: Abide.Rent prepares the pack; you register on GOV.UK yourself, then record the two numbers here so the renewal reminder starts. Common mistakes Expecting Abide.Rent to register or renew for you. The landlord does both on GOV.UK. Registering with an expired safety record. The pack marks an expired record as missing. Forgetting to record the renewal. The deadline stays open until you do. What to do next Open PRS Database Getting your records ready for the PRS Database The PRS Database: what it is and when it opens ### 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. A deposit belongs to the tenancy, not to the property, so it is recorded with the tenancy. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The deposit section: protected, and the prescribed information given. What you are deciding What to record about the deposit, and when. Your options A deposit is held. Record the amount and the date it was received. Abide.Rent counts 30 days from that date and lists the deadline until a protection date is recorded. No deposit was taken. Say so. The tenancy then shows that no deposit is held, and no deadline is counted. Not recorded yet. The tenancy shows the deposit as not recorded, so you can see at a glance which tenancies still need an answer. How to do it Open the property and go to the tenancy. Open Deposit and choose whether a deposit is held. Enter the amount in pounds and the date it was received. Choose the scheme that holds it and enter the date it was protected. Enter the date the prescribed information was given to the tenant. Save. A worked example A tenancy begins on Monday 2 November 2026 and the agent receives a deposit of £1,442.00 the same day. Abide.Rent shows a deadline of Wednesday 2 December 2026, 30 days on. The agent protects the deposit with a scheme on Thursday 5 November 2026 and gives the tenant the prescribed information on Friday 6 November 2026. Once both dates are recorded the deadline is shown as met, and the tenant's portal shows the scheme and both dates. What Abide.Rent does for you Counts 30 days from the date the deposit was received and shows the deadline with your others. Shows the tenant the amount, the scheme and the dates on their tenancy. Keeps the dates with the tenancy for as long as the record exists. If something goes wrong “Enter the deposit amount.” What to do: Type the amount in pounds and pence. “Record the deposit as held before giving the prescribed information.” What to do: Save the deposit first, then give the prescribed information. “Attach the prescribed information document from the deposit scheme (PDF) before giving it to the tenants.” What to do: Download the prescribed information from the scheme and attach it as a PDF. “Enter the address of the person who paid the deposit.” What to do: If someone else paid the deposit, give their address: the prescribed information must name them. Common mistakes Recording the protection date and forgetting the prescribed information date. They are two separate dates. Entering the date the tenancy began instead of the date the money was received. Assuming Abide.Rent protects the deposit. It records what you tell it and does not contact the scheme. What to do next See your compliance dates See your properties Upload a certificate and record its expiry date ### 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 only helps you if you can show when and how it was served. Recording service keeps that with the notice. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Service: method, date, who served it and the proof. What you are deciding How to serve the notice, and so which day it counts as served. Your options Hand delivered or courier. Enter the day it was handed over. Abide.Rent counts it as served that day. Royal Mail Special Delivery (registered post). The form's note names registered post where the tenancy agreement names no method; Royal Mail Special Delivery is the service that replaced it. Enter the tracking number and the posting date. Abide.Rent counts it as served on the second working day after posting. Weekends and England and Wales bank holidays are not working days. First class post or Royal Mail Signed For. Use these only if the tenancy agreement provides for them: the form's note does not name them. Enter the posting date. Abide.Rent counts it as served on the second working day after posting. Email with acknowledgement. The tenant opens the notice in their portal. The times it was opened and acknowledged are stored. How to do it Open the notice. It must be signed before service can be recorded. Choose how it was served. Enter the date it was posted or handed over, and the tracking or consignment reference if there is one. Select Record service and confirm. What happens next The notice shows as served, and the tenants named on it can open it in their portal and respond. A certificate of service is added to the notice, with the method, the dates and who recorded it. If the notice was sent by email and the email could not be delivered, you are told on the notice so that you can serve it another way. A worked example A Form 4A is posted first class on Friday 18 December 2026. The second working day after posting is Tuesday 22 December 2026, because Saturday and Sunday are not counted. Posted on Thursday 24 December 2026 instead, the same notice would count as served on Wednesday 30 December 2026: Christmas Day, the weekend and the bank holiday on Monday 28 December are all skipped. A new rent on that notice could then start no earlier than two months after 30 December. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the day a posted notice counts as served and shows it before you confirm. Adds a certificate of service to the notice. Shows the notice to the tenant only once service is recorded. If something goes wrong “Sign the prescribed form before recording service” What to do: Sign the notice first. “Service of this notice is already recorded. It cannot be recorded a second time.” What to do: Service is fixed once recorded. If it was wrong, open a ticket. “Enter … It is how posting can be shown if the tenant disputes it.” What to do: Add the certificate of posting or tracking reference. “Email service is only valid if the tenancy agreement allows it or each tenant has agreed in writing.” What to do: Record the email service agreement on the tenancy, or serve by post or hand. Common mistakes Entering the day you expect the post to arrive as the posting date. Recording service before the notice has actually left your hands. Forgetting that a posted notice counts as served two working days later when you chose the start date. What to do next See your notices Why is my notice date being rejected? What happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal? ### 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. Section 21 has ended. A landlord who needs the property back uses a Section 8 notice on Form 3A, on one or more grounds. This guide follows the arrears route. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Arrears: the amount, the periods and the Ground 8 threshold date. The rent account on the tenancy. What you are deciding Whether, and on which grounds, to serve a Section 8 notice, and when. Your options Ground 8 (mandatory). At least 3 months' rent (13 weeks' if weekly) unpaid when the notice is served and at the hearing. four weeks' notice. Grounds 10 and 11 (discretionary). Some rent unpaid, or persistent late payment. Four weeks' notice. The court decides whether it is reasonable. Wait. Keep recording payments. Abide.Rent shows when the Ground 8 threshold will be reached. The journey at a glance When Step Who The law Each rent day Rent due and payments recorded on the rent account Landlord side — 14 and 7 days before, and on the day Reminders that the Ground 8 threshold is coming Abide.Rent — Threshold reached 3 months' rent unpaid (Universal Credit payments due but not yet paid are taken off) — Housing Act 1988 Sch. 2 Ground 8 Serve Form 3A on every named tenant, with the deposit protected Whoever has authority to serve Housing Act 1988 s.8 four weeks later The earliest date for court proceedings on Grounds 8, 10 and 11 — s.8(4AA) At the hearing Ground 8 needs the threshold still met Court Sch. 2 Ground 8 Other grounds have other periods: four months for Grounds 1, 1A, 2 and 6 (and Grounds 1 and 1A cannot be used in the first 12 months), two weeks for Grounds 12 and 13, and Grounds 7A and 14 can start straight away. What each party does Letting agency or landlord Keep the rent account up to date; the threshold date moves with each payment. Before serving, check the deposit is protected; Abide.Rent warns if it is not. Generate Form 3A, check the grounds and dates, sign and serve on every named tenant, and record how. On a rent collection service, the agency can serve only with the landlord's written instruction. Tenant You are told what the notice means: it does not end the tenancy on its own; a court decides. Free advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice. When Abide.Rent reminds whom The Ground 8 threshold date: 14 and 7 days before, on the day it. The earliest date for proceedings: 60, 30, 14, 7, 3 and 1 days before, on the day it. A possession hearing: 30 days before, on the day it. A worked example Rent is £1,200.00 a month, due on the 1st, and nothing has been paid since Tuesday 1 December 2026. The rent due on 1 December, 1 January and 1 February is 3 months' rent, so Abide.Rent shows the Ground 8 threshold date as Monday 1 February 2027. The landlord side is reminded on Monday 18 January, Monday 25 January and on 1 February 2027. Form 3A on Grounds 8, 10 and 11 is served by hand on Tuesday 2 February 2027. The earliest date for proceedings is Tuesday 2 March 2027. At the hearing at least £3,600.00 must still be unpaid for Ground 8. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the threshold date from the rent account and moves it with each payment. Checks the notice period for every ground chosen and takes the longest. Warns before a notice is generated while the deposit is unprotected. If something goes wrong The Ground 8 date keeps moving What to do: It moves with each payment. A part payment can take the arrears below the threshold. “The deposit is not recorded as protected.” What to do: Record the protection before serving, or take advice: an unprotected deposit can stop some notices. Common mistakes Serving the day the threshold is reached without checking it is still met at the hearing. Using Ground 1 or 1A in the first 12 months of the tenancy. What to do next Ground 8: rent arrears Section 8 grounds and notice periods Open notices ### 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. Who handles a repair depends on the service level for the property. Abide.Rent shows who is responsible, and keeps the documents and dates a repair or an incident often turns on. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. A repair and everything that has happened. What you are deciding Who deals with a repair or an incident at this property, and what record to keep. Your options Fully managed. The agency deals with day-to-day repairs and keeps the landlord informed. Rent collection or let only. Most repairs stay with the landlord. The agency passes the report on. Self-managed. The landlord deals with it directly. An incident that may matter later. Keep a dated note of what happened, who reported it and what was done. How to do it Open Duties to see who is recorded as responsible for the property. Reply to the tenant in writing, with the date, saying who is dealing with it. Keep the report, the reply and any invoice with your own records for the property. If a certificate is renewed as a result, for example a gas safety record after a boiler is replaced, upload the new one. A worked example A tenant emails her agent on Tuesday 10 November 2026 to say the boiler has stopped. The property is fully managed, so the agency instructs an engineer the same day and tells the landlord. The boiler is replaced on Friday 13 November at a cost of £1,860.00. The agency uploads the new gas safety record, expiring Saturday 13 November 2027, and keeps the tenant's email, its reply and the invoice on its own file. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows who is recorded as responsible for each duty at each property. Shows the tenant who their landlord and agent are, with contact details. Keeps certificates and their dates with the property. If something goes wrong “Only a tenant or occupier on this tenancy can report a repair here.” What to do: Agents and landlords use Record a repair . “Choose the property or tenancy.” What to do: Pick the home before saving. Common mistakes Assuming the tenant knows who to contact. Their portal shows the landlord and the agent; make sure both are right. Dealing with a repair by phone and keeping no note. Forgetting to upload a certificate that the repair replaced. What to do next Open Duties Open Compliance Agreements and service levels Open a ticket ### Reporting a repair Report a repair to your landlord or agent in writing. Their contact details are on your tenancy. Report a repair in Abide.Rent, with photos, and follow it until it is fixed. Your landlord or letting agent is told straight away. Who this is for: tenants. Report a repair: the home, what is wrong and photos. What you are deciding Who to tell about a repair, and how. Your options In Abide.Rent. Select Repairs , then Report a repair . Say what is wrong, where, and how urgent it is, and add up to five photos. You can see each change of status and any notes, and you are told when it changes. Your agent, if the property has one. Your tenancy's Contact tab shows the agent's phone number and email address. Where an agent manages the property, start with them. Your landlord. Shown on the same tab. Use this where the landlord manages the property themselves. In writing. An email or a letter gives you a dated record of what you reported and when. If you phone because it is urgent, follow it with an email. How to do it Select Repairs , then Report a repair . Say what is wrong, where in the home, and how urgent it is. If you smell gas, leave the home and call the National Gas Emergency number on 0800 111 999 first. Add photos if they help, and the best times for a visit. Follow the repair under Repairs . If it is urgent, phone too: your tenancy's Contact tab shows the agent or landlord. A worked example On Tuesday 10 November 2026 Nia's boiler stops. At 08:40 she reports it in Abide.Rent as urgent, with two photos: "The boiler at 12 Market Street stopped heating last night. I am in all day Wednesday and Thursday." Fern Lettings, her agent, marks it acknowledged at 09:15 and books an engineer for Wednesday 11 November, with a note she can read under Repairs. She is told when it is marked fixed. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps your repair, your photos and every change of status with dates, and tells you when it changes. Shows who your landlord and agent are, with their contact details. Shows the agent's redress scheme where the agency has given it. Keeps your own copy of every notice and letter on your tenancy. If something goes wrong “Choose the property or tenancy.” What to do: Pick the home. “One of the files is too large. Photos can be 5 MB and PDFs 10 MB.” What to do: Use smaller photos. If you smell gas What to do: Leave the property, do not use switches or flames, and call the gas emergency number before reporting it here. Common mistakes Reporting by phone only, with nothing in writing. Writing to an old address for a previous agent. The Contact tab shows who manages your home now. What to do next Report a repair Open your tenancy What you can do in the tenant portal Open a ticket ### Reports across your properties Six read-only reports: compliance risk, tenant responses, evidence gaps, PRS readiness, landlord scorecard and team activity. Reports look across every property you can see and list the rows that need attention. Each one explains what it counts, exports to Excel and has a button on every row that opens the record or starts the fix. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Reports: read-only views across the account, each exports to CSV. Compliance risk: what is due, for which property and landlord. What you are deciding Which report answers the question in front of you, and what to do with the rows it lists. Your options Compliance risk. Certificates and duties that have passed their date, or fall due within 30, 60 or 90 days, by property and landlord, with each property's compliance score. Tenant response tracker. Every served Form 4A, Section 8 and other notice, the day it counts as served, the tenant's response and the days since service. Evidence gaps. Notices with no tenant receipt or delivery evidence, safety records given without the tenant's confirmation, and tenancies with no statement of terms, Information Sheet or deposit prescribed information recorded. PRS readiness by region. How many properties in each region have a Property Registration Number, beside that region's registration window. Landlord scorecard. Each landlord's properties, average compliance score, overdue items, open notices and last monthly statement. Team activity. What each person with a seat did in the last 30 days, from the audit trail. Agencies only, for owner and manager seats. How to do it Open Reports under Insight. Each report shows a live count beside its name. Open a report. Read the short explanation at the top: it says exactly what is counted. Filter, sort or search the table. Select rows and choose Export to Excel to take them into a spreadsheet. Select the button on a row to open the record or start the fix. Limits A report lists up to 2,000 rows. If there are more, it says so at the top; filter the list or export it in parts. Every seat can read the reports, including read-only seats, except Team activity. Abide.Rent keeps no record of the How to Rent guide, so Evidence gaps does not check it. A gap is a missing record in Abide.Rent, not proof that something was not done. A worked example On Tuesday 13 October 2026 an agency opens Compliance risk. It lists 14 rows: 3 expired, including a gas safety record that expired on Thursday 1 October 2026, 6 within 30 days and 5 within 90. The agent filters by landlord to see Lorna Bright's 4 properties, exports them to Excel for a call, and opens the PRS readiness report: 2 properties in the West Midlands still have no PRN, and that region's window opens on Tuesday 15 December 2026. What Abide.Rent does for you Builds every report from the properties you can see, so another account's records never appear. Uses the same dates and compliance score as each property's own page. Says when a report has been cut at its row limit. If something goes wrong “Reports are in agency and landlord workspaces.” What to do: Switch to your agency or landlord account. A report shows fewer rows than you expect What to do: A filter may be on. Clear it, or choose All . Common mistakes Reading the compliance score as a legal finding. It is Abide.Rent's own prompt from the records held. Expecting registration to happen from the PRS report. Registration is the landlord's to make; Abide.Rent does not file it. What to do next Open Reports Open Compliance risk Gas safety, EICR and EPC dates ### Respond to a pet request Approve a request, refuse it with a written reason, or ask the tenant for more information. When a tenant asks to keep a pet you are notified, and the request appears under Pet requests with the date an answer is due. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. A pet request: the dates and the evidence emails. What you are deciding Whether to approve, refuse, or ask for more before you decide. Your options Approve. Written consent is stored with the request and the tenant is told. Refuse. You enter the reason in writing. The tenant receives it and it is kept with the request. Request information. Say what you still need. The tenant is emailed, and the due date moves to 7 days after they reply if that is later. Do nothing. The request is shown as overdue once the due date has passed. How to do it Open Pet requests and find the request. Select Open file to read what the tenant wrote. Choose to approve, refuse or request information. For a refusal, enter the reason in writing. Confirm. The tenant is told by email and in their portal. A worked example A request for a small dog arrives on Monday 9 November 2026, due by Monday 7 December 2026. The flat is leasehold and the head lease needs the freeholder's consent, so the agent records that on the request and writes to the freeholder the same day. The freeholder agrees on Wednesday 25 November. The agent approves the request on Thursday 26 November 2026, eleven days inside the deadline, and the tenant's portal shows the written consent. What Abide.Rent does for you Lists every open request with its due date, soonest first. Keeps the wording of the answer and the time it was sent. Lets you record that a head lease needs someone else's consent. If something goes wrong “Only the landlord or the appointed agent decides a pet request.” What to do: Ask the landlord or appointed agent. “Write what you still need before sending.” What to do: Say what information you need. “Choose approved or refused.” What to do: Pick a decision. Common mistakes Refusing without a written reason. Waiting for a third party without recording why. Note it on the request. Replying by email outside Abide.Rent. The request stays open and becomes overdue. What to do next Open Pet requests Pet requests and the 28-day deadline Which duties can an agent take on? ### 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. Gas, electrical and energy certificates each have their own cycle. This guide shows the cycle, who acts, and what the tenant should receive. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Compliance: reminders run from 60 days before each expiry. Certificates on one property, with each tenant's copy. What you are deciding When to book each check, and whether the tenant has had their copy in time. Your options Book the gas check up to two months early. The next due date stays a year from the old one, so nothing is lost by booking early. The check finds a problem. Record the remedial work and its date. For electrical work the law gives 28 days, or less if the report says so. There is no gas at the property. Mark it as having no gas supply, and Abide.Rent stops asking for a gas safety record. The cycle for each certificate Certificate How often Copy to the tenant Who arranges it Gas safety record Every 12 months; a check up to 2 months early keeps the due date Existing tenants within 28 days of the check; new tenants before they move in Landlord side, or the agency where it accepted gas in writing Electrical installation condition report (EICR) At least every 5 years, or sooner if the report says Existing tenants within 28 days; new tenants before they move in; a prospective tenant within 28 days of asking; the council within 7 days of asking Landlord side Energy performance certificate (EPC) Valid for 10 years; needed before the property is next let, not renewed during a tenancy Before the tenant moves in Landlord side Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms Checked on the first day of each tenancy; repaired or replaced when reported faulty — Landlord side What each party does Letting agency or landlord When the first reminder arrives, book the engineer. Abide.Rent gives the tenant at least 24 hours' notice of the visit in writing. Upload the new record. Abide.Rent reads its dates; check them and approve. Send it to the tenants. Abide.Rent records when each one was sent and when each tenant confirmed it. Record any remedial work and its date. Tenant You are told when an engineer will visit. Let them in, or ask to rearrange. You receive each new record in your portal under Safety and can confirm you have it. Report a faulty alarm as a repair. When Abide.Rent reminds whom Renewal: the party who arranges it, 60, 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before, on the day, then 1, 7, 14 and 30 days late the expiry date. The other side is told. A copy not yet given to the tenant: 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 the 28th day. A required certificate that is not on record: the same days, counted to the tenancy start. A worked example A gas safety record expires on Monday 1 March 2027. The agency, which accepted gas in writing, is reminded from Thursday 31 December 2026. The engineer visits on Monday 15 February 2027, after the tenant was given notice on Friday 12 February. Because the check is within two months of the due date, the next one is due on Wednesday 1 March 2028, not 15 February. The record is uploaded the same day, sent to the tenant, and she confirms it on Tuesday 16 February 2027. The seven-day owner escalation never starts. What Abide.Rent does for you Reads the dates on an uploaded certificate and asks you to check them before they count. Keeps each tenant's copy and confirmation separately, so a new tenant is never treated as having had an old copy. Tells the tenant in writing before a contractor visit. If something goes wrong The next due date did not move after an early check What to do: That is the rule for gas: a check up to two months early keeps the old due date, so the next one is a year after that date. The tenant does not show as having the record What to do: Send it from the property's compliance tab. Each tenant's copy is recorded separately. Common mistakes Renewing an EPC mid-tenancy because it expired. It is needed before the next letting, not during a tenancy. Uploading the record but not sending it to the tenant within 28 days. What to do next Giving tenants the gas safety record and EICR Every legal date Abide.Rent tracks Open compliance ### 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. An agency's best evidence of the work it does is a regular, factual statement to each landlord. Abide.Rent writes it from the records you already keep. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The landlord’s monthly compliance statements. What you are deciding Whether each landlord gets the statement automatically, and whether to send a particular month by hand. Your options Leave it on. Each landlord with current properties gets the statement for the month just ended, at 9am on the 1st. They can open every past statement in their own Abide.Rent account and download the PDF. Send a chosen month now. Pick any of the last twelve months — the month just ended is selected for you. A finished month is reported as at its last day; the current month shows the position today. Once a month has been sent it is kept exactly as the landlord received it and cannot be sent again. Turn off monthly sending for one landlord. Some landlords prefer a call. You can still send any month by hand. How to do it Open Landlords and choose the landlord. Open the Statements tab. Choose the Month , then Preview to see what it will say, or Send it. Download any past statement as a PDF from the list. A worked example Northgate Residential manages six properties for Ashworth Holdings. On Sunday 1 November 2026 at 9am Ashworth's director receives the October statement: a score of 83 out of 100, one EICR expiring on 20 November, and a rent increase notice served on 14 October that the tenant has accepted. He opens it on his phone, downloads the PDF for his accountant and replies to book the electrician. What Abide.Rent does for you Writes the statement from the records in Abide.Rent, in your agency's name. Sends it on the 1st for the month just ended, skips any month you already sent by hand, and keeps every past statement for both of you. Shows the same score you see on the property, with the items behind it. If something goes wrong “Statements can be prepared for … onwards.” What to do: Choose a month from the date shown. “The … statement was already sent on …” What to do: Download it from the list below instead of sending again. The landlord did not receive it What to do: Check the landlord's email on their record and resend. Common mistakes Treating the score as a legal opinion. It counts records; it does not judge them. Leaving records out of date and sending the statement anyway. Update certificates and deposits first. What to do next Open Landlords How the compliance score works Gas safety, EICR and EPC dates ### 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. Each tenancy can have a rent account. Abide.Rent works out the rent due from the tenancy's rent and how often it is paid, including any increase on record, and you record what was received. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The rent account: balance, schedule and payments. Record a payment: date, amount, how it was paid and the reference. What you are deciding When the account starts, what was owed on that day, and how you will record payments: by hand, or from your bank's CSV. Your options Record payments by hand. Enter the date received, the amount, how it was paid and the bank reference. A note is for your team; the tenant never sees it. Import a CSV. Upload a file with a date, an amount and a reference for each payment. You see every row first: rows that match a rent period, rows that will be added anyway, rows already recorded and rows that cannot be read. Only the good, new rows are saved. Correct a mistake. Select Reverse on the payment. A reversal entry is added beside it and the balance goes back up. Nothing is ever deleted, so the account stays a true record. Start part way through a tenancy. Choose a later start day and enter the balance owed on that day. A part period at the start is charged by the day. How to do it Open the property and select the Rent tab. Choose the day the account starts and any balance brought forward, then select Start the rent account . Record each payment as it arrives, or import a CSV from your bank. Check the balance, the number of rent periods owed and the Ground 8 line at the top. Select Download PDF for a dated copy to send to the tenant or to file with a possession claim. How the balance is worked out Rent is shown as due on the first day of each rent period, for monthly, weekly, fortnightly and four-weekly rent. A served rent increase counts from the date the new rent starts, unless the tenant referred it to the tribunal. The balance is the rent due less the money received. The Ground 8 level Abide.Rent shows when the balance reached 3 months' rent (or 13 weeks' rent where rent falls due by the week), measured against the rent in force that day, and when it fell back below. The arrears must be at that level both when a notice is served and at the hearing; whether the ground is made out is for the court. The same figures feed the Ground 8 deadline, the Section 8 notice and the possession bundle. Who sees it The agency or landlord account that manages the tenancy keeps the rent account. A landlord whose home an agent manages can read it, and the tenant can read their own, without your notes. A worked example A tenancy at £950.00 a month starts on 1 July 2026 and the account is started that day. The tenant pays on 1 July and 1 August 2026, then nothing more. On 1 October 2026 the balance is £1,900.00, two months' rent, and the Ground 8 level of £2,850.00 has not been reached. A CSV from the bank on 5 October 2026 shows a payment of £500.00 on 2 October 2026 with the reference "FLAT 2 RENT": it is added, and the balance falls to £1,400.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the rent due each period from the tenancy, including recorded increases. Keeps a running balance and the arrears in money and in rent periods. Shows the dates the balance reached and left the Ground 8 level. Skips a CSV row with the same date, amount and reference as a payment already recorded. Records every payment, import and reversal with who did it and when. Adds the account to the possession bundle for a Section 8 notice. If something goes wrong “Start the rent account before recording payments: choose the day it starts and any balance brought forward.” What to do: Start the rent account first. “The date received is before the rent account starts on …” What to do: Check the date, or start the account earlier. “This tenancy has a rent account in Abide.Rent. Record the payment there instead.” What to do: Record payments on the Rent tab, not as an arrears entry. “Rent frequency must be monthly, weekly, fortnightly or every four weeks.” What to do: Choose how often the rent is due under the tenancy. Enter the rent for one of those periods, not a converted figure. Common mistakes Starting the account from the tenancy start date when only recent payments are to hand. Start it later and enter the balance owed on that day. Recording a payment twice and leaving both. Reverse the second one. Treating reaching the Ground 8 level as the end of the matter. A notice and the court's decision are separate steps. What to do next See the arrears report Ground 8: rent arrears Open Reports ### 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. Every repair a tenant reports in their portal, or that you record for them, goes on one register. Each has a kind, a severity, a response target and a trail of every change with who made it and when. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Repairs: targets at the top, every repair below. Record a repair: choose the property, then what is wrong and how urgent. What you are deciding How urgent each repair is, what to do next with it, and what response targets your account works to. Your options Emergency. A danger to health or safety, or serious damage: a gas smell, no heating in cold weather, a major leak. The default target is 24 hours. Urgent. Affects daily life but is not dangerous: no hot water, a broken toilet where there is a second one. The default target is 7 days. Routine. Everything else: a dripping tap, a sticking door. The default target is 28 days. Change your targets. The account owner can set different targets under Repairs . New repairs use them; a repair already reported keeps the target it was given. How to do it Open Repairs from the menu. Overdue repairs are flagged; filter by status, severity or property, or export the list to Excel. Open a repair to see what the tenant wrote, their photos and the trail. Change its status as it moves on: acknowledged, visit booked, in progress, fixed, closed. Add a note for the tenant with each change if it helps, such as the visit date. Use an internal note for anything only your team should see, such as what the landlord has approved. Select Send to contractor to email the job to one of your contractors. Targets are yours, not the law's The response targets are Abide.Rent's own, set by your account. They are not legal deadlines. Awaab's Law timescales for investigating and fixing hazards apply to social housing; they are not in force for private landlords, and Abide.Rent does not say they are. Each open repair still appears in your deadlines and calendar on its target date, and you are told once if it passes that date. Who is told A new repair goes to the agency where it manages the property, and to the landlord where the landlord deals with repairs. The tenant is told each time the status changes. Internal notes are never shown to the tenant or to a landlord in another account. A worked example On Wednesday 14 October 2026 at 07:50 a tenant at 12 Acacia Avenue reports "No hot water" as urgent, with two photos of the boiler display. With the default targets, Abide.Rent shows it as due to be fixed by 21 October 2026. At 09:10 the agency marks it acknowledged and sends it to Prestwich Plumbing & Heating, who book a visit for Thursday 15 October 2026. The engineer replaces a diverter valve for £185.00 and marks the job done; the agency marks the repair fixed and the tenant is told straight away. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps every report, photo, status change and note, with who and when. Shows each open repair in your deadlines and calendar on its target date. Tells you once when a repair passes its target, and tells the tenant when its status changes. Lets you export the register to Excel. If something goes wrong “Choose a status.” / “Write the note before saving.” What to do: Pick the new status and write the note. “Only an emergency repair can be booked as an emergency visit.” What to do: Change the severity to emergency first, if it is one. A repair keeps showing in deadlines What to do: Mark it fixed or closed. The tenant was not told What to do: Status changes tell the tenant; internal notes do not. Common mistakes Calling a response target a legal deadline in a letter to a tenant. It is your own standard. Writing something for your team only in a note without ticking Internal . Leaving a repair open after it is fixed: it keeps showing in deadlines until it is marked fixed or closed. What to do next Open Repairs Contractors and jobs Agreements and service levels ### 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. The tribunal decides the market rent for the home. It cannot set more than you proposed, but nothing stops it setting less than the tenant pays today when the evidence points that way. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding Whether to propose an increase at all, and at what figure, when comparable lettings sit close to or below the current rent. Your options Propose with evidence above today's rent. Lettings of similar homes support the increase. The risk of a cut below today's rent is low. Propose when the evidence is mixed. Some lettings sit below today's rent. A referral could bring the rent down, so a smaller increase may be wiser. Do not propose this year. Where the market sits below today's rent, a notice invites a referral that could lower it. Waiting keeps the current rent. How to do it Add comparable lettings to the review before you send anything. Read the review's warning. Where the lettings sit below today's rent, Abide.Rent says so and names the market figure. Show the landlord: the approval email carries the same sentence and the evidence so far. Decide the figure, or decide not to propose, with that risk in view. A worked example A house has been let at £1,400.00 a month since 2023. On Tuesday 10 November 2026 the landlord wants £1,500.00. The agent adds four comparable lettings; three strong ones let between £1,325.00 and £1,375.00. The review warns that the lettings sit below today's rent, around £1,350.00. If the tenant referred a £1,500.00 proposal and the tribunal followed that evidence, the rent could fall to £1,350.00, £50.00 a month less than now. The landlord decides not to propose this year and to look again on 1 November 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Warns on the review when comparable lettings sit below today's rent, with the market figure. Puts the same sentence in the landlord's approval email, with how strong the evidence is so far. Shows published decisions so you can see how similar proposals fared. If something goes wrong The warning shows even though the proposal is modest What to do: It shows on every review: the tribunal sets the market rent, which can be below today's rent. It turns stronger when your comparables sit below the current rent. The landlord asks why the approval email mentions a lower rent What to do: Point them to this guide. It is a risk to weigh before serving, not a prediction. Common mistakes Treating the current rent as a floor. It is not one. Proposing because a year has passed rather than because the market has moved. Keeping the warning from the landlord. They carry the risk and should decide. What to do next Open rent reviews Comparable lettings: the evidence that wins at the tribunal What the tribunal can and cannot do ### 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 several reads a batch of certificates for you: the type, the date of the check, the expiry date, the certificate number and the address. Each file becomes a row you check and confirm. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Upload several: choose the files, then check each date before it counts. What you are deciding Which rows to confirm as read, which to correct first, and which to fill in by hand. Your options Read clearly. The type, the dates and the property were all found. Glance at the row and confirm it. Check this. Something was missing or worked out rather than read, such as an expiry date taken from the check date. Correct it against the certificate, then confirm. Fill in by hand. Little or nothing could be read, often a photo or a scan with no text. Enter the details from the certificate. How to do it Open Compliance and select Upload several , or open a property's Compliance tab and select Upload several there. Drop up to 10 files, or select Choose files . PDFs, JPEGs and PNGs of up to 10 MB each are accepted. Wait while each file is read. Each row shows what was found and a label: Read clearly, Check this or Fill in by hand. Check each row against its certificate: the type, the property, the date of the check and the expiry date. Correct anything that is wrong. Tick Confirm on each row you are happy with. A row that still needs a type, a property or an expiry date cannot be confirmed. Select Save . Only confirmed rows are saved, each as a new certificate on its property. How the reading works Abide.Rent looks for the words a certificate uses, such as "Gas Safety Record", "Electrical Installation Condition Report" or "valid until", and for UK dates and postcodes. Where the assistant is switched on, it reads the file instead, including photos. Either way, what it finds is a suggestion: you confirm every row. A property is matched by the postcode and the address on the certificate, among the properties you can see. On a property's own Compliance tab, every row is for that property. A photo is stored as a one-page PDF, so every certificate file can be downloaded in the same way. A worked example On Tuesday 13 October 2026 an agent drops 7 files onto Compliance: 4 PDFs and 3 phone photos. Five are read clearly: three gas safety records, an EICR and an EPC, each matched to its property by postcode. A photo of a gas safety record for 22 Market Street, Bury, BL9 0AA is marked Check this: it was checked on Thursday 10 September 2026, and its expiry, Thursday 9 September 2027, was worked out from that date. The engineer wrote Wednesday 1 September 2027 on the record, so the agent corrects it. The last photo is blurred and is filled in by hand. The agent confirms all 7 rows and saves 7 certificates. What Abide.Rent does for you Reads the type, dates, certificate number and address from each file, and suggests the property. Saves nothing until you confirm the row, and saves each confirmed row the same way as a single upload: the previous certificate of that type is kept as a previous certificate. Gives new gas safety records, EICRs and EPCs to the current tenants through Abide.Rent, unless you untick that box. If something goes wrong “Choose at least one file.” / “Upload up to … files at a time.” What to do: Choose the files, in batches if there are many. “That upload has expired. Upload the file again.” What to do: Upload again and confirm the rows promptly. “Confirm at least one row.” What to do: Tick the rows you have checked. “Figures were extracted automatically. Check the original before relying on them.” What to do: Check each date against the certificate before saving. Common mistakes Confirming a row without opening the certificate. A date read from the wrong line of a busy certificate is still wrong. Accepting an expiry date marked as worked out. Use the date the engineer or assessor wrote. Dropping more than 10 files at once. Upload the rest in a second batch. What to do next Open Compliance Upload a certificate and record its expiry date Gas safety, EICR and EPC dates ### 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. Knowing what the tribunal can decide tells both sides what a referral can and cannot change. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Decisions: proposed rent against the rent the tribunal set. One decision: the home, the proposed and determined rent, and the case summary. What you are deciding Whether a referral is worth making, or worth resisting, given what the tribunal is able to do. Your options It can confirm the proposed rent. If the decision comes after the date in the notice, the new rent starts on the first rent day on or after the decision, not from the date in the notice. It can set a lower rent. In 60% of published decisions since the Act came into force, the rent set was below the proposal. The typical reduction was 5%. It can delay the start. To a date it directs, within two months of the decision, where the usual start would cause the tenant undue hardship. It cannot set a higher rent. The landlord's proposal is the most the tribunal can award. Better evidence protects the figure; it cannot raise it. It cannot backdate. The rent runs from the first rent day on or after the decision. There is no back rent for the time the referral took. Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal market-rent decisions published 1 March–12 October 2026 (outcomes: decisions under the Renters' Rights Act rules; waits: all 2026 decisions), as of 12 October 2026. A worked example A landlord proposes £1,325.00 against a current rent of £1,250.00, to start on Monday 1 February 2027. The tenant refers it. Suppose the tribunal decides on Tuesday 23 February 2027 that the market rent is £1,300.00. Rent is due on the 1st, so the rent becomes £1,300.00 from Monday 1 March 2027, the first rent day after the decision. The landlord receives £1,250.00 until then, with nothing owed for February. Had the landlord's evidence shown a market rent of £1,360.00, the most the tribunal could have set was still £1,325.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows published decisions, so you can see how proposals like yours fared. Keeps the evidence behind a proposed rent with the review. Keeps the notice, the referral and the evidence pack together on the notice's page. If something goes wrong “Determined rent is above the proposal, so this is treated as a pre-1 May 2026 regime case.” What to do: The decision was under the old rules. Under the new rules the tribunal cannot award more than the landlord asked. Common mistakes Proposing low and hoping the tribunal will go higher. It cannot. Expecting back rent from the date in the notice. The rent runs from the first rent day on or after the decision. Budgeting on the proposed rent from the proposed date once a referral is made. What to do next Read published tribunal decisions What happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal? See your notices ### 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. The tenant portal is your own view of your tenancy. Tenant access is always free. Who this is for: tenants. What to do now and what is waiting. Every notice and letter, with a copy to keep. What you are deciding What you want to do today: read something, reply to something, or ask for something. Your options Read a notice or letter. Anything served on you through Abide.Rent appears on your tenancy with the date it was served. Reply to a rent increase notice. Accept it, ask a question about it, or say that you are referring it to the tribunal. A notice takes one reply. Ask to keep a pet. Send the request and see when an answer is due. Give notice to leave. Record your notice to quit and keep a dated copy. Who can see what You see only your own tenancies, including past ones. Your landlord and their agent see the tenancy you share with them. They do not see any other tenancy you have, or anything else about you. Select Who can see this in the menu to see everyone with access to your tenancy. Your copies are yours Every notice and letter you receive is kept on your tenancy. You keep access to them if you move out, if the property changes agent, or if the landlord stops using Abide.Rent. A worked example Nia's tenancy at 12 Market Street shows rent of £1,250.00 a month, started Saturday 1 March 2025, managed by Fern Lettings. On Wednesday 4 November 2026 a rent increase notice appears, proposing £1,325.00 from Monday 1 February 2027. On Monday 9 November she also asks to keep a cat and sees that an answer is due by Monday 7 December 2026. Both items sit under What happens next on her home page, soonest first. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows what happens next on your home page, soonest first. Keeps your own copy of every notice and letter. Shows your landlord's and your agent's contact details. If something goes wrong “This action is not available in the tenant portal.” What to do: Ask the landlord or agent to do it. Common mistakes Replying to a notice before reading all of it. A notice takes one reply and it cannot be changed here afterwards. Assuming something on your tenancy is wrong and saying nothing. Tell your landlord or agent: they keep the record. What to do next See your tenancy Read your notices and letters Understand a rent increase notice Open a ticket ### 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. Landlords pay for compliance and carry the legal risk, so they want to know what was done without chasing their agent. The activity feed shows them, read straight from the records. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What you are deciding If you are a landlord: what to check or ask about. If you are an agency: what your landlord will see, so nothing surprises them. Your options Glance at the home page. The card What was done on your properties shows the headline, how many things need a look, and the latest eight items. See everything. Select Show all for the full list, filtered to the last 7, 30 or 90 days and to one property. Look at what needs attention first. Items in red, such as a repair past its target or a tenant who referred a rent increase, are counted and listed first. Agencies: see a landlord's view. On a landlord's page, the card What this landlord sees shows the same feed for that landlord's properties. It is shown for a person, not for a company. What is in it, and what is not The feed covers notices served and tenants' replies, safety records added and given to tenants, deposits protected and their information served, repairs reported, closed or past their target, inspections, Right to Rent checks and PRS Database registrations. Each item names the account that did it and opens the record. It never includes notes, internal messages or tenants' contact details. Tenants do not see it. A worked example On Monday 7 December 2026 a landlord with three flats managed by an agency opens her home page. The card reads: 9 things done across 3 properties in the last 30 days, 1 to look at. At the top, in red, a damp repair at Flat 2 reported on 20 November 2026 is past its target. Below it: a gas safety record added at Flat 1 on 2 December 2026 and given to the tenant the same day, and a deposit of £950.00 protected at Flat 3. She asks the agency about the repair rather than about everything. What Abide.Rent does for you Builds the feed from the records themselves, across every account that manages the landlord's properties. Counts and lists first anything that needs attention. Lets an agency see exactly what one landlord sees, before the landlord asks. If something goes wrong The feed is empty What to do: Nothing was recorded on your properties in the period. Choose 90 days, or check with your agent that they keep their records in Abide.Rent. You cannot see the agent's notes What to do: Notes and internal messages are never in the feed. Ask the agent if you need more detail. Common mistakes Recording work in a note instead of on the record. A note does not appear in the feed. Leaving a repair open after it is fixed. It shows as past its target. Expecting the feed to show messages. It shows what was done, not what was said. What to do next See what was done Your landlords The monthly landlord statement ### 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. Access follows each person's part in a property, not the account they happen to use. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Permissions by role. Share a read-only view: who it is for and when it ends. What you are deciding Whether the right people, and only the right people, can see a property or a tenancy. Your options Leave access as it is. Everyone listed keeps the view their role gives them. Invite someone. They get the view their role gives them and nothing wider. Remove a colleague. The account owner can end a colleague's seat from People & access. Documents already issued to anyone stay theirs. What each person sees A letting agency sees the properties it manages, with their tenancies, certificates, rent reviews and notices. A landlord sees their own properties, whoever manages them, and nothing else an agency holds. A tenant sees their own tenancies, including past ones, and nothing about any other tenant or property. A notice in draft is not shown to the tenant. It appears on their tenancy once service has been recorded. Your copies are yours Documents already issued cannot be taken back. Each party keeps their own copy if the property changes agent, the tenant moves out or an account closes. A worked example Nia rents 12 Market Street through Fern Lettings, for a landlord called Helen. Under Who can see this, Nia sees three entries: herself, Helen as landlord, and Fern Lettings as the agent. Helen sees 12 Market Street and her two other properties, but none of the other 39 properties Fern Lettings manages. On Friday 9 October 2026 Fern Lettings prepares a rent increase notice; Nia does not see it until it is served on Monday 2 November 2026. What Abide.Rent does for you Lists everyone with access to a property or a tenancy on its own page. Answers a link to a record you cannot see as not found, without showing anything about it. Keeps each party's copy of an issued document. If something goes wrong “That access is no longer available” What to do: The person's access was removed or has ended. Ask an owner to invite them again. “The end date cannot be in the past. Revoke the access to end it today.” What to do: Revoke the link instead. “This link has ended or does not exist.” What to do: The read-only link has expired. Make a new one. Common mistakes Sharing a sign-in so a colleague can see something. Invite them; then their actions are recorded in their own name. Assuming a landlord can see your whole portfolio. They see their own properties only. What to do next See who has access Choose which emails you receive Open a ticket about access ### 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. Business details say who your agency is. A landlord who lets through a company can add the company's details too. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Business details: trading and legal name, address, company number and redress scheme. What you are deciding Which details to give now, and which to add later. Your options The essentials. A legal or trading name, your registered address and a phone number. This is all the set-up steps ask for. Company and VAT numbers. Your company number appears with your address at the foot of documents. Your VAT number appears on what you are billed. Redress scheme and client money protection. Tenants see your redress scheme on their portal. Choose Not a member yet if that is the position today. A logo. Optional. A PNG, JPEG or SVG of 1 MB or less. How to do it Open Settings , then Business details . Enter your trading name, and your legal name if it is different. Enter your registered address and a phone number. Add your company number, VAT number, trading address, contact email for tenants, website and redress scheme if you have them. Select Save business details . A worked example Fern Lettings Ltd trades as Fern Lettings from 1 High Street, Leeds, LS1 1AA, with company number 01234567. Its owner saves these details on Thursday 1 October 2026. From then on, a rent increase notice the agency prepares shows "Fern Lettings Ltd, 1 High Street, Leeds, LS1 1AA. Company number 01234567." at the foot of each page, emails to tenants end "Sent on behalf of Fern Lettings, 1 High Street, Leeds, LS1 1AA.", and the tenant's portal shows the agency's phone number and redress scheme on the Your agent card. What Abide.Rent does for you Checks the format of a company number (8 digits, or 2 letters and 6 digits), a VAT number (GB and 9 or 12 digits) and each postcode before saving. Uses the same details everywhere: documents, email footers, invoices and the tenant portal. Lets only the account owner change them; every colleague can read them. If something goes wrong Your details do not appear on a notice What to do: Only details saved under Settings → Business details are used, and only on documents generated after you save. Regenerate a draft; a served notice keeps what it was served with. “Enter the business’s legal name or its trading name.” What to do: Fill in at least one of the two names, then save. “That file is too large. The limit is 1 MB.” What to do: Upload a smaller logo (PNG or JPEG, under 1 MB). Common mistakes Entering the trading name as the legal name. Documents show the legal name beside the registered address. Leaving the contact email blank and expecting tenants to reach a shared inbox. Without it they see the account owner's email. Typing a company number without its leading noughts. It is always eight characters. What to do next Open business details Invite your team How billing works ### 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. Open your tenancy and select Rent and deposit to see your rent account and any deposit information your landlord has given you. Who this is for: tenants. Your tenancy: rent, deposit and documents. What you are deciding Whether the payments recorded match yours, and whether you have received your deposit information. Your options The payments match. Nothing to do. You can download a dated copy of the account at any time. A payment is missing or wrong. Tell your landlord or agent, with the date, amount and the reference you used. Only they can change the account. Deposit information. Open it, read it and select I have received it . Your landlord's side is told the date. How to do it Open your tenancy and select Rent and deposit . Check the balance and the payments listed. Select Download PDF if you want a copy. If deposit information is waiting, open it and confirm you have received it. A worked example Your rent is £950.00 a month, due on the 1st. You paid on 1 August 2026 but the account shows nothing for that month on 3 August 2026. You tell your agent the payment went from your bank on 1 August 2026 with the reference "FLAT 2 RENT", and they add it; the balance goes back to £0.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows you the same account your landlord or agent keeps, read-only. Records the date you confirm receipt of your deposit information. Keeps your copies readable after you move out. If something goes wrong Your deposit shows as not protected What to do: Ask the landlord or agent; a deposit must be protected within 30 days. “Only the tenant can record receipt.” What to do: Confirm receipt from your own portal. Common mistakes Assuming a missing payment will be noticed. Tell your landlord or agent with the details. Confirming receipt of deposit information you have not opened. What to do next Open your tenancies Reporting a repair ### 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. The dashboard is the page you land on after signing in. Under the figures, Your work gathers what needs attention into one list, most urgent first. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Your work filtered to overdue items. What you are deciding What to deal with first today, and whether to narrow the list to one person or one property. Your options Work from the top. Overdue items come first, then anything due in the next seven days, then pet requests, tenants waiting on a reply, notices waiting for a signature and rent proposals waiting for approval. Filter by person. Shows only the rows that name that landlord or tenant, for a call or a meeting about them. Filter by property. Shows only one property's rows, for a visit or a conversation about that home. Show one heading. Select a short heading above the list, such as Pets or Overdue , to see only those rows. Select All to see everything again. Mine. In an agency, Mine narrows the list to the properties you look after or cover. Replies and Tasks sit beside it. How to do it Open Dashboard from the menu. It is the first item, and where you land after signing in. Read each row: what it is, the property, why it matters and when it is due. Select the button on the row to open the record or start the fix. Select Filter to narrow the list by Person or Property . Select Clear to see it all again. What appears, and in what order Overdue : certificates, deposit protection, statements of terms, Right to Rent follow-ups and PRS registration whose date has passed. Due this week : the same kinds of item falling due in the next seven days. Pet requests to answer : every open pet request, overdue or not, so a written decision is never lost among other duties. Tenant replies waiting : a tenant's notice to leave to confirm, and referred increases with no evidence pack yet. Waiting for a signature : generated notices that are not signed. Approvals waiting : rent proposals waiting on the landlord. Repairs and contractor jobs : repairs past your own response target and contractor jobs due this week, where you use them. Also needs a look : anything else the dashboard flags, such as a notice email that bounced. A record is listed once, under its most urgent heading. Hover over a property to see a summary of it. A worked example On Tuesday 13 October 2026 an agent signs in and lands on the dashboard. The gas safety record at 12 Market Street expired on Saturday 10 October 2026, so it heads the list as 3 days overdue with an Upload the renewal button. The EICR at 4 Mill Lane is due on Friday 16 October 2026 and sits under Due this week. A pet request that must be answered by Thursday 29 October 2026 is under Pet requests to answer, and one unsigned Form 4A is under Waiting for a signature. When everything is dealt with, Your work says "You're clear". What Abide.Rent does for you Builds the list from the same dates as each property's clocks, so the two always agree. Shows each record once, under its most urgent heading. Counts each heading, so you can see how much is left. If something goes wrong Your work is empty but colleagues have overdue items What to do: You are looking at Mine . Choose Everyone . An item stays overdue after you dealt with it What to do: Mark the underlying record done: for example set the repair to fixed or record the pet decision. The item clears from the record, not from the list. “Choose who owns the task.” What to do: Pick a person before saving a task. Common mistakes Treating an empty list as a clean bill of health. Today shows what is recorded in Abide.Rent; a certificate never entered cannot appear. Working only from the figures. The tiles count things; Your work tells you which ones to open first. What to do next Open the dashboard Reports across your properties ### 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. The 52 weeks run from the start of the tenancy or the last increase that took effect. A notice that never took effect does not move that date. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Notices & service: each notice with its status. What you are deciding Whether to serve a corrected notice. Your options Record that it did not take effect. Record what was wrong. The notice stays on the file, marked as not taking effect. Serve a corrected notice. Generate a new Form 4A with a valid date and serve it. Take advice. If the tenant has already relied on the notice or referred it, take advice before acting. How to do it Open the notice and record that it did not take effect, with the reason. Open Serve notice for the property and generate a new Form 4A. Check the start date Abide.Rent works out, sign and serve. Record service on the new notice. A worked example A notice served on 1 October 2026 proposed a new rent from 15 November, which was not the start of a rental period. On 20 October the agency records that it did not take effect, with that reason, generates a new Form 4A starting 1 January 2027 and posts it the same day. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps the defective notice and the reason on the file. Does not count a notice that did not take effect towards the 52 weeks. Stops that notice being signed, served or answered. If something goes wrong “A void notice cannot be signed” / “… cannot be recorded as served” What to do: Generate a new notice instead. Common mistakes Deleting the defective notice. A served notice cannot be deleted; record that it did not take effect instead. What to do next See your notices Why is my notice date being rejected? ### 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. A tenant ends a tenancy by giving notice to quit in writing. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Giving notice to leave from your tenancy. What you are deciding If you are the tenant: the date you want the tenancy to end, and whether to withdraw a notice you have given. Your options At least two months' notice. The end date must be a day rent is due, or the day before. A date that passes both checks is recorded. A shorter date. Only if the landlord agrees in writing. On a joint tenancy, every named tenant must be party to that agreement as well as the landlord. Withdraw the notice. Each side records its own written agreement. The notice is withdrawn only when both the tenant and the landlord or agent have done so. Joint tenants. A notice from one joint tenant is recorded against the whole tenancy. How to do it As the tenant, open your tenancy and select Leaving . Enter the date you want the tenancy to end. You are told straight away if the date does not pass the checks. Send the notice. Your landlord or agent is told, and you keep a dated copy. To withdraw, select the option to withdraw and record your agreement. The notice stays in place until the other side records theirs. A worked example Rent is due on the 1st. On Tuesday 10 November 2026 a tenant gives notice. The earliest end date that passes the checks is Sunday 31 January 2027: it is more than two months away and is the day before a rent day. On Monday 23 November she changes her mind and records that she agrees to withdraw. The notice is still shown as live. Her agent records the landlord's agreement on Wednesday 25 November 2026, and the notice is then shown as withdrawn by written agreement, with both names. What Abide.Rent does for you Checks the end date as it is entered. Tells the landlord or agent, and shows them the date the tenancy ends. Records each side's agreement to a withdrawal separately, and withdraws the notice only when both are in. Records the notice and the dates. It does not decide whether a notice is effective. If something goes wrong “Only a named tenant can give notice.” What to do: The tenant gives notice from their own portal. “Give at least two months' notice here, or ask the landlord or agent …” What to do: Choose a later date, or agree an earlier one in writing. “Confirm that every named tenant has agreed in writing to withdraw the notice.” What to do: All tenants must agree to withdraw. Common mistakes Choosing an end date in the middle of a rent period. Assuming a withdrawal has happened because you asked for it. It needs the other side's written agreement too. One joint tenant giving notice without telling the other. It is recorded against the whole tenancy. What to do next Go to your dashboard See your notices and letters Open a ticket ### API keys Create a key to use the Abide.Rent API. Each key is shown once, has scopes, and can be deactivated or deleted. The API is the same one the app uses. A key acts for the account that created it, within the scopes you give it. API keys are on Portfolio and the free trial; on Solo, the free plan, keys stop working until you upgrade. Who this is for: letting agencies. API keys: create, rename, deactivate. Links to the reference and guides. What you are deciding What the key needs to do, and who will hold it. Your options Create a key. Name it after the system that will use it, and choose read-only or read and write. Deactivate. Stops it working; you can activate it again. Delete. Removes it for good. Use this for a key that may have leaked. How to do it Open Developers → API keys in the Setup part of the menu. Select Create key , name it and choose read-only or read and write. No key can manage seats, billing, invitations or other keys. Copy the key straight away: it is shown once. Live keys start abk_live_. Store it in your other system's secrets, not in an email or a ticket. Use Deactivate or Delete from the list when it is no longer needed. What the API will not do Serving a notice is never an API action: a person records service in Abide.Rent. Outbound webhooks are not available yet. A worked example On 3 November 2026 Northgate Residential creates a read-only key called "Lettings CRM sync" for its lettings CRM. The CRM team stores it in their secrets manager. In January they rotate it: create a new key, switch over, delete the old one. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows a key once. Records when each key was last used. Refuses calls outside a key's scopes. If something goes wrong “API key is not recognised” What to do: Check the key was copied in full. “API key has been revoked” What to do: Create a new key. “This API key's scopes do not allow this.” What to do: Create a key with the scope you need. “Bulk actions are started from the app, not with an API key.” What to do: Run bulk actions in Abide.Rent itself. Common mistakes Pasting a key into a support ticket or email. We never need it. What to do next Open API keys Connect an assistant (MCP) ### Add a property Add one property by hand, with or without its tenancy, in a couple of minutes. Use this when you have one property to add. If you have several, import a spreadsheet instead. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Step 1: the property. Then the landlord, the tenancy and certificate dates. What you are deciding Whether to add the property with its tenancy now, or on its own and add the tenancy later. Your options Property with its tenancy. The tenant is invited to their free portal, and rent review and notice dates can be worked out straight away. Property on its own. Right for an empty property. Nothing is charged for it, and you add the tenancy from the property when it is let. Import instead. Quicker for more than a handful. Each row becomes a property, with its tenancy if the row has one. How to do it Select Add at the top of any page, then Add property . Any property picker also offers Add a property when you have none yet, or when your search finds nothing. Enter the address, town and postcode, then choose the property type and the number of bedrooms. If you are a letting agent, choose the landlord. Pick one you have already added, or enter their name and email address. A landlord you add by email is invited to see their property. If someone lives there now, keep This property has a tenancy ticked and enter the tenant's name, email address and phone number, the monthly rent and the date the tenancy started. If the property is empty, untick it. Add any compliance dates you have to hand: gas safety, EICR and EPC. These are optional. Select Save property . A worked example An agent adds 12 Market Street, Leeds, LS1 4AB, a two-bedroom flat, on Thursday 1 October 2026. The landlord is entered by email and is invited to see that property. The tenancy is entered with a rent of £1,250.00 a month and a start date of Saturday 1 March 2025, with a gas safety expiry of Friday 13 November 2026. The property's page now shows the tenancy, a reminder set for 30 days before the gas safety record expires, and Saturday 28 February 2026, 52 weeks after the start, as the earliest date a new rent could have started. What Abide.Rent does for you Checks the postcode is in a UK format before anything is saved. Invites the landlord and the tenant from the email addresses you enter. Brings you back to the page you came from, with the new property chosen, when you add one from a property list. If something goes wrong “A dwelling with this … is already on another workspace. Handover or claim it — do not create a second property.” What to do: The property is already in Abide.Rent under another account. Use Change agent or Take over instead of adding it again. “No matching property found. Choose one.” What to do: Pick the address from the list, or check the postcode. “Region not known: check the postcode or set the region” What to do: Check the postcode is right, or set the PRS region on the property's Edit tab. “Rent must be more than £0.00.” What to do: Enter the monthly or weekly rent. Common mistakes Adding the same property twice. Search for the address first; a property picker shows your properties as soon as you open it. Leaving This property has a tenancy ticked for an empty property, then inventing details to get past it. Untick it instead. Entering a yearly rent as the monthly rent. What to do next Add a property Import properties from a spreadsheet Add a tenancy and joint tenants Upload a certificate ### 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. Two screens, two jobs. Area statistics summarises outcomes by district. Tribunal decisions lets you read each published case. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Area statistics: decisions, cut rate and median by district. A district: recent determinations, by bedrooms. Tribunal decisions: proposed and determined rent, outcome and date. What you are deciding How much challenge risk a proposal carries in this area. Your options Area statistics. Decisions, how often the rent was cut and the median cut, by district. Tribunal decisions. Each case: the home, proposed and determined rent, outcome and date. On the review. The like-for-like decisions for this home appear on the rent review itself. How to do it Open Area statistics from Insight. Select a district, for example BL9, and filter by bedrooms. Select All cases in BL9 to open the decisions. Open a decision to read the case summary and the original. A worked example Before pricing reviews in Bury, Sarah opens Area statistics on Monday 19 October 2026. BL9 shows three decisions, two of them cutting the rent. She opens MAN/00BM/MNR/2026/0061, a 3-bed terrace, and sees the proposed £1,180.00 cut to £1,100.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps published decisions in one searchable list. Shows outcome rates by district. Links the relevant decisions from each rent review. If something goes wrong “No locality for that district” What to do: There are no published decisions there yet. “Locality insight is an agency and landlord tool” What to do: Switch to your agency or landlord account. Common mistakes Averaging a few thin decisions into a rent. Use them to judge risk. What to do next Area statistics Tribunal decisions How the rent range is worked out ### 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. Bring properties across with a spreadsheet exported from your current system. If your records are spread across systems, spreadsheets or folders, the Abide.Rent team imports them for you at no cost: see Migrating your records to Abide.Rent . Who this is for: letting agencies. Request an integration: the software and what it should do. No keys. What you are deciding How to move your records across, and whether to wait for a direct connection. Your options Export and import now. Your records are here today. There is no single data standard for lettings in the UK, so the import lets you match your columns to ours. Use the API. If you have a developer, an API key lets your own systems create and read records. Serving a notice stays in the app. Wait for a connection. Tell us which system you use. It helps decide what is built first, but there is no date to plan around. How to do it In your current software, export your properties to a CSV or Excel file. Include the address, the postcode and, if you can, the rent, the tenancy start date and the landlord. In Abide.Rent, select Add , then Import properties . Match the columns and run the import. A worked example An agency moving 210 properties exports them on Monday 5 October 2026. Its file has 31 columns; it matches nine and ignores the rest. The import takes a few minutes and reports 204 imported and six left out for missing postcodes. The agency fixes those six by hand. It keeps its old system for rent collection and uses Abide.Rent for compliance dates, rent reviews and notices. What Abide.Rent does for you Imports CSV and Excel files with your own column names. Updates a property that is already here instead of duplicating it. Offers API keys for your own integrations. If something goes wrong No connector for your software What to do: Request one from Help → Request an integration ; we build them free. You were asked for an API key on the form What to do: Never paste keys. Link the vendor's API documentation instead. Common mistakes Waiting for a connection that has no date. A spreadsheet works today. Exporting without the tenancy start date. Rent review dates depend on it. What to do next Start an import Import properties from a spreadsheet Tell us which system you use ### 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. When a property moves from one agent to another, its record moves with it. Nothing has to be re-entered and no date starts again. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Change managing agent: property, new agent, check. What you are deciding How the property changes hands: an offer to a new agency, or the landlord taking the record over themselves. Your options Offer the property to a new agency. The new agency receives an offer. Nothing changes until one of its owners accepts; the property stays where it is until then. The landlord takes over. A landlord recorded on the property can take over billing and control without the agent's agreement. The property and its tenancies move to the landlord's account at once. Abide.Rent does not tell the agent. Withdraw or decline. The agency that made an offer can withdraw it, and the agency that received it can decline it. The property stays where it is. How to do it Open Change agent . Choose the property, and confirm you have given notice to the current agent outside Abide.Rent. Check the management agreement first. Enter the incoming agent's email address, or pick an agency already appointed. Send the offer. It is shown as waiting until the new agency accepts, declines or the offer runs out. A worked example Helen moves 12 Market Street from Fern Lettings to Moorside Lettings. She gives Fern Lettings notice under their agreement on Monday 2 November 2026, and the offer is sent to Moorside on Monday 30 November. A Moorside owner accepts on Tuesday 1 December 2026. From that moment Moorside sees the property with its tenancy, its certificates, the Form 4A served on 4 November and the rent review behind it. Fern Lettings keeps its own copies of what it issued. The tenant's portal now shows Moorside as her agent, and the earliest date for the next rent increase has not moved. What Abide.Rent does for you Moves the property record, the rent history and every issued notice together. Leaves each party with their own copy of what was already issued. Keeps the tenancy's dates as they were: a handover does not start the year again. Tells the tenant's portal who the agent now is. If something goes wrong “Enter the incoming agent's email.” What to do: Give the new agency's email. “That agency already manages this property.” What to do: No change is needed. “Only the managing account or the title owner can change agent.” What to do: Ask the landlord or the current agent. Common mistakes Sending the offer before giving notice under the management agreement. Adding the property afresh in the new agency's account. That makes a second record with no history. Expecting the old agent's access to end before the new agency accepts. What to do next Open Change agent Agreements and service levels Continuity offers ### 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. There are two plans and two one-off packs. Tenants never pay. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Plans: Solo, Portfolio and Scale, monthly or yearly. What you are deciding Which plan fits the number of properties you have and how often you review rents or serve notices. Your options Portfolio, paid monthly. £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. Rent reviews, notices and evidence packs are included, with no charge for each one. Portfolio, paid yearly. £75.51 a year for the first 3 properties, which is 30% less than paying monthly for a year. Solo. Free for 1 property. You keep and export your records, but a new rent review or notice is not included. A one-off pack on Solo. £29.00 for one rent review and its notice, or £120.00 for one evidence pack. Paid once. A worked example In October 2026 a landlord with 1 tenancies works out her costs for the year ahead. She expects to review each rent once. On Solo with packs, a review for each costs £29.00 in all. On Portfolio paid yearly, the same tenancies cost £75.51 for the year, with every review, notice and evidence pack included. An agency with 120 tenancies pays £142.99 a month on Portfolio, or £1,201.11 a year. One evidence pack bought on Solo is £120.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Counts the properties on your working list. Archiving a property frees a place once you lower the count. Portfolio includes 3 properties. Then £2.00 per extra property. Keeps packs off the menu while you are on Portfolio or on the free trial, because you already have what they contain. If something goes wrong “Subscribe to Portfolio before changing how many properties are licensed.” What to do: Subscribe first. “Portfolio includes … properties, so the licence stays at least …” What to do: You cannot license fewer than the included number. Common mistakes Buying a pack for each review when a subscription would cost less over the year. Counting tenancies instead of properties. A property on the working list uses a licensed place. Assuming Solo is a trial. It is a free plan with no end date. What to do next See the plans Open your plan page What you can do on the free Solo plan ### 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. Abide.Rent has an MCP server, so an AI assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can work from your records: which gas safety records expire this month, who is in arrears, when a pet decision is due — and, if you allow it, log the repair, chase the certificate or add the task. It works in one account, as you, with your permissions. Agency and landlord accounts need Portfolio or the free trial to connect one; tenants can connect free. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. The consent page: the assistant, where it sends you back, the account it may read. Connected assistants: the account each one reads, when it was last used, and Remove. What you are deciding Whether to let an assistant read one of your accounts, and which one. Your options Connect an assistant. Add the Abide.Rent server as a connector and sign in. The assistant works in the account you choose, with your permissions and never more. Use the REST API instead. For a system rather than a person, an account owner can create an API key and call the REST API. The MCP server only accepts assistants that sign in as a person. Do not connect. Nothing is shared. Models can still read the public pages (/llms.txt) and the API reference. How to do it In your assistant's settings, add a custom connector (it may be called an MCP server) with the address https://mcp.abide.rent/mcp . Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor all have one. When the assistant opens Abide.Rent, sign in if asked. You see which assistant is asking and where it will send you back. Choose the one account it may read: an agency, a landlord account or your tenancy. For an agency or landlord account only its owner can do this. Choose Read only or Read and make changes , then select Allow . You return to the assistant, which can now work from your records. To stop it, open Your account → Connected assistants and select Remove . It stops at once. What an assistant can and cannot do Every operation in the Abide.Rent API is an assistant tool: properties, tenancies, rent reviews, notices, certificates, legal deadlines, repairs, contractors, deposits, documents, reports, tasks and the team, the same as you see and do in the app. A tenant's assistant works only with that tenant's own records. With Read only it can look things up and report, and change nothing. With Read and make changes it can also add and update records, send reminders and complete tasks — each recorded under your name, and only what your role allows. A record's history and the audit log mark each of these changes with the assistant's name, such as Claude (MCP) , so you can tell them from changes made in the app or with an API key. It can never sign or serve a notice, sign a document, take a payment, change your plan, manage API keys, change who has access to the account or close the account. A person does those in Abide.Rent. Your data What the assistant reads is sent to the company that runs it (for example Anthropic for Claude or OpenAI for ChatGPT), under that company's terms. Tenants' names and contact details are personal data: connect only an assistant your business has approved for it. Changing your password removes every connected assistant. A worked example On Wednesday 4 November 2026 the owner of a letting agency adds Abide.Rent to Claude, signs in and allows it to read her agency's account. She asks: "Which properties have a gas safety record expiring before Christmas, and is the tenant's copy recorded?" Claude lists four properties with their expiry dates and links to each in Abide.Rent. On Monday 9 November she removes the connection from Your account. What Abide.Rent does for you Asks you to sign in yourself; the assistant never sees your password. Limits each connection to one account and to the access you chose. Lists every connected assistant on Your account, with when it was last used. Stops a connection at once when you remove it, change your password or lose access to the account. If something goes wrong “Only the owner of this account can connect an assistant to it.” What to do: Ask the account owner to connect it, or choose an account you own. The assistant says it is not authorised, or asks you to connect again What to do: Your access to that account ended, or the connection was removed. Connect again and choose an account you can use. “This request cannot be completed” What to do: Start again from the assistant: the request was changed or has expired. Nothing was connected. The assistant cannot find a record you can see What to do: It reads one account. Check Your account → Connected assistants for which, and connect again for another. An assistant asks for your password or an API key What to do: Do not give it. Abide.Rent asks you to sign in yourself; the assistant never sees your password. Common mistakes Giving an assistant your password. It never needs it: Abide.Rent asks you to sign in yourself. Connecting a personal assistant to an agency account without the business's agreement: tenants' details would go to its provider. What to do next Connected assistants Ask us a question ### Control follows payment; evidence does not Whoever pays runs the account. Documents already issued stay with each party, and a legal hold stays open. The paying account controls the records it holds. That rule decides what happens when an agent changes, a property moves or an account closes. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Your properties and who manages each one. What you are deciding Who controls a property's record after a change. Your options The paying account. Runs the records: edits, notices, invitations. Everyone who was sent a document. Keeps their own copy, whatever happens later. Anything under legal hold. Stays readable on any plan. How to do it Check Managed by on Your properties to see who controls each record. To move control, change agent or take the property over. Download any document you were sent; it stays yours. A worked example A landlord moves 12 Walmersley Road from Northgate Residential to another agency on 1 December 2026. The new agency controls the record from then. Northgate keeps a read-only copy of its own time, and the tenant keeps every notice they were sent. What Abide.Rent does for you Moves control with payment. Never takes back a document already issued. If something goes wrong You can no longer edit a property What to do: Another account now manages it. You keep a read-only copy of your own time. Common mistakes Expecting a payment dispute to remove a notice from the tenant's portal: it does not. What to do next Change agent Changing letting agent Legal hold ### Do I pay again for a notice on Portfolio? No. On Portfolio, rent reviews, notices and evidence packs are included. No. Portfolio is £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties, and that includes rent reviews, notices and evidence packs. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. What Portfolio includes. What you are deciding Whether anything you are about to do carries a further charge. Your options You are on Portfolio or on the free trial. Nothing further is charged for a rent review, a notice or an evidence pack. You are on Solo. A rent increase pack is £29.00 and an evidence pack is £120.00, each paid once. A worked example An agency on Portfolio with 30 tenancies pays £52.99 a month. In November 2026 it prepares four rent reviews, generates four Form 4A notices and builds one evidence pack. The charge for November is still £52.99. The same work on Solo would be four increase packs and one evidence pack: £236.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Includes reviews, notices and evidence packs in the Portfolio price. Offers packs only on Solo, where they are needed. Shows any pack you have bought and not yet used. If something goes wrong You were asked to pay for a notice What to do: You are on Solo. On Portfolio and in the trial, notices are included. Common mistakes Holding back a notice on Portfolio in case it costs extra. It does not. Buying a pack during the trial. Everything is already included. What to do next How billing works Open your plan page See the plans ### Export your file Download a copy of your records at any time, on any plan, including Solo. Export builds a file of your records in the background. Download it from the list when it is ready. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Export: request a file and download it from Recent. What you are deciding Whether you need the whole account, or one list. Your options Whole account. Export → Request export builds a file of every record. One list. Most lists have Export to Excel for what you see. Leaving. Export first, then close the account. How to do it Open Account → Export in the menu (landlords: Records → Export ). Select Request export . Wait until the job shows done under Recent. Select Download . A worked example On Friday 30 October 2026 the owner of Northgate Residential requests an export before a board meeting. Four minutes later abide-rent-export.json shows done under Recent and she downloads it. The file holds all 31 properties, their tenancies, certificates and notices, including two files under legal hold. What Abide.Rent does for you Exports on every plan. Includes held files. Keeps a list of past exports. If something goes wrong “Only a queued job can be cancelled.” What to do: A running export finishes; download it and delete the file if not needed. “No file on this job” What to do: The export failed or expired. Request a new one. Common mistakes Cancelling a queued export by mistake; only a queued job can be cancelled. What to do next Open Export Leave Abide.Rent ### 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. Your records are yours. You can take a copy whenever you like, whichever plan you are on. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Export your records first. What you are deciding Whether you want a copy for your own files, or to leave altogether. Your options Export a copy. A file of your records is built in the background and listed under Export history when it is ready. Nothing changes in your account. Cancel your subscription. Your account moves to Solo. Everything stays readable and exportable. Close the account. Closing stops Portfolio from renewing. Records stay. Issued copies stay with each party, and a legal hold stays open until it ends. How to do it Open Export and select Request export . When the file is ready it appears under Export history , where you can download it. To close your account, open Settings , then Close account , and choose Close the account . Export first. Closing keeps your records, and issued copies stay with each party. A worked example An agency decides on Monday 1 March 2027 to stop using Abide.Rent at the end of the month. It requests an export that morning and downloads the file at lunchtime: 210 properties, their tenancies, certificates, rent reviews and notices. Two notices are under legal hold because of a tribunal referral. The agency closes the account on Wednesday 31 March 2027. Portfolio stops renewing. Its landlords are told their records are intact, its tenants keep their own copies of every notice, and the two held notices stay available until their hold ends. What Abide.Rent does for you Exports on every plan, including Solo. Keeps each earlier export listed, with the file. Leaves landlords and tenants with their copies of everything already issued. If something goes wrong “You cannot start your own exit. Ask another owner or manager.” What to do: Another owner or manager closes a seat. “This exit has already been carried out.” What to do: The seat is already closed. Common mistakes Closing an account before downloading the export. Expecting a closed account to remove documents from a tenant's portal. Issued copies stay with the people they were issued to. What to do next Open Export See earlier exports Legal hold: records that stay open whatever happens ### 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. A failed payment does not lock you out. Portfolio stays on for 14 days; then the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Invoices: paid, failed and refunded. What you are deciding Whether to update the card, or let the account move to Solo. Your options Update the card. Under Billing → Manage payment method . The payment is tried again. Cancel. Portfolio stays on to the end of the period you have paid for, then the account moves to Solo. Stay on Solo. Solo is free for 1 property. Others stay readable; adding more waits until you subscribe. How to do it Open Billing . Under Payment method , select Manage payment method and update the card. Check Invoices to see the payment go through. A worked example The card on Northgate Residential's account fails on 13 November 2026. Portfolio stays on until 27 November. On 16 November the owner updates the card; the payment goes through and nothing changes for the team. What Abide.Rent does for you Emails the payer when a payment fails. Keeps Portfolio on during the grace period. Keeps everything under legal hold readable on any plan. If something goes wrong “The card was declined. Update the card from billing and try again.” What to do: Update the card under Billing → Manage payment method . You are on Solo after a failed payment What to do: The grace period ended. Update the card and subscribe again; nothing was deleted. Common mistakes Opening a new account to get round a failed payment: your records are in the existing one. What to do next Open Billing How billing works ### Generate and serve a notice Create a rent increase notice or a possession notice for a property, check it, sign it and serve it. Abide.Rent generates two kinds of notice: a Section 13 rent increase notice on Form 4A, and a Section 8 possession notice. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Serve notice: choose the property and the kind of notice. A Form 4A ready to preview and sign, with the evidence behind it. What you are deciding Which notice you need, who signs it and how it will be served. Your options A rent increase notice (Form 4A). Generated from an approved rent review, with the approved rent and start date. A possession notice (Section 8). You choose the grounds. The notice period is worked out from them. Who signs and serves. The person signing types their name. Serving needs an owner, or a manager who may serve. How to do it Select Add at the top of any page, then Serve notice . You can also start from a property, or from an approved rent review. Choose the property. The list opens on your properties; type an address or postcode to narrow it. Choose the kind of notice. For a possession notice, choose the grounds you are relying on. Check the dates Abide.Rent has worked out. If a date does not pass its checks you are told which one and why. For a rent increase, fill in any bills included in the rent (question 4.7). For a possession notice, explain why each ground applies (question 4.3). Tick the box to confirm you have checked the answers, then generate the notice. Abide.Rent fills in the official GOV.UK form itself: Form 4A for a rent increase, Form 3A for possession. Open the notice, read the preview from start to finish and type your name to sign it. Serve it yourself, then record how it was served. A worked example On Monday 2 November 2026 a negotiator generates Form 4A for 12 Market Street from a review the landlord approved: £1,250.00 to £1,325.00 a month, starting Monday 1 February 2027. Her manager reads the official Form 4A with the answers filled in and signs it. He posts it first class that afternoon and records service: posted 2 November, counted as served Wednesday 4 November 2026. The tenant can now open the notice in her portal. The notice is the official GOV.UK Form 4A (version 05.26) with the answers typed into its boxes; its wording is GOV.UK's, unchanged. What Abide.Rent does for you Fills the notice from the property, the tenancy and the approved review. Checks the dates before the notice is generated. Keeps a draft out of the tenant's sight until service is recorded. Keeps a served notice exactly as it was served. If something goes wrong “Add a named tenant to this tenancy before generating a notice.” What to do: Add the tenants on the property's People tab. “Add the landlord to this property before generating a notice.” What to do: Add the landlord on the property. “Add the landlord's address for service … before generating Form 4A.” What to do: Record the landlord's address for notices (England or Wales). “Enter the amount of each bill or charge included in the rent, or answer that no bills are included.” What to do: Answer question 4.7 on the form. “Confirm you have checked the prescribed form before signing” What to do: Tick the confirmation, then sign. “A served notice cannot be deleted” / “A legal hold prevents delete” What to do: That is deliberate. Record that a defective notice did not take effect instead. Common mistakes Not reading the answers on the form before signing. The wording is GOV.UK's; the answers are yours. Generating from an agent's account for a let-only property. The landlord gives notices for it from their own Abide.Rent account, unless the agreement records the landlord's written authority for the agency to serve. Deleting a draft you meant to keep. A draft can be deleted; a served notice cannot. What to do next Generate a notice See your notices Record how a notice was served A rent increase from start to finish ### Getting your records ready for the PRS Database See which properties are missing a registration number, and record the numbers as you receive them. You can use Abide.Rent to see how ready your properties are for the PRS Database, and to keep the registration numbers once you have them. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Record the Landlord and Property Registration Numbers. What you are deciding Which properties to deal with first. Your options Properties about to be advertised. An advert needs both numbers, so these come first. Properties where possession may be sought. Registration comes before a possession notice, except on Grounds 7A and 14. Everything else. Work through the list by landlord, so each landlord is asked once. How to do it Open PRS Database . The page lists your properties and shows, for each one, whether a Landlord Registration Number and a Property Registration Number are recorded. Open a property and enter the two numbers. Save. The property now counts as having both numbers. Before a property goes back on the market, check that it shows what an advert needs. A worked example On Monday 4 January 2027 an agent opens PRS Database and sees 12 of 40 properties with both numbers. She sorts by landlord: one landlord owns six of the missing ones. He sends his Landlord Registration Number and six Property Registration Numbers on Wednesday 6 January. She enters them in ten minutes; one is refused because that Property Registration Number is already recorded against another property, a typing slip she corrects. The page now shows 18 of 40. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows, property by property, which numbers are recorded. Refuses a Property Registration Number that is already recorded against another property. Reminds you to update the government's record when a certificate changes on a registered property. If something goes wrong A property shows Property number missing What to do: Register it, then record the PRN on the property's Edit tab. Common mistakes Entering one landlord's number against another landlord's property. Assuming a number is confirmed because it saved. Abide.Rent stores what you enter and does not check it with the register. What to do next Open PRS Database The PRS Database: what it is and when it opens See your properties ### 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. Ground 8 is the possession ground for serious rent arrears. The threshold depends on how often rent is paid. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Rent arrears: amount, periods owed and the Ground 8 threshold. What you are deciding Whether the arrears you have recorded meet the threshold for the way this rent is paid. Your options Rent paid monthly. At least 3 months' rent unpaid. Rent paid weekly. At least 13 weeks' rent unpaid. Notice. Four weeks, whichever way the rent is paid. Below the threshold. Ground 8 is shown as not available. Other arrears grounds have their own tests. How to do it Open the property and record the arrears on the tenancy, with the date each amount fell due. Generate a Section 8 notice and choose Ground 8. Abide.Rent compares the arrears you have recorded with the threshold and tells you whether it is met. A worked example Monthly rent of £950.00: the threshold is £2,850.00, 3 months' rent. A tenant who owes £2,850.00 on Monday 9 November 2026 meets it; one who owes £2,400.00 does not. Weekly rent of £220.00: the threshold is £2,860.00, 13 weeks' rent. A notice on Ground 8 alone, served by hand on Monday 9 November 2026, gives Monday 7 December 2026 as the earliest date for proceedings, four weeks on. What Abide.Rent does for you Compares the arrears you enter with the threshold for the tenancy's rent frequency. Takes off a pending Universal Credit housing payment, if you record one, before measuring the arrears against the threshold, and says so in the result. Shows the ground as not available where the threshold is not met. If something goes wrong “Ground 8 needs at least … in arrears” What to do: The arrears are below the level. Check the rent account. “Abide.Rent does not measure Ground 8 for … rent. Ask a solicitor how the threshold applies.” What to do: Take advice for that rent frequency. Common mistakes Counting two months' arrears as enough. The threshold is 3 months. Applying the monthly test to a weekly rent. Treating the comparison as the outcome. Whether the ground is made out on the day of a hearing is for the court. What to do next See your notices Section 8 grounds and notice periods Section 13 rent increase notices (Form 4A) ### 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. The defensible range is the rent a tribunal is likely to accept for this home, worked out from local evidence. Your proposal is shown against it, with a risk level. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The defensible range for this home. The tribunal decisions behind the range. What you are deciding Whether to propose a rent inside the range, or above it with a reason. Your options Inside the range. Low risk: the evidence supports it. Above the range. Higher risk: if the tenant refers it, the tribunal is more likely to set a lower rent. It cannot set a higher one than you proposed. Change the figure. Select Change the figure on the review to price a different rent. How to do it Open the rent review. Read Defensible range and where your proposal sits. Scroll to Determinations this is based on to see the like-for-like tribunal decisions, each linked. Read Validity to see the notice period and the 52-week check. Change the figure, or keep it and send it for approval. Where the figures come from Achieved rents for similar homes, checked against the ONS private rents index for the area. Tribunal decisions are shown for risk: there are too few like-for-like decisions in most districts to set a rent from them alone. A worked example 8 Parkhills Road is let at £880.00 a month. The agency proposes £965.00 from 15 January 2027. The review shows a defensible range of £880.00 to £930.00, so the proposal is above the band and marked high risk. The agency changes the figure to £930.00, the review moves to medium risk, and it goes to the landlord. What Abide.Rent does for you Prices the proposal against local evidence. Links each tribunal decision it shows. Shows the risk on the review the landlord approves. If something goes wrong “No like-for-like determinations (same bedrooms and house type) in this district.” What to do: There are no matching decisions. The range uses local rents; decisions are shown for context only. “Furnishing is not on this file, so it cannot be matched.” What to do: Record whether the property is furnished on its Edit tab. Common mistakes Treating the middle of the range as a target price. It is a starting point, not a price. What to do next Open Rent reviews Will this increase survive a challenge? ### 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. Support is by ticket, inside Abide.Rent, so we already know your account and can see what you see. Each ticket keeps the whole conversation. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. A ticket: topic, subject, priority and type. Your reply comes by email and in Help → Your tickets. What you are deciding What kind of help you need, and how urgent it is. Your options A question or a problem. Open a ticket. Choose the topic, priority and type. Migrating your records. Choose Request free migration . We import your records for you, free. A connection to your other software. Choose Request an integration , name the software and link its API documentation. You are a tenant. Ask the landlord or letting agent who invited you; they can raise a ticket for you. How to do it Select Help at the bottom of the menu. Choose Open a ticket . Choose what it is about, write a short subject and say what you were doing, the property or notice involved, and what went wrong. Choose the priority and type (question, incident, problem or task). Attach a screenshot if it helps: screenshots, PDFs, spreadsheets, Word files and ZIP folders are accepted. Select Send ticket . Replies arrive by email and under Help → Your tickets . What not to send Do not attach Right to Rent documents, full bank details or passwords. We never need your login to another system. If you need to send a large file, say so on the ticket and we will send a secure upload link. Urgent Choose Urgent for anything about a notice that is already live, or if you think someone has seen data they should not. A worked example On Tuesday 20 October 2026 a manager sees that a Form 4A start date is refused. She opens a ticket: topic Notices, subject "Form 4A start date refused for 12 Walmersley Road", priority medium, type question, with a screenshot. The reply arrives the same afternoon, explaining that rent is due on the 3rd and the start date must be the 3rd of a month. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps every ticket and reply in one thread. Links the ticket to your account, so you do not need to explain who you are. Emails you when we reply. If something goes wrong “Subject and message are required” What to do: Fill in both before sending. “That file is too large (… MB limit).” What to do: Attach a smaller file, or say on the ticket that you need a secure upload link. “These files come to … MB. Up to 40 MB can be sent at once.” What to do: Send some of the files now and the rest in a reply on the same ticket. “This ticket is closed” What to do: Open a new ticket and mention the old one. You are a tenant and cannot see Open a ticket What to do: Tickets are for landlord and agency accounts. Contact your landlord or agent. Common mistakes Emailing spreadsheets of tenant details instead of using a ticket and the secure upload link. Pasting an API key or password into a ticket. We never need one. What to do next Open a ticket Your tickets Migrating your records to Abide.Rent ### Import properties from a spreadsheet Bring in many properties at once from a CSV or Excel file, matching your columns to ours. Use an import when you have more than a handful of properties. You need a CSV or Excel file with one row for each property. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. New import: file, columns, review and done. What you are deciding Which columns to bring in, and what to do with rows that do not import. Your options Address and postcode only. Every row needs these two. You get the properties in quickly and add tenancies and dates afterwards. Include rent, tenancy start and landlord. Each row arrives with its tenancy, so rent review dates and reminders work from the first day. Include past dates. Bring in the day each gas safety check, EICR and EPC was done and the day the tenant was given a copy. The record keeps those days, not the day of the import, and marks them as entered later. Fix failed rows and import again. A row that matches a property you already hold updates it. It does not create a second one. How to do it Select Add at the top of any page, then Import properties . Drop your file onto the page, or choose it from your computer. To see the layout first, download the sample file. Match your columns to ours. Town, bedrooms, property type, current rent, tenancy start date, last increase date, landlord, and the expiry, check date and date given to the tenant for the gas safety record, EICR and EPC are optional. A check date or date given needs that record's expiry too. Set any column you do not want to Ignore . Check the preview of your rows, then start the import. When it finishes you are shown how many rows were imported and any that were not, with the reason for each. A worked example An agency exports 86 rows from its old system on Friday 2 October 2026. It matches address, postcode, rent, tenancy start date and landlord, and ignores an internal reference column. 83 rows import. Three are left out: two have no postcode and one has a rent of "TBC". The agency downloads the three rows with their reasons, corrects them in the spreadsheet and imports that file again. All 86 properties are now listed, 79 of them with a tenancy. What Abide.Rent does for you Lets you match your own column names without changing your file. Tells you, row by row, why anything was left out, and lets you download those rows. Keeps each import and the file you used under Import history. If something goes wrong “A new property needs … Add that column to the file.” What to do: Add the missing column (for example postcode) and import again. Download the sample to see every column. “Bedrooms “…” must be a whole number (0 for a studio).” What to do: Use a number in the bedrooms column, 0 for a studio. “Rent frequency “…” is not recognised. Use monthly, weekly, fortnightly or four-weekly.” What to do: Fix the frequency column to one of those words. “A … check or given date needs its expiry date too (…_expires_on).” What to do: Add the expiry date column for that certificate. “Landlord “…” was not added: add a landlord_email column so they can be identified and invited.” What to do: Add a landlord_email column and import again. “The CSV could not be read … Save it as CSV and try again.” What to do: Save the sheet as CSV (UTF-8) from Excel or Google Sheets, or upload the .xlsx file. “Rows … onwards would not fit: split the file.” What to do: Split the file into smaller files and import each. Common mistakes Importing a file with merged header cells or totals rows. One header row, then one row per property. Putting the whole address in one column with the postcode. The postcode needs its own column. Importing twice to fix a typo. Correct the property itself, or re-import only the corrected row. Leaving out the check date for a safety record. Without it, the 28 days to give the tenant a copy are counted from the day of the import. What to do next Start an import See earlier imports Add a tenancy and joint tenants ### 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. Abide.Rent stores roles, not types of person. The same email can manage properties for an agency, own flats as a landlord and rent a home as a tenant. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. A tenant record. Their landlord records are kept separately. What you are deciding Which account you are working in. Your options Work as a tenant. Open your tenant account: your tenancies, notices, repairs and deposit. Work as a landlord. Open your landlord account: your properties, approvals and statements. Work for an agency. Open the agency account you belong to. How to do it Select your name at the top right. Choose the account you want. Check the label beside Abide.Rent at the top left: it shows which account is open. A worked example A Hargreaves rents 49 Essex Drive from Ashworth Holdings Ltd and lets a house in Radcliffe herself. Northgate Residential sees her only as the tenant of 49 Essex Drive. On Monday 19 October 2026 she switches to her landlord account to record a gas safety check at her Radcliffe house; Northgate does not see it. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps each role's records apart. Lets you switch without signing in again. If something goes wrong “Open a landlord workspace from the tenant portal.” What to do: Switch from your name at the top right. You appear twice in a list What to do: Two records were created for one person, for example with two emails. Ask us on a ticket to merge them; do not delete either. Common mistakes Merging two records of the same person to tidy a report: that can expose one role to the other side. What to do next Open Settings Sign in and switch between views ### 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. A legal hold keeps the records behind a dispute exactly as they were. It overrides everything else, including the plan you are on. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Legal hold: subject, property, reason and when it was opened. What you are deciding Whether a record needs a hold, and what you can still do with it once it has one. Your options A notice is served, referred or relied on in a claim. The notice, its certificate of service and what is attached to them are held. You do not need to do anything. Your plan changes. Held records stay readable and downloadable on Solo, after a failed payment and after a subscription ends. You want to delete something held. It cannot be deleted while the hold is in place. A worked example A Form 4A served on Wednesday 4 November 2026 is referred to the tribunal on Thursday 19 November 2026. The notice, the certificate of service, the rent review and the gas safety record attached to the evidence pack are placed under hold. In January the agency's subscription lapses and the account moves to Solo. Every held document can still be opened and downloaded, and the evidence pack is still available on the notice's page. What Abide.Rent does for you Lists every record under hold on the Legal hold page. Keeps a write-once copy of each held document. Keeps held records open on any plan. If something goes wrong “A legal hold prevents delete” What to do: Records on hold cannot be deleted while the notice, referral or claim is live. You want to release a hold What to do: Use Close where it is offered. Holds tied to a live notice stay until it ends. Common mistakes Exporting everything in a hurry because a subscription is ending. Held records stay open. Trying to replace a held certificate. Add the newer one; the held one is kept beside it. What to do next See what is under hold Export your records What happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal? ### 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. Ended tenancies stay in your view. You keep your own copies, even if the agent changes or the landlord stops using Abide.Rent. Who this is for: tenants. Past tenancies: dates and last rent, with your copies. What you are deciding Which document you need from a past home. Your options A notice or letter. Open the past tenancy and download it. Your deposit details. Open the tenancy's rent and deposit. A home is missing. It may still be recorded as current; ask the landlord or agent to record the end date. How to do it Open Past tenancies (from your tenancies, or More). Choose the home. Open a notice or letter and select Download PDF . A worked example Kiran moved out of 15 Derby Close on 28 February 2026. On Monday 19 October 2026 a new landlord asks for his previous rent increase notice as a reference. He opens Past tenancies, chooses 15 Derby Close and downloads the Form 4A served in September 2025. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps your copies free, for good. Shows the dates and last rent for each past home. If something goes wrong A past home is missing What to do: It may still be recorded as current. Ask the landlord or agent to record the end date. Common mistakes Asking the new agent for an old notice: it is already in your Past tenancies. What to do next Past tenancies What you can do in the tenant portal ### 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. A tenant can ask in writing for consent to keep a pet. Abide.Rent records the request and counts the days until a written answer is due. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Pet requests: status, who answers and when it is due. What you are deciding If you are the tenant: what to put in your request. If you let the property: how soon an answer is due. Your options Send a request. The deadline for a written answer is 28 days from the date of the request. More information is asked for. The answer is then due 7 days after the tenant replies, where that is later than the original date. Withdraw the request. A tenant can withdraw a request at any time before it is decided. How to do it As the tenant, open your tenancy and select Pets . Describe the pet and send the request. You are told when you are asked for more information and when a decision is made. The written decision is kept on your tenancy. A worked example Nia asks to keep a cat on Monday 9 November 2026. An answer is due by Monday 7 December 2026, 28 days on. On Monday 30 November the agent asks for the cat's age and whether it is neutered. Nia replies on Thursday 3 December, so the answer is now due by Thursday 10 December 2026, 7 days after her reply, because that is later than 7 December. The agent approves on Tuesday 8 December and the written consent appears on Nia's tenancy. What Abide.Rent does for you Counts the days and shows the due date to both sides. Shows who is to answer: the landlord, or the agent where the agent manages the property. Sends reminders as the deadline approaches, and marks a request overdue if no answer is recorded. Records the request, the deadline and the answer. It does not decide whether a refusal is reasonable. If something goes wrong “Further information must be requested on or before the 28th day.” What to do: Ask for information within the 28 days. “This request is closed.” What to do: The decision is recorded. A new request starts again. Common mistakes Asking by phone only. Make the request in writing, here, so it has a date. Letting a request for more information reset the clock in your head. The date only moves if the tenant's reply would make it later. Answering in conversation and not recording it. The request then shows as overdue. What to do next See pet requests Who can see what Open a ticket ### 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. If a tenant says they never received a notice, you need to show how and when it was served. Abide.Rent keeps that proof on the notice. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Service: the method and the proof, kept with the notice. What you are deciding How to serve the notice and what proof to keep. Your options First-class post. Keep a certificate of posting. The notice counts as served on the second working day after posting. By hand. Record who delivered it, where and when; a photo of it through the door helps. Email. Only where the tenancy agreement allows it or each tenant agreed in writing. Keep the sent email. How to do it Sign the notice in Abide.Rent. Serve it yourself: post it, deliver it or email it. Open the notice and select Service . Choose the method, the date (and time for hand delivery) and attach the proof. Save. The tenant can then open the notice and confirm receipt, free. A worked example On Monday 2 November 2026 Owen posts the Form 4A for 12 Walmersley Road first class and gets a certificate of posting. He records service by post on 2 November and attaches a photo of the certificate. Abide.Rent shows it as served on Wednesday 4 November 2026. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the date a posted notice counts as served. Keeps the proof and the tenant's response on the notice. Keeps a served notice exactly as it was served. If something goes wrong The served date is two working days after you posted it What to do: That is how a posted notice counts: on the second working day after posting, not counting weekends or bank holidays. “Enter … It is how posting can be shown if the tenant disputes it.” What to do: Attach the certificate of posting. Common mistakes Recording service before the notice is signed: it is refused. Treating an email 'opened' report as proof on its own. What to do next See your notices Record how a notice was served Tenant acknowledgement and the receipt ### 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. An agreement records what a landlord has instructed you to do. It decides who can serve notices, who answers pet requests and who carries each duty in Abide.Rent. Who this is for: letting agencies. Four steps: details, properties, written terms, fees and the PDF. What you are deciding Which properties the agreement covers, and what it says about serving notices and the duties you take on. Your options A new agreement. Start with Add agreement , give your reference and link the properties. An older agreement. Tick This is a past agreement and give the date it started. Draft it in Abide.Rent. Use the management agreement template under Documents and send it for signature. Upload a signed copy. Upload the PDF you already hold on the agreement. How to do it Open Agreements and select Add agreement . Details : type your reference and the start date. Tick This is a past agreement for one signed before today. Properties : choose the properties it covers. They must all be held by your agency. Written terms : record whether the landlord has given written authority to serve notices, the notice period and the duties you take on. Fees & PDF : record the fee and upload the signed agreement, or draft one for signature. Open each property's Management tab to check its service level. Only two duties can move Only Right to Rent checks and gas safety can be taken on by an agent, and only in writing. Every other duty stays with the landlord whatever the agreement says. Abide.Rent shows the duties as you record them; a solicitor confirms the clause. A worked example On Wednesday 21 October 2026 Northgate Residential records agreement NR-MG-014 with Ashworth Holdings Ltd, started 1 September 2026. It links 49 Essex Drive and 12 Walmersley Road, records written authority to serve and a three-month notice period, and uploads the signed PDF. From then on, the agency's managers can generate and serve Form 4A on both properties. What Abide.Rent does for you Uses the agreement to decide who may serve notices and who answers pet requests. Keeps the signed PDF with the agreement. Shows each linked property's service level on its Management tab. If something goes wrong “These dwellings are held by different agencies. Record one agreement for each agency.” What to do: Split the properties into one agreement per agency. “This dwelling is on your own workspace, so there is no agency to record the agreement with.” What to do: Agreements are between a landlord and an agency. A self-managed property does not need one. “Choose a dwelling the agency holds, so the agreement is recorded with that agency.” What to do: Link at least one property the agency manages. “No … PDF on this agreement” What to do: Upload the signed PDF on the agreement. Common mistakes Linking properties held by two different agencies to one agreement: record one agreement for each agency. Assuming authority to serve without recording it: the notice actions stay unavailable until it is recorded. What to do next Open Agreements Agreements and service levels Who can serve a notice ### 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. If you think a proposed rent is more than the property would let for, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide. Who this is for: tenants. Your answer to the notice: accept or refer. What you are deciding Whether to refer the notice, given what the tribunal can do and how long it takes. Your options Refer. The tribunal decides the rent. It cannot set more than your landlord proposed. Its application fee is £47.00, paid to the tribunal. The tribunal agrees with the proposal. The proposed rent applies from the date in the notice if the tribunal decides before then; otherwise from the first rent day on or after the decision. It is not backdated. The tribunal sets a lower rent. That rent applies from the same date: the date in the notice, or the first rent day on or after the decision if that is later. The increase would cause hardship. The tribunal can set a later start date, within two months of its decision. How to do it Open the notice and choose Refer to the tribunal , then confirm. This records your referral and tells your landlord or agent. Apply on the tribunal's own site and pay its fee. Abide.Rent does not apply for you. Keep the acknowledgement Abide.Rent gives you, and anything the tribunal sends. A worked example Nia refers a notice proposing £1,325.00 against her current £1,250.00. She applies on Thursday 19 November 2026. The typical wait for a decision is 82 days, and 84 days in London, so a decision around late February 2027 would not be unusual. If the tribunal set the rent at £1,300.00 on Tuesday 23 February 2027, she would pay £1,250.00 until that day and £1,300.00 from it. The most the tribunal could set is £1,325.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Records your referral with the date and time. Keeps the notice on hold and marks it as referred, so your landlord can see it. Keeps your copy of the notice and your acknowledgement. If something goes wrong “You have already given your answer to this notice.” What to do: Your answer is recorded. “Only a named tenant can accept, query or refer” What to do: Each named tenant answers from their own portal. You want to refer it What to do: Apply to the tribunal on its own site and pay its fee there; then record the referral in your portal. Common mistakes Thinking the tribunal might set a higher rent than the notice. It cannot. Stopping at the button here. The application is made to the tribunal. Paying the proposed rent early by mistake. Your current rent carries on until the decision. What to do next Read your notices and letters What the tribunal can and cannot do Understanding a rent increase notice and your options ### Rent in advance Abide.Rent will not record more than one rent period paid in advance on a new tenancy. When a tenancy is added, rent that was paid in advance can be recorded with it. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. The rent schedule and payments on a tenancy. What you are deciding How much rent in advance to record on a new tenancy. Your options None. Leave the field empty. Nothing is recorded. Up to one rent period. One month's rent on a monthly tenancy, for example. The tenancy saves and the amount is shown on it. More than one rent period. The tenancy is not saved and you are told why. Abide.Rent applies this check because the Renters' Rights Act limits rent in advance. A worked example A tenancy at £1,200.00 a month starts on Tuesday 1 December 2026. Recording £1,200.00 paid in advance saves. Recording £3,600.00, 3 months' rent, is refused: the amount is more than one rent period. What Abide.Rent does for you Compares the amount with the rent for one period before the tenancy is saved. Shows the amount paid in advance on the tenancy, where the tenant can see it too. Says which figure was refused, so you can correct it. If something goes wrong “Rent must be more than £0.00.” What to do: Enter the rent. You need to record rent taken before the tenancy started What to do: Record it as a payment on the rent account with the date it was received. Common mistakes Entering the rent for a year and the advance for a month, so the two are not for the same period. Recording a deposit as rent in advance. A deposit has its own section. What to do next Go to your dashboard Written statement of terms Ask us about a figure that was refused ### 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. A Section 13 notice is how a landlord proposes a new rent for a tenancy. The prescribed form is Form 4A. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The Form 4A, filled from the tenancy and the review. What you are deciding The date the new rent should start, given when you can serve. Your options At least two months after service. The start date must leave the minimum notice. Serve later and the earliest start date moves later too. The first day of a rent period. If rent is due on the 1st of each month, the new rent starts on a 1st. At least 52 weeks since the tenancy began or the last increase. A start date inside that time is refused. How to do it Start a rent review and settle the figure. Get the landlord's approval if this property needs it. Generate Form 4A from the review. Compare it with the current Form 4A on GOV.UK, sign it, serve it and record how it was served. A worked example Rent is £1,250.00 a month, due on the 1st, on a tenancy that began on Saturday 1 March 2025. The proposal is £1,325.00. Form 4A is handed to the tenant on Wednesday 4 November 2026, so it counts as served that day. Two months on is Monday 4 January 2027; the next first day of a rent period is Monday 1 February 2027, so that is the earliest start date Abide.Rent accepts. A start date of Friday 1 January 2027 is refused for too little notice. What Abide.Rent does for you Checks the notice period, the rent period and the 52-week gap before generating the notice. Fills Form 4A with the rent the landlord approved. Says which check a date fails, so you can choose another. If something goes wrong “Only one increase can be proposed in 52 weeks.” What to do: The last increase took effect less than 52 weeks before the start date. Choose a later start. “Increase must start at the beginning of a tenancy period (note A4).” What to do: Choose the day rent is due as the start date. “Form 4A lists council tax, water, fuel, communication services and fixed service charges only.” What to do: Only those bills go in question 4.7; leave others out. “Form 4A waits on an acknowledgment that the prescribed form has been checked” What to do: Tick that you have checked the form, then sign. Common mistakes Using Form 4A to seek possession for arrears. That is a Section 8 notice on Ground 8. Proposing more than you can support. The tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one in the notice. Serving a notice printed weeks ago. Generate it again so it uses the current official form. What to do next Start a rent review A rent increase from start to finish Why is my notice date being rejected? Ground 8: rent arrears ### Section 21 notices Section 21 notices ended on 1 May 2026. Abide.Rent does not generate them. Section 21 notices, sometimes called no-fault notices, ended on 1 May 2026. Abide.Rent does not generate one and has no place to record one as newly served. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Serve notice: Form 4A and Section 8. What you are deciding What to use now that a Section 21 notice is not available. Your options Seek possession on a ground. Possession is sought with a Section 8 notice, which names the grounds relied on. An older Section 21 notice. Abide.Rent cannot tell you whether a notice served before 1 May 2026 can still be relied on. Take advice before acting on one. A worked example A landlord who would once have served a Section 21 notice to sell a flat now looks at Ground 1A. The tenancy began on Saturday 1 August 2026, so the ground is not available until Sunday 1 August 2027, and a notice served then by hand would give four months, to Wednesday 1 December 2027, before proceedings could begin. What Abide.Rent does for you Generates Section 8 notices, with the notice period worked out from the grounds. Shows which grounds are not available for a tenancy, and why. If something goes wrong You cannot find a Section 21 option What to do: There is none: “Abide.Rent generates Form 4A and Section 8 notices only.” Common mistakes Looking for Section 21 in the list of notices. It is not there. Assuming a ground applies because a Section 21 notice would have. Each ground has its own test. What to do next Section 8 grounds and notice periods The twelve-month protected period See your notices ### 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. Possession of a tenancy is sought with a Section 8 notice, which names the grounds the landlord is relying on. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. A Section 8 notice: choose the grounds that apply. What you are deciding Which grounds to rely on, knowing that the longest notice period among them applies. Your options Four months. Grounds 1 and 1A (the landlord moving in, or selling), 4A, 6 and 6B, among others. Two months. Grounds 7 and 9, among others. Four weeks. Ground 8 (serious rent arrears) and Grounds 10 and 11. Two weeks. Grounds 7B, 12, 13, 15 and 17. From the date of service. A notice that relies on Ground 7A or Ground 14 can begin on the day it is served. How to do it Check that each ground you choose applies to the tenancy. Abide.Rent shows a warning where a ground is not available, for example during the twelve-month protected period. Check whether choosing Ground 1 or 1A will restrict re-letting afterwards. Choose the grounds. The notice period shown is the longest among them. Explain why each ground applies. Form 3A asks for this at question 4.3, and Abide.Rent fills in the legal wording of each ground at question 4.2 from GOV.UK's own text. If you are a tenant A possession notice served through Abide.Rent appears on your tenancy with the grounds and the dates. Read it carefully and take advice straight away. Shelter and Citizens Advice both give free advice to tenants. Abide.Rent works out dates from what is entered. Whether a ground is made out is for the court. A worked example A landlord relies on Ground 8 (four weeks) and Ground 1A (four months) in one notice, served by hand on Monday 9 November 2026. The longer period applies, so the earliest date for proceedings is Tuesday 9 March 2027. Relying on Ground 8 alone, the same notice would give Monday 7 December 2026. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the notice period from the grounds, taking the longest. Warns where a ground is not available for the tenancy. Asks for the property's registration numbers once the PRS Database applies to it, except on Grounds 7A and 14. If something goes wrong “Choose at least one ground for possession.” What to do: Tick the grounds you rely on. “Explain why each ground applies. Form 3A asks for it at question 4.3, and the notice is not valid without it.” What to do: Write the explanation for each ground. “Abide.Rent cannot prepare Form 3A on Ground … ” What to do: That ground is not supported here. Take advice. Common mistakes Adding a ground with a long notice period that you do not need. It lengthens the whole notice. Choosing Ground 1 or 1A without checking the protected period and the re-letting restriction. What to do next See your notices The twelve-month protected period The re-letting restriction after Ground 1 or 1A Section 21 notices ### 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. Self-managed means you run the tenancy yourself, with no agent. You propose and approve rent reviews, generate notices and record service on the same record. Who this is for: landlords. A mixed portfolio: some managed by an agent, some by you. What you are deciding Which of your properties you manage yourself, and which an agent manages. Your options Self-managed. You do everything in your own account. There is no separate approval step. Managed by an agent. The agent's service level decides what they do; approvals come to you. Rent-to-rent. If you are the immediate landlord of the person living there, that tenancy is self-managed. Record it as self-managed, not as an agent service. How to do it Open Your properties . Read the Service and Managed by columns for each property. Select self-managed at the top to see only the properties you manage yourself. Open a self-managed property to propose an increase, record certificates or serve a notice. A worked example J Ashworth owns 33 properties. Northgate Residential fully manages 32 of them; he manages 4 Kersal Vale himself. On Thursday 22 October 2026 he filters Your properties to self-managed, opens 4 Kersal Vale and proposes a new rent. There is no approval step: he generates Form 4A, signs it and records service himself. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows who manages each property and the service level. Removes the approval step on self-managed properties. Keeps the history when a property moves between self-managed and an agent. If something goes wrong The approval step appears on a property you manage yourself What to do: The property is set to an agent's service level. Change the service on its Management tab. “Instruction sits with the managing account.” What to do: Only the account that manages the property can change its service. Common mistakes Recording a rent-to-rent let as an agent service: if you are the immediate landlord, it is self-managed. What to do next Your properties Let only, rent collection or fully managed ### 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. When a let property is sold with the tenant staying, the buyer becomes the landlord of the existing tenancy. Record the sale in the agency account that manages it. Who this is for: letting agencies. The property record after a sale: the history stays. What you are deciding When the sale completed, and who the buyer is. Your options Tenant staying. Use Record a sale : the tenancy continues and the buyer becomes landlord. Property sold empty. End the tenancy first, then archive the property. You manage it yourself. Open a support ticket with the address and the buyer. How to do it Search for Record a property sale with the search box at the top (or press Ctrl+K). Choose the property and enter the completion date. Enter the buyer's details. Save. The history stays on the property. A worked example 17 Holly Lane completes on Friday 9 October 2026. On 12 October the agency records the sale: completion 9 October, buyer Ashworth Holdings Ltd. The last increase date, 1 June 2026, stays, so the next increase still cannot start before 31 May 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps the tenancy, notices and rent history on the property. Keeps the date of the last increase. Records who owned the property and when. If something goes wrong “Record the sale on or after the day it completes. The completion date cannot be in the future.” What to do: Record it after completion. “The completion date cannot be before the sellers' ownership began on …” What to do: Check the date. “Only the owner or a manager of this account can record a sale.” What to do: Ask an owner or manager. Common mistakes Serving a new notice because of the sale. Take advice first; a sale does not restart the 52 weeks. What to do next Record a property sale Changing letting agent Control follows payment ### 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. You sign in once. What you see next depends on the account you open: an agency, a landlord or a tenant view. Someone who is a tenant at one address and a landlord at another has both, kept apart. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. The agency view after sign-in. The account menu: profile, settings and other views you have. What you are deciding How to sign in, and which view to work in. Your options Email and password. Type the email on your account and your password. If your account asks for both, a one-time code is also emailed to you. Email code. Choose Email code , type your email and enter the 6-digit code we send. No password is needed. Google. Choose Continue with Google if your Google account is connected to Abide.Rent. Switch view. Your name at the top right lists every account you belong to. Choose one to switch. How to do it Go to the Abide.Rent sign-in page. Choose Password or Email code and enter the email address your account or invitation uses. If asked, enter the 6-digit code from the email. It is valid for a short time; ask for a new one if it has expired. You land on Dashboard . The menu on the left has Today, Portfolio, Insight and Setup (tenants see their home, tenancy, letters and inbox). To change view, select your name at the top right and choose another account. The three views Agency : properties, rent reviews, notices, compliance, repairs, agreements and the team. Landlord : your properties, approvals, statements and the duties that stay with you. Tenant : your tenancies, notices and letters, repairs, your deposit and rent. Always free. A person with two roles sees two accounts in the menu. The agency never sees a tenancy you hold elsewhere. Password and profile Change your password under Settings → Password . Your name and mobile number are under Settings → Profile . A worked example Kiran Patel rents 31 Bolton Road through Northgate Residential and owns a flat in Salford that he lets himself. On Monday 19 October 2026 he signs in with an email code, lands on his tenant view and reads a rent increase notice. He then selects his name, chooses his landlord account and records a gas safety certificate for the flat. Northgate Residential sees only his tenancy at 31 Bolton Road. What Abide.Rent does for you Uses one sign-in for every role you hold. Keeps each account's records apart. Pauses password sign-in after repeated failed attempts, to protect the account. If something goes wrong “That code is not right. Check the email and try again, or ask for a new code.” What to do: Use the code from the most recent email. Older codes stop working when a new one is sent. “That code has expired. Ask for a new one.” What to do: Codes last a short time. Select Send a new code . “Too many codes requested. Wait 15 minutes and try again.” What to do: Wait 15 minutes. Check your spam folder for the codes already sent. “That email and password do not match.” What to do: Check the email, or use Email code instead. After five failed attempts password sign-in is paused for a while; use Forgotten your password? to reset it. “Your session has ended. Sign in again to continue.” What to do: Sessions end after a period of inactivity, or when you sign out elsewhere. Sign in again. “That Google account is connected to a different Abide.Rent account” What to do: Sign in with email instead, or disconnect Google from the other account first. No code arrives What to do: Check spam and any company email filter for messages from Abide.Rent. If nothing after two tries, open a ticket from another colleague's account or email us. Common mistakes Signing in with a different email from the one the invitation was sent to: the account will not be there. Asking for several codes in a row. Use the most recent email; older codes stop working. Looking for a landlord's records in the tenant view. Switch account from your name at the top right. What to do next Open Settings Your notifications Landlord and tenant at the same time ### 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. A rent review is the record of a proposed rent increase, from the first figure to the notice. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Propose increase: the tenancy, proposed rent and start date, then Price review. The review: the defensible range, validity and the decisions behind it. What you are deciding The rent to propose and the date you would like it to start. Your options A figure inside your own range. The review shows where your figure sits against your own lettings and published figures for the area. Inside the range, it is easier to support if challenged. A figure above your range. You can still propose it. If the tenant refers it, the tribunal cannot go above your figure, and may go below. Change or cancel. You can change the figure or cancel the review at any point before the notice is served. How to do it Select Add at the top of any page, then Propose increase . You can also start from the tenancy on a property's page. Choose the tenancy. The list opens on your properties; type an address or postcode to narrow it. Enter the proposed rent in pounds a month and the date you would like it to start. Select the button to price the review. If the landlord must approve increases for this property, send the review to them. Once it is approved, generate the notice. What you are shown Where your figure sits. A range based on your own lettings and published figures for the area. Checks on the date. Whether the start date passes the checks applied before a notice can be generated. Tribunal decisions nearby. The published decisions the comparison is based on. A worked example An agent reviews a two-bedroom flat let at £1,250.00 a month since Saturday 1 March 2025. Three similar flats the agency let nearby this year went for £1,290.00, £1,310.00 and £1,340.00. She proposes £1,325.00, 6% more, to start on Monday 1 February 2027. The review shows the figure inside her range and all three date checks passing, and she sends it to the landlord on Tuesday 27 October 2026. What Abide.Rent does for you Builds the range from your own achieved lettings, not from asking prices. Runs the date checks before anything is sent to the landlord or the tenant. Keeps the review, the figure and who approved it with the tenancy. If something goes wrong “Only one increase can be proposed in 52 weeks.” What to do: The last increase took effect less than 52 weeks before your start date. Choose a later start. “That rent review was cancelled. Price a new review first.” What to do: Start a new review. “This review can no longer be edited” What to do: A notice has been generated or the landlord has decided. Cancel and start again if the figure must change. The review shows high risk What to do: The proposal is above the defensible range. Change the figure, or keep it and record why. Common mistakes Pricing from adverts. Use rents you have actually achieved. Proposing a start date before checking when the notice can realistically be served. Starting a second review on a tenancy that already has one open. What to do next Start a rent review A rent increase from start to finish When the landlord approves a rent review Generate and serve a notice ### 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. If your agent stops managing a property, you can take it over. The property file continues: notices, certificates and the last increase date. Who this is for: landlords. Your properties, with their records intact. What you are deciding Whether to manage the property yourself or appoint a new agent. Your options Take it over. Open Ownership → Take over and claim the property into your account. Appoint a new agent. The new agency starts a change of agent for the property. Accept a continuity offer. If the old account is closing, accept the offer to keep the file. How to do it Open your landlord account. Open Ownership → Take over and choose the property. Confirm you are the owner on the title. Check the property's records in Your properties . A worked example Prestwich Lets stops trading on 31 October 2026. On 2 November J Ashworth takes over 9 Prestwich Walk. The gas safety record, the tenancy and a Form 4A served in June are all on the property in his account. What Abide.Rent does for you Moves the property file with its history. Leaves the old agent a read-only copy of their own time. If something goes wrong “Only a title owner can claim” What to do: Only the owner on the title can take the property over. “That workspace is closing and cannot take on properties.” What to do: Use another account. Common mistakes Adding the property again as new. Take it over instead so the history comes with it. What to do next Your properties Continuity offers ### 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. Each colleague holds one seat in your agency. The seat is chosen when you invite them and can be changed afterwards. Who this is for: letting agencies. People & access: seats and who can serve notices. Permissions by role. What you are deciding Which seat each colleague needs, and who may serve notices. Your options Owner. Everything, including business details, billing and integrations. Only an owner can invite another owner. Manager. Works on properties, tenancies, rent reviews and notices, can serve notices, invites people and sees the audit log. Property manager. Looks after properties, tenancies, rent reviews and notices, but does not serve notices and does not see the rent roll. Accounts. Sees properties and the rent roll and looks after billing. Does not change tenancies or prepare notices. Read only. Sees properties and the rent roll. Changes nothing. How to do it Open People & access . Find the colleague and choose their seat. For an owner or a manager, choose whether they may serve notices. Save. The change applies the next time they open a page. A worked example Fern Lettings has six people. The director is the owner. Two branch managers hold manager seats and may serve notices. Two negotiators prepare rent reviews and generate Form 4A notices; when one is ready, a manager signs and serves it. The bookkeeper holds the accounts seat: she updates the card and downloads invoices but cannot change a tenancy. A trainee joins on Monday 12 October 2026 on a read only seat for his first fortnight. What Abide.Rent does for you Hides the controls a seat cannot use, and refuses the action if it is tried another way. Records who served each notice, by name. Keeps tenant contact details from seats that do not work on tenancies. If something goes wrong “Only an owner can invite another owner.” What to do: Ask an owner to send the invitation. Someone cannot record service What to do: Their seat does not allow serving. Change Can serve under People & access . “Only an owner or manager can see former team members.” What to do: Ask an owner or manager. Common mistakes Giving everyone an owner seat. An owner can change billing and business details. Expecting a negotiator to serve a notice. Serving needs an owner or a manager with permission to serve. Removing the only owner. An account always needs one. What to do next Open People & access Change what each person can do Invite a colleague ### 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. After you record service, the notice appears in the tenant's portal. Their answer is written back on the notice with the date and time. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Notices & service: status, served date, hold and the tenant’s answer. The acknowledgement and the receipt sent to both sides. What you are deciding What the tenant's answer means for the increase. Your options Accepted. The new rent starts on the date in the notice. Queried. The tenant has a question; answer it on the notice. Referred. The tenant has applied to the tribunal. The file goes on legal hold. No answer. Without a referral before the start date, the new rent applies from that date. How to do it Open Notices & service ; the Tenant column shows each answer. Open a notice to read the answer and any question. Answer a query on the notice. Download the receipt from the notice if you need it. A worked example Kiran Patel opens the Form 4A for 4 Kersal Vale on Thursday 5 November 2026 and asks whether the new rent includes water. Kersal Lettings answers on the notice the next day. Kiran then accepts; both sides receive a dated receipt. What Abide.Rent does for you Records each tenant's answer with the date and time. Sends a receipt to both sides. Opens legal hold when a tenant refers the notice. If something goes wrong “You have already given your answer to this notice.” What to do: The tenant can answer once. “A void notice cannot be responded to” What to do: A notice that did not take effect needs no answer. The tenant says they cannot see the notice What to do: Check service is recorded and that they are signed in with the email on the tenancy. Common mistakes Treating an opened notice as accepted. Only the tenant's recorded answer changes it. What to do next See your notices Sign in and switch between views ### 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. The dashboard is the first page after you sign in. It tells you what needs a person today and links straight to each record. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Each figure opens the list behind it. Your work: overdue items, pet requests, replies, signatures and approvals. What you are deciding What to work on first. Your options Start from the summary line. The sentence under the greeting counts what needs attention: proposals waiting for a landlord, unsigned notices, expired certificates, live referrals. Start from a figure. Each figure (compliance score, tenancies, rent roll, reviews due, proposals above the band) opens the list behind it. Start from Your work. Everything due, most urgent first, grouped into overdue, pet requests, replies, signatures, approvals, repairs and contractor jobs. How to do it Open Dashboard from the menu. Read the summary line under the greeting. Select Open review queue if proposals are waiting. Select a figure to open the list behind it, for example certificates expiring . Scroll to Your work . Select a heading such as Overdue or Pets to see one kind of work, and Mine or Everyone to change whose work you see. Work through the Getting started list until it ticks itself off, then hide it. Getting started list New accounts see a short list of first steps. Each one ticks itself off when the record exists; you cannot tick it by hand. Hide it when you are done; bring it back from Help. Your patch Your patch shows the properties you look after. If nobody is set as property manager, alerts go to everyone; set managers from the Team page. A worked example On Monday 19 October 2026 Sarah Collins opens the dashboard: "2 proposals need a landlord. 2 unsigned notices. 1 certificate expired." She selects 1 certificates expired , sees the gas safety record at 5 Tottington Road expired on 25 September 2026 and books an engineer. In Your work she selects Overdue and clears three pet requests before lunch. What Abide.Rent does for you Counts what needs a person and links each item to its record. Orders your work by urgency. Shows each figure as a link to the filtered list behind it. If something goes wrong A figure shows a number but the list behind it is empty What to do: The list may be filtered to your work only. Choose Everyone , or clear the filter. Every alert goes to everyone What to do: No property manager is set. Open Team and give each property a manager. The Getting started list has gone What to do: You hid it. Bring it back from Help . Common mistakes Treating an empty Your work list as no history: the records are all still there. Leaving properties without a manager, so every alert goes to everyone. What to do next Open Dashboard Your work on the dashboard How the compliance score works ### 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. When a tenant refers a rent increase, the tribunal will want your evidence. The pack brings it together from the notice and the property. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The evidence pack on a notice. What you are deciding When to assemble the pack and what to add to it. Your options Rent increase (Form 4A). Assemble evidence pack on the notice: the form, service, the range, decisions and approval. Possession (Section 8). Assemble possession pack : the notice, service, the grounds and the arrears record. On Solo. An evidence pack is a one-off £120.00. It is included on Portfolio and in the trial. How to do it Open the notice. Select Evidence to check what is on file and add any missing documents. Select Assemble evidence pack (or Assemble possession pack ). Download the PDF and check it before sending. A worked example The tenant at 15 Derby Close refers the increase on 30 September 2026. On 2 October the agency opens the notice, adds two letting agreements as comparables under Evidence and assembles the pack: notice, certificate of posting, the defensible range and three decisions. What Abide.Rent does for you Builds the pack from what is already on file. Keeps the file readable under legal hold, whatever the plan. If something goes wrong The pack button is missing What to do: It appears on a notice once service is recorded. “No such evidence file on this notice.” What to do: The file was removed or belongs to another notice. Add it under Evidence . On Solo, you are asked to pay What to do: On Solo an evidence pack is a one-off purchase; it is included on Portfolio. Common mistakes Waiting until the hearing date to check the evidence; assemble it when the referral arrives. What to do next See your notices Legal hold What happens if the tenant goes to tribunal? ### 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. Grounds 1 and 1A cover the landlord or their family moving in, and the landlord selling. When a notice relying on either is served, a period begins in which the property is not to be let again. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Properties locked under section 16E. What you are deciding Whether to rely on Ground 1 or 1A, knowing the property cannot then be let again for a time. Your options Serve on Ground 1 or 1A. The property shows a restriction that ends twelve months after the date given in the notice for the start of proceedings. A new tenancy cannot be added to it meanwhile. An exception applies. Record the exception on the property with a written note of the reason. The restriction is shown as having an exception. Rely on another ground. No re-letting restriction is recorded. How to do it Record service of the notice. The property then shows the restriction with its start and end dates. If an exception applies, open the property and record it, with a written note of the reason. You are reminded before the restriction ends. A worked example A notice on Ground 1A is served by hand on Monday 2 August 2027 and gives Thursday 2 December 2027 as the earliest date for proceedings. The property shows a re-letting restriction to Saturday 2 December 2028. The sale falls through in March 2028. The landlord cannot add a new tenancy to the property in Abide.Rent until the restriction ends, unless an exception is recorded with its reason. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the restriction and its dates on the property. Stops a new tenancy being added while the restriction is active. Keeps the restriction with the property if it moves to a different agent. Works out the dates from the notice. Whether an exception applies to your circumstances is a matter for advice. If something goes wrong A new tenancy is refused What to do: The property is recorded as not to be re-let until the date shown after a Ground 1 or 1A notice. Common mistakes Choosing Ground 1A to keep options open. The restriction follows from serving on it. Recording an exception without a reason. What to do next See your properties Section 8 grounds and notice periods The twelve-month protected period ### 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. Grounds 1 and 1A, which cover the landlord or their family moving in and the landlord selling, cannot be used during the first twelve months of a tenancy. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Deadlines on this property, including the next rent increase. What you are deciding If you let the property: when Ground 1 or 1A becomes available. If you are the tenant: what the date on your tenancy means. Your options Before the date. Ground 1 or 1A is shown as not available if you choose it. After the date. The ground can be chosen. Its own notice period and the re-letting restriction still apply. The property is sold with the tenant in place. The tenancy carries on and its dates do not start again. If you are a tenant Your tenancy shows the date your protected period ends. It is there for information. It does not mean you will be asked to leave on that date. A worked example A tenancy began on Saturday 1 August 2026. Its protected period ends on Sunday 1 August 2027. A landlord who decides in March 2027 to sell sees Ground 1A marked as not available until then. If the tenancy's start date had been entered as 1 July by mistake, correcting it on the tenancy moves the date shown. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the date the protected period ends, worked out from the tenancy start date. Marks Ground 1 and 1A as not available before that date. Shows the tenant the same date on their tenancy. If something goes wrong “Ground 1 or 1A cannot be relied on: the earliest date for court proceedings … falls within …” What to do: Grounds 1 and 1A are not available in the first 12 months. Choose a later date. Common mistakes Reading the end of the protected period as a date the tenancy ends. It is not. Leaving a wrong tenancy start date in place. The period is counted from it. What to do next Section 8 grounds and notice periods The re-letting restriction after Ground 1 or 1A See your notices ### 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. A Section 13 increase must give the tenant at least two months, counted from the day the notice is served to the day the new rent starts. The start date must also be the first day of a rental period. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Serve notice: the notice period, in months. What you are deciding The earliest valid start date for the new rent. Your options Serve by hand or email. Counts as served that day, if the email service is agreed in writing. Serve by first-class post. Counts as served on the second working day after posting. Choose a later start. Any start date after the minimum is fine, as long as it begins a rental period. How to do it Open Serve notice for the property. Set the notice period in months. Read the earliest start date Abide.Rent works out from today. If you will post the notice, allow for the posting days. A worked example Rent at 12 Walmersley Road is due on the 3rd of each month. A notice posted on Thursday 10 September 2026 counts as served on Monday 14 September. Two months later is 14 November, so the earliest start that begins a rental period is Thursday 3 December 2026, not 14 November. What Abide.Rent does for you Works out the earliest valid start date. Refuses a start date that is too early or does not begin a rental period, and says why. If something goes wrong “Section 13 Form 4A needs at least two months' notice, not … weeks (Ground 8 is a different notice).” What to do: Set the notice in months, at least two. Common mistakes Confusing this with Ground 8's four weeks' notice: they are different notices. What to do next Serve a notice Why is my notice date being rejected? Generate and serve a notice ### UPRN, LRN and PRN Store each property's identifiers: the UPRN, and the Landlord and Property Registration Numbers once the PRS Database issues them. A property's identifiers live on its Identifiers tab. Type the UPRN when you have it. The Landlord Registration Number (LRN) and Property Registration Number (PRN) come from the government's PRS Database, which opens region by region from 15 December 2026. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The property’s identifiers and its PRS Database numbers. What you are deciding Which numbers to record now, and which to add once the register issues them. Your options UPRN. Type it when you have it. Saving one marks the property as matched. PRN and LRN. Add them once you have registered. Both must appear on adverts after your region's deadline. PRS region. Set from the postcode. Change it if the postcode is new or wrong. How to do it Open the property and select Identifiers . Under Edit identifiers , type the UPRN, title number, registration numbers, council tax band, EPC rating and local authority, then select Save identifiers . The map pin is the latitude and longitude under Edit property . A worked example On Monday 17 May 2027, two days after the North West window opens, J Ashworth registers 49 Essex Drive and receives PRN-BL9-004912 and LRN-GM-100221. Northgate Residential records both on the property. The PRS Database page now shows 49 Essex Drive as Recorded . What Abide.Rent does for you Stores a UPRN you type, and marks the property as matched. Shows which properties are still missing registration numbers. Puts the numbers on the property so they can go on adverts. If something goes wrong “Region not known: check the postcode or set the region” What to do: Fix the postcode, or choose the PRS region on the Edit tab. The UPRN shows as unmatched What to do: Type the UPRN under Edit identifiers and save. Saving one marks it as matched. “Only the account that manages this property can change its details or archive it.” What to do: Ask the managing account to change it. Common mistakes Expecting Abide.Rent to register the property. It does not file the registration and does not check the numbers you record. Recording a PRN against the wrong address: a PRN belongs to one home and does not change when a tenant leaves. What to do next Open PRS Database Preparing for the PRS Database ### 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. A rent increase arrives as a notice called Form 4A. It appears on your tenancy once your landlord or agent has recorded that it was served. Who this is for: tenants. The notice: what it proposes, from when, and your options. What you are deciding How to respond to the notice: accept it, ask about it, or ask the tribunal to decide the rent. Your options Accept the notice. This records that you accept the proposed rent from the proposed start date. Ask a question. This records that you have a question about the notice. Your landlord or agent is told. Refer to the tribunal. This records your referral and keeps the notice on hold. You apply to the tribunal yourself, on its own site, and pay any fee to it. Do nothing here. Nothing is recorded for you. The notice still shows the date it says the new rent starts. How to do it Open Notices and letters , or the notice from your home page. Read the current rent, the proposed rent, the date it was served and the date the new rent would start. Choose how to respond and confirm. A notice takes one response, so it cannot be changed here afterwards. Download the acknowledgement for your own records. What the notice tells you The proposed rent and the rent you pay now. The date it was served. A notice sent by post counts as served on the second working day after posting. The date the new rent would start. It is at least two months after the notice was served and is the first day of a rent period. The time limit for applying to the tribunal is set by the rules that apply to the notice, not by Abide.Rent. Check GOV.UK, or ask Shelter or Citizens Advice, as soon as the notice arrives. A worked example Nia pays £1,250.00 a month. Her notice proposes £1,325.00, an increase of 6% or £75.00 a month. It was posted on Monday 2 November 2026 and counts as served on Wednesday 4 November 2026. The new rent would start on Monday 1 February 2027. She looks at what similar flats nearby are let for, decides the figure is too high and records a referral on Thursday 19 November 2026, then applies to the tribunal the same day. Her rent stays at £1,250.00 until the tribunal decides. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the figures side by side, with the dates. Records your response with the date and time, and gives you an acknowledgement to download. Tells your landlord or agent as soon as you respond. If something goes wrong “This link has ended or does not exist. Ask your landlord or letting agent for a copy.” What to do: Sign in to your portal to read it, or ask them for a copy. You cannot see the notice What to do: It appears once service is recorded. Check you signed in with the email on the tenancy. Common mistakes Recording a referral here and not applying to the tribunal. Abide.Rent does not apply for you. Accepting to be helpful and regretting it. A notice takes one response. Leaving it until the week the new rent starts. Read the notice the day it arrives. What to do next Read your notices and letters Referring a rent increase to the tribunal What the tribunal can and cannot do ### 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. A certificate is added to the property it belongs to. The date is what drives the reminder; the file is your copy. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Add a certificate: type, dates and the PDF. What you are deciding Whether to record the date alone, or the date with the certificate itself. Your options Date only. The reminder works. There is no file to show a landlord, a tenant or a tribunal later. Date and PDF. The certificate is kept with the property, and can be downloaded by anyone who has access to it. A newer certificate of the same type. It becomes the current one. The older one is kept under Previous certificates. How to do it Open the property and select the Compliance tab. Select Add certificate . Choose the type: gas safety, EICR or EPC. Enter the date it expires. Add the certificate number if you have it. For an EPC you can also enter the rating. Attach the certificate as a PDF if you have it. The date can be saved without the file. Select Save certificate . A worked example On Thursday 5 November 2026 an agent uploads a new gas safety record, number GS-48213, for 12 Market Street with an expiry date of Friday 5 November 2027. The file is a 240 KB PDF. The property's Compliance tab now shows gas safety as current to 5 November 2027, the previous record is listed below it, and a reminder is set for Wednesday 6 October 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Refuses a file that is not a PDF, and says so, before anything is saved. Keeps previous certificates instead of overwriting them. Keeps a certificate that is part of a served notice or a legal hold from being deleted. If something goes wrong “Give the date of the check.” What to do: Enter the date on the certificate. “The date of the check cannot be in the future.” What to do: Check the date. “The date of the check is more than ten years ago. Check the year.” What to do: Check for a typing mistake in the year. “The expiry date must be after the date of the check.” What to do: Check both dates. “That file is not a PDF. Upload the certificate or agreement as a PDF.” What to do: Save the certificate as a PDF and upload again. Common mistakes Uploading a photo of the certificate. Save or scan it as a PDF first. Choosing the wrong type, so the reminder is counted against the wrong certificate. What to do next Open Compliance Gas safety, EICR and EPC dates Record a deposit ### 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. The property is the file; tenancies come and go on it. Ending a tenancy does not delete anything, and a new tenancy is a new record. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Properties filtered to vacant. People: Set up next tenancy, alongside the current tenants. What you are deciding Whether the property is ending a tenancy, sitting vacant, or about to be let again. Your options End the current tenancy. Record the end date on People → Edit tenancy . It cannot be before the tenancy started. Set up the next tenancy now. Use Set up next tenancy while the current one runs. Its start date must be after the current tenancy ends. Start a tenancy on a vacant property. Use Start tenancy on the People tab: tenants, rent and start date. Withdraw a tenancy that has not started. Withdraw it instead of recording an end date. How to do it Open the property and choose People . To end the tenancy, select Edit tenancy , enter the end date and save. To let it again, select Set up next tenancy (or Start tenancy if it is vacant). Add the tenants, the rent and the start date. Work through Tenancy → Moving in for the new tenancy. Re-letting after a Ground 1 or 1A notice If a notice was given on Ground 1 or 1A, the property cannot be re-let for twelve months. Abide.Rent shows the date and refuses a new tenancy before it. A worked example The tenancy at 8 Parkhills Road ends on Saturday 31 October 2026. On Monday 5 October the agency records the end date and selects Set up next tenancy : two new tenants, £980.00 a month, starting Sunday 1 November 2026. The old tenancy, its notices and its rent history stay on the property. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps every past tenancy, with its people and documents, on the property. Checks the next tenancy starts after the current one ends. Shows vacant properties in a filter on Properties. If something goes wrong “The current tenancy ends on … The next tenancy must start after that date.” What to do: Choose a start date after the current tenancy's end date, or record the end date first. “This tenancy has not started yet. Withdraw it instead of recording an end date.” What to do: Withdraw the tenancy. “The end date … cannot be before the tenancy started …” What to do: Check the end date. A new tenancy is refused after a Ground 1 or 1A notice What to do: The property cannot be re-let until the date shown. See re-letting after a Ground 1 or 1A notice. Common mistakes Recording an end date on a tenancy that never started; withdraw it instead. Editing the current tenancy's tenants to start a new let. Set up the next tenancy instead, so each tenancy keeps its own people. What to do next Open Properties Moving in and out Re-letting after a Ground 1 or 1A notice ### 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. Abide.Rent keeps one record for each property you let in England. The record holds the tenancy, the compliance dates, the rent reviews and the notices for that property, and reminds you before each deadline. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The dashboard: today’s work, the compliance score and what is waiting on others. One property, one file: tenancy, compliance, repairs, evidence and management in tabs. The compliance tab: score, energy rating and every certificate. What you are deciding Whether to keep your lettings records here, and how much of your portfolio to bring across first. Your options Start with one property. You see how a property, its tenancy and its dates fit together in a few minutes, and can add the rest when you are ready. Import everything from a spreadsheet. Your whole portfolio is in on the first day, and the reminders start for every property at once. It takes a tidy spreadsheet. Wait. Nothing is lost by waiting, but your free trial runs from the day you sign up, so the earlier your records are in, the more of it you use. What it costs Every feature, for as many properties as you like, is free for 30 days. No card is needed to start. After that, Portfolio is £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. Solo is free for 1 property. Tenant access is always free. The plans page has the detail. A worked example An agency with 40 properties signs up on Thursday 1 October 2026. It imports its spreadsheet the same afternoon. By the evening each property shows its gas safety, EICR and EPC dates, and four certificates that expire in November are listed on the compliance page. The trial runs for 30 days, to Saturday 31 October 2026. If the agency then subscribes to Portfolio for 40 properties, the charge is £62.99 a month. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps every property, tenancy, landlord and tenant in one place. Reminds you 30 days before a gas safety, EICR or EPC certificate expires. Prepares rent reviews and notices from your records, and keeps a dated record of how each notice was served. Gives landlords and tenants their own view of the records that concern them. If something goes wrong “Not in this account” (“It is not part of the account you have open”) What to do: You are in a view that does not have that page, for example a tenant view. Select your name at the top right and switch account. A menu item you expect is missing What to do: Your seat may not include it. Ask an owner or manager to check your seat under People & access . Common mistakes Adding properties without their tenancies. The deadlines for rent reviews and notices are worked out from the tenancy. Leaving compliance dates until later. A date takes seconds to enter and the reminder does the rest. Treating Abide.Rent as advice. It records what you tell it and works out dates from that; it does not replace your own checks. What to do next Add your first property Import a spreadsheet Your free trial and what happens after it See the plans ### 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. A tenant who receives a rent increase notice can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide what the rent should be. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Notices referred to the First-tier Tribunal. Legal hold: every held record and why. What you are deciding If you let the property: how to respond to a referral. If you are the tenant: whether to refer the notice. Your options The tenant accepts. The proposed rent applies from the proposed start date, and the response is recorded. The tenant refers the notice. The tribunal decides the rent. It cannot go above the proposal, the new rent starts on the first rent day on or after its decision (or the date in the notice, if that is later) and is not backdated, and for hardship it can set a start date up to two months after the decision. The landlord waits for the decision. The typical wait is 82 days, and 84 days in London. The current rent carries on meanwhile. In Abide.Rent If you are the tenant, open the notice from your tenancy and choose how you want to respond: accept it, ask a question about it, or say that you are referring it to the tribunal. The application itself is made to the tribunal, not through Abide.Rent, and any fee is paid to the tribunal. If you let the property, you are told as soon as the tenant responds. The notice is marked as referred, and you can put together the evidence for it from the notice's page. Everything attached to a referred notice stays available to you on any plan. Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal market-rent decisions published 1 March–12 October 2026 (outcomes: decisions under the Renters' Rights Act rules; waits: all 2026 decisions), as of 12 October 2026. A worked example A notice proposing £1,325.00 from Monday 1 February 2027 counts as served on Wednesday 4 November 2026. The tenant records a referral in her portal on Thursday 19 November 2026 and applies to the tribunal the same day, paying its fee of £47.00. If the decision came after the typical 82 days, it would fall on Tuesday 23 February 2027. The tribunal could confirm £1,325.00 or set a lower figure, never a higher one, and the rent it sets would apply from Monday 1 March 2027, the first rent day after the decision. Until then the rent stays at £1,250.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Tells the landlord and the agent as soon as the tenant responds. Marks the notice as referred and keeps it on hold. Prepares an evidence pack from the review, the notice and the record of service. Records what each side has done and when. It does not represent either side at the tribunal. If something goes wrong “Record the tenant's application to the tribunal before its decision.” What to do: Record the referral first, then the decision. “The application cannot be dated before the notice was served.” What to do: Check the date of the application. A held file cannot be deleted What to do: That is deliberate: a referral puts the file on legal hold. Common mistakes Treating a referral recorded here as the application. The tenant applies on the tribunal's own site. Charging the proposed rent while a referral is waiting. Putting the evidence together at the last minute. The review already holds the lettings you relied on. What to do next What the tribunal can and cannot do Read published tribunal decisions See your notices ### 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. An account is on Solo when its free trial has ended without a subscription, when a subscription has been cancelled, or when a payment has stayed unpaid for more than 14 days. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Solo, alongside Portfolio and Scale. What you are deciding Whether Solo is enough for you, or whether the work you have coming up needs Portfolio or a pack. Your options Stay on Solo. Read and export everything, keep 1 property and add compliance dates to it. Buy one pack. £29.00 for a rent increase notice, or £120.00 for an evidence pack, without subscribing. Go back to Portfolio. Portfolio is £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. Then £2.00 per extra property, falling to £1.00 from the 21st. Yearly is £75.51 a year for the first 3 properties (30% off). Everything is available again as soon as the payment goes through. What waits until you subscribe Starting a new rent review. Generating a new notice. Adding a property once you have 1. If you already have more, they all stay and can still be read. What is always open Anything attached to a served notice, a tribunal referral or a possession claim. The access of landlords and tenants you have invited. A worked example A landlord's free trial ends on Saturday 31 October 2026 with two let properties. On Solo she still sees both, with their certificates and past notices. In January she wants to propose a new rent on one of them. She can buy an increase pack for £29.00, or subscribe to Portfolio, which covers up to 3 properties for £8.99 a month. What Abide.Rent does for you Keeps every record readable and exportable. Shows how much of your free allowance is in use. Opens anything under a legal hold whatever the plan. If something goes wrong “New rent reviews and notices need Portfolio or a one-off pack.” What to do: Buy a pack or subscribe. Common mistakes Thinking records are locked away on Solo. They are readable and exportable. Adding a second property and being surprised it waits. Solo covers 1 property. Buying a pack and not using it straight away. It stays on your account until you do. What to do next Open your plan page See the plans Export your records ### 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. The notice is in the landlord's name, so the figure is theirs to approve. Whether approval is needed is set for each property with its service level. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Approvals waiting: each with the evidence and your options. What you are deciding If you are the landlord: whether to approve the figure, decline it, or ask your agent to change it. Your options Approve. Your agent can generate Form 4A with exactly the rent you approved. You are told when it is served. Decline. No notice is generated. Your agent is told and can propose a different figure. Do nothing. The review waits. No notice can be generated for a property that needs your approval until you answer. How to do it The agent prices the review and sends it for approval. The landlord receives an email and sees the review under Approvals . The landlord opens it, reads the figure, the start date and the evidence, and approves or declines. The agent is told. An approved review can go on to the notice. A worked example Fern Lettings sends Helen a review on Tuesday 27 October 2026: £1,250.00 to £1,325.00 a month, 6% more, starting Monday 1 February 2027, with three achieved rents beside it. Helen approves on Friday 30 October 2026 at 08:15. The review now shows who approved it and when, and the Form 4A generated on Monday 2 November 2026 carries £1,325.00, the figure she approved. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the landlord the figure, the date and the evidence on one page. Records who approved or declined, and when. Uses the approved rent in the notice, so it cannot differ from what was approved. If something goes wrong “Only the landlord on the title, or a director of a company on the title, can decide this proposal.” What to do: Sign in as the landlord on the title, or ask them. “Give the rent you would agree, or a different start date.” What to do: When proposing different figures, give one of them. “These are the figures already proposed. Approve the proposal instead.” What to do: Approve, since the figures are the same. Common mistakes Approving by phone or email and not here. The review still waits. Changing the figure after approval. A changed figure needs approving again. Leaving an approval until after the date you hoped to serve. Every day of delay moves the earliest start date. What to do next See what is waiting for approval See your rent reviews A rent increase from start to finish ### 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. Serving a notice is a step a person takes in the landlord's name. Abide.Rent offers it only where the agreement records the landlord's written authority and the person's seat allows it. Who this is for: letting agencies. Agreements: who may serve notices on each. What you are deciding Who in the team may serve notices, and on which properties. Your options Authority on the agreement. Recorded under the agreement's written terms. Without it, the landlord serves from their own account. Can serve on the seat. Set per person under People & access . Owners can serve; managers only if allowed. Let only. On a let-only property the agency cannot generate or serve a notice unless the agreement records written authority. How to do it Open Agreements and check the Serve column: Authority to serve or Landlord retains serve . To change it, open the agreement and select Edit terms . Open People & access and check Can serve for each person. Give serving only to people who sign and serve notices. A worked example Northgate Residential's agreement NR-MG-GAS records written authority to serve. Owen Marsh, a manager, has Can serve: Yes — written . On Monday 2 November 2026 he generates Form 4A for 12 Walmersley Road, signs it and records service. Priya Naylor, a negotiator, can price and generate but not record service. What Abide.Rent does for you Hides notice actions where authority is not recorded. Records who signed and who served each notice. Lets the landlord serve from their own account when the agency cannot. If something goes wrong The Serve notice action is greyed out on a property What to do: Either the service is let only or the agreement does not record written authority to serve. Record it on the agreement, or the landlord serves from their own account. “The landlord gave this notice from their own workspace and signs it there.” What to do: The landlord signs and serves that notice. Someone cannot record service What to do: Change Can serve for them under People & access . Common mistakes Giving serving to every seat. Keep it to the people who sign and serve. What to do next Open People & access Record a management agreement ### 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. When you propose a rent increase, Abide.Rent checks the date the new rent would start. If the date does not pass, the notice is not generated. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Serve notice: dates that break the rules are explained, not just refused. Deadlines and inspections, including the next rent increase date. What you are deciding Whether to move the start date, serve sooner, or correct a date on the tenancy. Your options Not enough notice. The start date must be at least two months after the date the notice is served. Choose a later start date, or serve sooner. Not the start of a rent period. The start date must be the first day of a rent period. Check the rent day recorded on the tenancy. Less than 52 weeks since the last change. The start date must be at least that long after the tenancy began, or after the last increase took effect. Check both dates on the tenancy. How to do it Read which of the three checks the date failed. If a date on the tenancy is wrong, open the property, go to the tenancy and correct the start date, the rent day or the last increase date. Go back to the rent review and choose the start date again. A worked example A tenancy began on Monday 1 June 2026 with rent due on the 1st. On Monday 5 October 2026 an agent proposes a new rent from Tuesday 1 December 2026. The date is refused twice over. A notice served on 5 October gives less than two months' notice of 1 December. And 52 weeks from the start of the tenancy is Monday 31 May 2027. The earliest date that passes all three checks is Tuesday 1 June 2027, with the notice served by Thursday 1 April 2027. What Abide.Rent does for you Names the check that failed, with the dates it used. Suggests nothing on its own: you choose the new date. Stops a notice being generated with a date that does not pass. If something goes wrong “Section 13 Form 4A needs at least two months' notice.” What to do: Choose a start date at least two months after service. “Increase must start at the beginning of a tenancy period (note A4).” What to do: Use the day rent is due. “A further increase cannot begin within 52 weeks of that date.” What to do: Choose a start at least 52 weeks after the last increase took effect. “Counted as served on …, this notice gives too little notice” What to do: Posting adds two working days. Move the start date or serve sooner. Common mistakes Changing the tenancy's start date to get a notice through. Correct it only if it was wrong. Reading the checks as a ruling on your notice. They follow the published notes to Form 4A; they are not a decision about it. What to do next See your rent reviews Section 13 rent increase notices (Form 4A) Ask us which check a date is failing ### Written statement of terms Record the date the written statement of terms was given, and send it to the tenant to acknowledge. Abide.Rent keeps a date for the written statement of terms on each tenancy, so you can see at a glance which tenancies have one on record. Who this is for: letting agencies, landlords and tenants. Statement of terms: prepare it in Abide.Rent or upload and record it. What you are deciding Whether to record a statement you have already given, or to issue it from Abide.Rent so the tenant can acknowledge it. Your options Record the date it was given. The tenancy shows a statement on record from that date. Nothing is sent to the tenant. Issue it from Abide.Rent. The tenant receives it by email and in their portal, and the date and time they acknowledge it are stored with the tenancy. Record that a written tenancy agreement is held. The tenancy is treated as having its terms in writing, and the item leaves your deadlines. Leave it. The tenancy is shown as having no statement on record, and it is listed among your deadlines. If you are the tenant When a statement is issued to you through Abide.Rent it appears on your tenancy. Open it, read it, and select the button to acknowledge that you have received it. Acknowledging says you received it. It does not mean you agree with everything in it. What the statement must contain, and when it must be given, are set by the Act and its regulations. Check GOV.UK for the current requirements, including which other documents a new tenant is to be given. A worked example An agent issues the statement for a tenancy that begins on Monday 2 November 2026. The tenant opens it in their portal on Tuesday 3 November 2026 at 19:42 and acknowledges it. The tenancy now shows "Statement acknowledged, 3 November 2026", and the item leaves the agent's list of deadlines. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows which tenancies have no statement on record. Stores the date and time the tenant acknowledged it. Keeps the tenant's own copy on their tenancy. If something goes wrong “Only the managing account issues a statement of terms.” What to do: Ask the agency that manages the property to issue it. “The date the statement was given cannot be in the future.” What to do: Enter the date it was actually given. “Only a named tenant can record receipt.” What to do: Tenants confirm receipt from their own portal. Common mistakes Treating an acknowledgement as agreement. It records receipt only. Recording today's date for a statement given months ago. Enter the date it was given. What to do next See your deadlines Rent in advance Who can see what ### 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. Free trial — 30 days, unlimited properties, every feature, no card needed. Your free trial starts on the day you sign up and lasts 30 days, or 60 days if another Abide.Rent customer invited you. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. The trial notice on the dashboard. Plans: Solo, Portfolio and Scale, monthly or yearly. What you are deciding What to do when the free trial ends: subscribe to Portfolio, or stay on the free Solo plan. Your options Subscribe to Portfolio. Portfolio is £8.99 a month, includes 3 properties. Then £2.00 per extra property, falling to £1.00 from the 21st. Yearly is £75.51 a year for the first 3 properties (30% off). Everything carries on as before. Stay on Solo. Solo is free for 1 property. You can read and export everything. A new rent review or notice needs a subscription or a one-off pack. Do nothing. Your account moves to Solo when the free trial ends. Nothing is deleted. During the free trial Add as many properties and tenancies as you like: the free trial has no tenancy limit. Propose rent increases, generate notices and record service. Invite landlords, tenants and colleagues. The days left are shown on your dashboard and on the plan page . What never changes Nothing is deleted when a free trial ends. You can export your records at any time, on any plan. Anything attached to a served notice, a tribunal referral or a possession claim stays available to you. Tenant access is always free. A worked example An agency signs up on Thursday 1 October 2026 and adds 25 properties. Its free trial ends on Saturday 31 October 2026. If it subscribes, Portfolio for 25 properties is £47.99 a month, or £403.11 a year. If it does nothing, the account moves to Solo once the free trial has ended: all 25 properties stay readable and exportable, and a new rent review waits for a subscription or an increase pack at £29.00. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the days left on your dashboard, with reminders before the free trial ends. Moves the account to Solo on its own if you do not subscribe; you are not charged. Keeps every record, whichever plan you are on. If something goes wrong “New rent reviews and notices need Portfolio or a one-off pack.” What to do: The trial has ended and the account is on Solo. Subscribe to Portfolio under Billing , or buy a one-off pack. The trial ended sooner than you expected What to do: The trial runs from the day the account was created, not the day you first added properties. Check Billing . Common mistakes Thinking a card is needed to start. It is not. Expecting records to be deleted at the end of the trial. They are kept. Leaving a rent review half done at the end of the trial. Finish it, or subscribe, so the notice can still be generated. What to do next See the plans Open your plan page Choosing between Portfolio, Solo and a pack How billing works ### 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. Most agencies sell two or three services, and one landlord often has a mix. The service sits on each property. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Management: the service level and the agreement behind it. Who carries what on this property. What you are deciding Which service applies to each property. Your options Let only. The agent finds the tenant and steps back. Notices are served by the landlord unless written authority is recorded. Rent collection. Adds collecting rent and first-line arrears. Certificates and repairs usually stay with the landlord. Fully managed. Day-to-day management, and notices in the landlord's name with written authority. The agent pays the rent. Full management plus a promise to pay the rent if the tenant does not. The landlord is still the landlord. Self-managed. No agent. The landlord does everything in their own account. How to do it Open the property and choose Management . Choose the Service level and select Save instruction . Open Who carries what (Duties) to see each duty and who holds it. What never changes Whatever the service, only Right to Rent and gas safety can transfer to the agent, and only in writing. Everything else, including PRS registration, stays with the landlord. A worked example On 1 October 2026 Ashworth Holdings Ltd has 30 fully managed properties and 2 let only with Northgate Residential. On the let-only properties the notice actions are unavailable to the agency, and alerts about certificates go to the landlord. What Abide.Rent does for you Records the service per property. Shows notice actions only where the service and authority allow. Names who must act on each alert. If something goes wrong “Instruction sits with the managing account.” What to do: Only the managing account sets the service. Common mistakes Setting the service on the landlord instead of each property. What to do next Who carries what Which duties can an agent take on? Agreements and service levels ### 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. 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 Open the property and select the tab for the agent's instruction. Choose the service level, for example let only, rent collection or fully managed. Tick Right to Rent, gas safety, or both, only if the agent has accepted that duty in writing. Save. The duties table for that property updates straight away. 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 ### 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. The Private Rented Sector Database is the government's register of landlords and the properties they let in England. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. Your region’s window, the fee estimate and properties missing numbers. What you are deciding When to register each property, and who in your business gathers the numbers. Your options Register in your region's window. Each region opens on the 15th of a month and has until the 14th 3 months later. The fee is £65 for each property each year. Registering gives a Landlord Registration Number and a Property Registration Number. Advertise a property. Both numbers must appear on adverts for the property. Seek possession. A landlord who has not registered cannot seek possession, except on Grounds 7A and 14. Register through software. The government has not announced a way for software to register on a landlord's behalf. Registration is done with the government's own service. When each region opens West Midlands : 15 December 2026 to 14 March 2027 East of England : 15 January 2027 to 14 April 2027 East Midlands : 15 February 2027 to 14 May 2027 South East : 15 March 2027 to 14 June 2027 Yorkshire and The Humber : 15 April 2027 to 14 July 2027 North West : 15 May 2027 to 14 August 2027 North East : 15 June 2027 to 14 September 2027 London : 15 July 2027 to 14 October 2027 South West : 15 August 2027 to 14 November 2027 Abide.Rent works out each property's region from its postcode. Where a postcode sits near a regional border, it looks the full postcode up; if it still cannot tell, the property shows "Region not known" and you set the region by hand. What Abide.Rent does not do Abide.Rent does not register a landlord or a property, and does not pay the fee. A worked example An agency in Birmingham manages 40 properties for 22 landlords, all in the West Midlands. From 15 December 2026 each landlord registers and each property is registered, at £65 a property a year: £2,600.00 a year across the portfolio, paid to the government. As the numbers arrive, the agency records them. By Friday 29 January 2027 its PRS Database page shows 31 properties with both numbers and nine still waiting, with the landlords to chase. What Abide.Rent does for you Stores the Landlord Registration Number and Property Registration Number you give it, against the landlord and the property. Shows which of your properties have both numbers and which do not. Works out each property's region and shows its window and deadline. Reminds you as the deadline for your region approaches. If something goes wrong “Region not known: check the postcode or set the region” What to do: Set the region on the property. “The PRS Database … not recorded.” What to do: Record the numbers once you have registered. Common mistakes Expecting Abide.Rent to register for you. It records the numbers; the government's service issues them. Advertising a property before both numbers are recorded. Leaving it to each landlord without tracking who has done it. What to do next Open PRS Database Getting your records ready for the PRS Database Section 8 grounds and notice periods ### 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. Abide.Rent holds the published market-rent decisions of the First-tier Tribunal. You can read them under Tribunal decisions and see them summarised by postcode district under Area statistics. Who this is for: letting agencies and landlords. A proposal above the defensible band. What you are deciding How much weight to put on your own lettings, and how much on published decisions, when you set a figure. Your options Price from your own recent lettings. This is the evidence a figure rests on. Rents you have achieved for similar properties nearby are the strongest support you have. Check the figure against tribunal decisions. They show how proposals like yours fared when challenged. Use them to judge risk. Price from tribunal decisions alone. Not reliable. There are too few decisions in most areas to price a rent from them. How to do it Open Tribunal decisions and search by postcode district or property type. Open a decision to read the figures and download the published document. Open Area statistics for the district to see the decisions summarised. When you start a rent review, the nearest decisions are shown beside your proposed figure. What the decisions tell you How often the tribunal set a rent below the one proposed. In the decisions published since the Act came into force, 60% were set below the proposal, and the typical reduction was 5%. How long a challenge takes. The typical wait is 82 days, and 84 days in London. Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal market-rent decisions published 1 March–12 October 2026 (outcomes: decisions under the Renters' Rights Act rules; waits: all 2026 decisions), as of 12 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. A worked example On Tuesday 27 October 2026 an agent is deciding between £1,325.00 and £1,400.00 for a flat let at £1,250.00. Her own three recent lettings nearby run from £1,290.00 to £1,340.00. The district has two published decisions; in both the tribunal set a rent below the proposal. She proposes £1,325.00: it sits inside her own range, and if the tenant refers it she has three achieved rents to show. At £1,400.00 she would have none, and the typical wait of 82 days would pass before any new rent began. What Abide.Rent does for you Shows the nearest published decisions beside your figure. Summarises decisions by postcode district. Keeps the evidence you relied on with the review. If something goes wrong “A proposal that is too high cannot be rescued at tribunal.” What to do: Bring the figure into the range before approval. No decisions are listed for your home What to do: There are none like-for-like nearby. The risk comes from local rents only. Common mistakes Treating a tribunal decision in another district as a comparable. Reading the share of reduced proposals as a forecast for your own. It describes past decisions. Leaving your own lettings out of the review. They are the evidence. What to do next Open Tribunal decisions Open Area statistics Start a rent review What the tribunal can and cannot do ## Blog ### The PRS Database opens on 15 December 2026: a register pack for each property The government’s register opens in the West Midlands first, then one region a month. £65 a property a year, renewed every year. What it will ask for, and how to have each property ready before your window opens. The Private Rented Sector Database opens on Tue 15 December 2026 — in the West Midlands only. Each region then gets its own three-month window, and every landlord in England should be registered by Sun 14 November 2027. Registration costs £65 a property a year and is renewed every year. When your region opens Region Opens Register by West Midlands Tue 15 December 2026 Sun 14 March 2027 East of England Fri 15 January 2027 Wed 14 April 2027 East Midlands Mon 15 February 2027 Fri 14 May 2027 South East Mon 15 March 2027 Mon 14 June 2027 Yorkshire and The Humber Thu 15 April 2027 Wed 14 July 2027 North West Sat 15 May 2027 Sat 14 August 2027 North East Tue 15 June 2027 Tue 14 September 2027 London Thu 15 July 2027 Thu 14 October 2027 South West Sun 15 August 2027 Sun 14 November 2027 Why it matters Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on Grounds 7A or 14. Registration issues a Landlord Registration Number and a Property Registration Number. Adverts will have to show both once the government’s advert rules start. The fee is due every year, so a portfolio is a recurring cost to plan for. What the register is expected to ask for The landlord’s names and an address for notices. The property’s address, type and number of bedrooms. Gas safety, electrical (EICR) and energy (EPC) records. Any licence for the property. The government will confirm the final list. Gather it now so each registration takes minutes, not an afternoon. A register pack for each property Abide.Rent builds a register pack for each property from the record you already keep: every item the GOV.UK “Register your rental property” service is expected to ask for, marked ready or missing, with what to fix, ready to copy into the government form. What you also get A fee planner: £65 for each property, by the month its region opens, so a portfolio landlord sees the cost month by month. Somewhere to record both numbers once the register issues them. A yearly renewal reminder from the date you registered, so the fee and the record do not lapse. An assistant connected to Abide.Rent can prepare the pack, but cannot register for you. What Abide.Rent will not do Abide.Rent never registers for you. There is no public API to the register, and the landlord registers through the government’s service. We hold the pack, the numbers you enter and the renewal date. Check your own dates: the PRS Database deadline checker . More on the PRS register pack and fee planner . Not legal advice. England only. ### Achieved rents, not asking rents: what wins at the rent tribunal Tribunals set the rent from what similar homes actually let for. Asking prices, portal guides and area averages carry little weight. How to gather evidence that holds up — and why the tribunal can still go below today’s rent. When a tenant refers a Section 13 rent increase, the First-tier Tribunal decides what the home would let for on the open market. It cannot set more than the landlord proposed. It can set less — including less than the tenant pays now. What decides where it lands is the evidence in front of it. The short version Achieved rents beat asking rents. A letting that was agreed, with a date and a rent, is evidence. An advert is a hope. Like-for-like beats volume. Same bedrooms, same kind of home, close by, let recently. Adjust for the differences, openly. No parking, a smaller garden, older kitchen: say how much each is worth. An area average is not evidence. ONS and Local Housing Allowance figures are context, not comparables. What counts as an achieved rent Evidence Weight Why Your own letting of a similar home, agreed in the last 12–18 months Strong A real rent, a real date, and you can show the agreement An agent’s letter confirming rents agreed on similar homes Strong Names the homes, the dates and the rents A ‘let agreed’ listing with the agreed date Usable Shows the home let; confirm the rent if you can A published tribunal decision on a similar home nearby Context Too few to price from; shows how a figure fared An asking rent on a portal Weak Not a rent anyone agreed to pay An area average (ONS, LHA) Not evidence Covers every kind of home in a wide area Three strong comparables, adjusted Pick homes like yours: the same number of bedrooms and the same type, within about a mile, let in the last year if you can. Record each one: address, postcode, bedrooms, type, furnished or not, rent, the date it was let, and the document that proves it. Adjust each rent for the differences, with a reason and an amount — for example −£50 a month for no parking. Put your proposed rent next to the adjusted figures. If it sits above most of them, expect a cut. What the tribunal ignores: the s.14(2) disregards The tribunal values the home as it is, but must ignore two things (Housing Act 1988, s.14(2)): improvements the tenant made at their own cost, and any fall in value caused by the tenant’s failure to keep to the tenancy. So write down the condition, who paid for what, and any damage — before you set the figure. It can go below today’s rent This is the risk landlords miss. The tribunal decides the open-market rent for the home on the evidence; it is not choosing between the old rent and the new one. If similar homes let for less than the tenant pays now, it can set the lower figure. District Rent: current → proposed → set Decision M1 (Manchester) £1,650 → £1,700 → £1,450 MAN/00BN/MRA/2026/0043 DA2 (Dartford) £2,350 → £2,375 → £2,300 HAV/29UD/MRA/2026/0020 How Abide.Rent helps A comparables locker on each rent review: add a letting from your own book in one click, upload an agent’s letter or a let-agreed listing, or type one in. Each comparable is graded strong, usable or weak, with the reasons, and the review shows how many strong ones you have against the three you need. The condition record and the s.14(2) disregards sit on the review and go into the evidence pack. The landlord sees the ‘can go below today’s rent’ warning before approving. More: comparable lettings evidence and tribunal decisions by area . Source: Abide.Rent’s reading of First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on GOV.UK, with a postcode district, to 7 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Not legal advice. ### Rent tribunal decisions digest — October 2026 191 market-rent decisions dated September 2026, 70 under the new rules. 73% of those were set below the landlord’s figure. What won, what lost, and three cases by district. Every month we read the market-rent decisions the First-tier Tribunal publishes on GOV.UK and summarise what they say for landlords, agents and tenants. This is the first one. It covers decisions dated in September 2026. The month in numbers September 2026 All decisions so far Decisions with a postcode district 191 6304 Under the Renters’ Rights Act rules 70 149 New rules: set below the proposal 73% (43 of 70) 65% (85 of 149) New rules: median cut where cut −5.9% −5.7% New rules: median change across every decision −4.6% −3.3% Set below the rent already paid (any rules) 9 108 September was the first month in which new-rules decisions made up more than half the total. The cut rate was higher than in July and August, and the cuts were deeper. One month is a small sample: read it as a direction, not a forecast for your own case. Three cases worth reading District Rent: current → proposed → set Decision What happened M1 (Manchester) £1,650 → £1,700 → £1,450 MAN/00BN/MRA/2026/0043 Similar flats nearby were advertised for less; the tribunal set the rent below what the tenant already paid TN39 (Marina St Leonards-on-Sea) £860 → £1,300 → £860 HAV/21UD/MRA/2026/0019 No increase until the landlord finished damp repairs DA2 (Dartford) £2,350 → £2,375 → £2,300 HAV/29UD/MRA/2026/0020 A small rise asked for; the tribunal set the rent £50 below the current rent Two of the three ended with the rent no higher than before. In one the tribunal set it lower. The tribunal is not limited to choosing between the old rent and the new one: it decides the open-market rent, and that can be below today’s rent. What evidence won Achieved rents for similar homes nearby: lettings actually agreed, with the address, the date and the rent. A list of agreed lettings in the same block confirmed one landlord’s full figure earlier this year. Like-for-like: the same number of bedrooms, the same kind of home, close by. Comparables a mile or two away were set aside. Condition on the record. Tribunals value the home as it is. Disrepair comes off the rent, line by line, and bad enough disrepair stops the increase. What lost Asking prices and portal price guides on their own. Renewals with sitting tenants, which tribunals treat as weak evidence of the open market. No evidence at all. Most decisions are made on paper, so the tribunal values what it is sent — or uses its own knowledge. For tenants If you have a rent increase notice, check whether it is valid . You can apply to the tribunal before the new rent starts. It cannot set more than the notice. For landlords and agents Before you serve, check the figure against tribunal outcomes and gather three achieved lettings. Read achieved rents, not asking rents for how. Busiest district so far: DA2 (Dartford) . See every decision by postcode district . Each one links to the published decision on GOV.UK. Source: Abide.Rent’s reading of First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on GOV.UK, with a postcode district, to 7 October 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Not legal advice. ### Section 21 is gone: what letting agents do now Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026. Tenancies are assured periodic, possession runs through Section 8, and the rent review has replaced the renewal. What changes for agents. Quick answer Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026. Tenancies in England became assured periodic, so there are no fixed terms to end or renew. Possession now needs a Section 8 notice on a named ground. Rent goes up by Section 13 notice, once every 52 weeks. For agents, the work moves from renewals and no-fault notices to rent reviews, proof of service and keeping every landlord registered. What actually ended Section 21 was the no-fault route to possession under the Housing Act 1988. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished it on 1 May 2026. Fixed terms became assured periodic tenancies on the same date. A landlord still cannot end an assured tenancy with a notice to quit. Possession: Section 8 only Possession of an assured tenancy now uses a Section 8 notice, on a named ground, with the notice period that ground requires. Take advice before serving one. Ground 8, rent arrears: at least 3 months’ rent unpaid, or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly. 4 weeks’ notice. Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. The deposit must still be protected within 30 days. Registration matters more because Section 21 is gone. With no no-fault route, an unregistered property loses most of what is left. Check when registration bites for each property with the free PRS Database deadline checker . Section 8 grounds most agents will use Ground What it covers Type Minimum notice 1 Landlord or close family to live there (not in the first 12 months) Mandatory 4 months 1A Landlord intends to sell (not in the first 12 months) Mandatory 4 months 2 Mortgage lender repossessing Mandatory 4 months 6 Demolition or substantial works Mandatory 4 months 8 Serious arrears: 3 months’ rent (13 weeks if weekly), at notice and at the hearing Mandatory 4 weeks 10 Some rent unpaid Discretionary 4 weeks 11 Persistent late payment Discretionary 4 weeks 12 Breach of a tenancy term Discretionary 2 weeks 13 Deterioration of the property Discretionary 2 weeks 14 Nuisance or anti-social behaviour Discretionary Proceedings can start straight away Notice periods are from section 8(4AA) of the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Renters’ Rights Act. Where a notice names several grounds, the longest period applies. Gates before any ground Registered on the PRS Database once the regional deadline has passed — otherwise no possession order except on Grounds 7A or 14. The right notice period for every ground named. Evidence for the ground itself: arrears statements for Ground 8, proof of the sale or move-in plan for Grounds 1A and 1. A clean compliance file. A council penalty or an unprotected deposit will be raised at the hearing. What does not change Gas Safety record every 12 months, with a copy to tenants within 28 days. EICR at least every 5 years, with a copy within 28 days. Deposit protected, and prescribed information given, within 30 days. Right to Rent checked before the tenancy starts. Only Right to Rent and gas safety can move to an agent, and only in writing. The renewal has become the rent review With no fixed term, there is no renewal to put a new rent into. Section 13 is the way to increase the rent: at most once every 52 weeks, with at least two months’ notice. Tenants can refer an increase to the First-tier Tribunal before it starts, and more do. There were 166 market-rent determinations in July 2026, against about 42 a month before the Act. In Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules, 60% set the rent below the landlord’s proposal, 40% confirmed it, and the median cut was 5%. In 18%, the rent did not go up at all. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. What letting agents do now Diarise every rent review from the date the rent last changed, not from the old renewal date. Price each increase from your own achieved lettings, and check the tribunal risk before serving. Keep proof of service for every notice — Section 13 and Section 8. Record the service level per property, and which duties you took in writing. Collect PRS Database details and agree who registers each landlord. Keep the rent history with the property, so a sale or a change of agent does not lose the 52 weeks. Conversations to have with landlords Landlords who relied on Section 21 as a backstop need to hear plainly that it has gone. The useful conversation is about records: arrears tracked accurately, safety records given on time, the property registered. Those are what keep Section 8 open. Take the whole list into that conversation with the free Renters’ Rights Act compliance checklist . Where Abide.Rent fits Abide.Rent does not generate a Section 21 notice. It keeps proof of service for the notices that remain, works out the 52 weeks for each rent review, and holds the PRS Database numbers on the property file. Anything attached to a live notice, tribunal referral or possession claim stays readable on any plan. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### Renters’ Rights Act checklist for letting agents A practical Renters’ Rights Act checklist for agents in England: tenancies and notices, rent increases, safety, deposits, the PRS Database and the records to keep. Quick answer Since 1 May 2026, letting agents in England work with assured periodic tenancies, no Section 21, rent increases by Section 13 only, and a ban on rental bidding that names agents directly. Next comes the PRS Database, opening region by region from 15 December 2026. The checklist below covers tenancies and notices, rent, safety, deposits, Right to Rent, registration and records. Tenancies and notices Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026. Fixed terms became assured periodic tenancies. Possession is by a Section 8 notice, on a named ground, with the period that ground requires. Ground 8 (rent arrears) needs at least 3 months’ rent unpaid, or 13 weeks if paid weekly, and 4 weeks’ notice. Tenancies from 1 May 2026: a written statement of terms before the tenancy starts. Earlier tenancies: the How to Rent guide that applied when the tenancy began. Advertising and letting Rental bidding is banned. The advertised rent is the ceiling. The Act names agents directly as duty-holders on the bidding ban. Discrimination bans and the tenant’s right to request a pet are in force. Once the advert rules start, adverts carry the landlord and property identifiers. Rent increases Section 13 only, at most once every 52 weeks. At least two months’ notice from deemed service, moved to the rent day. Email service only with the tenant’s written agreement. Form checked against the GOV.UK prescribed forms: Form 4A, SI 2026/354. Landlord approval on the record before the notice goes. The tribunal cannot award more than the landlord proposed. Time any increase with the free Section 13 rent increase calculator . Safety records Gas Safety record: every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Copy to existing tenants within 28 days. EICR: at least every 5 years, or sooner if the report says so. Copy within 28 days. Remedial work within 28 days or less. EPC: valid for 10 years, rated E or above, given before the tenancy. Smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation. Carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, not gas cookers. Tested on the first day of each tenancy. Deposits and Right to Rent Deposit protected in a government-backed scheme within 30 days of receipt. Prescribed information given within the same 30 days, with proof of how and when. Late protection exposes the landlord to a claim of one to three times the deposit. Right to Rent checked for every adult occupier before the tenancy, with follow-up checks diarised. Who is responsible Only two duties can move to an agent: Right to Rent and gas safety, both in writing. Everything else stays with the landlord, whatever the agreement says. Record the service level per property. PRS Database Opens 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands. Every English region has a three-month window. All registered by 14 November 2027. £65 per property per year. The landlord registers. Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. No public API is planned. Plan for manual entry. Find each property’s deadline with the PRS Database deadline checker . Records to keep Proof of service for every notice: method, date, who served it. Dates each safety record was given to each tenant. The rent history, so the 52 weeks survive a sale or a change of agent. Anything attached to a live notice or tribunal case, kept readable. Score a single property in two minutes with the free landlord compliance checker , or take the whole list as the Renters’ Rights Act compliance checklist . Penalties on one page Breach Maximum Law Electrical safety (EICR, remedial work, copies) £40,000 per breach Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, reg. 11 Housing Act offences: licensing, HMO management, improvement notices £40,000 Housing Act 2004, s.249A Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms £5,000 penalty charge Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015, reg. 8 PRS Database: not registered £7,000; up to £40,000 for false information or repeat breaches Renters’ Rights Act 2025 Gas safety Criminal offence; prosecuted by the HSE Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 Four appeals worth knowing Case What happened Result MAN/00DA/HNA/2025/0603 Landlord appealed a £7,500 penalty; no proof of a valid gas record on the day of inspection Raised to £10,500 MAN/32UD/HNA/2022/0085 & 0086 Council said the gas record was never sent; the manager proved it was posted Penalties cancelled BIR/00CN/HNA/2025/0014 Penalties of £11,250 and £6,750 for licence conditions, including smoke alarms Quashed: the landlord had a reasonable excuse BIR/00FK/HIN/2025/0031 & 0032 Smoke alarm penalty charges on two joint owners after a remedial notice £1,500 each, confirmed Appeals are re-hearings: the amount can go up as well as down. Proof of sending is as important as the certificate itself. Joint owners can each be charged for the same breach. 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 is one file per property. Duties show who does each task and who is legally responsible. Rent reviews, proof of service, certificates and PRS Database numbers sit on the same record. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### Let only vs fully managed: who is responsible for compliance On let only, almost every duty sits with the landlord. On fully managed, the agent does most of the work — but only two duties can legally move. A duty-by-duty guide. 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. ### Can a tenant challenge a rent increase? The tribunal explained Yes. A tenant can refer a Section 13 increase to the First-tier Tribunal before it starts. What the tribunal can and cannot do, and what the 2026 figures show. Quick answer Yes. A tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal at any time before the new rent in a Section 13 notice takes effect. The tenant fee has been £47 since 1 May 2026. The tribunal decides what the home would let for on the open market. It cannot set the rent higher than the landlord proposed. If it decides after the date on the notice, the new rent starts from the first rent day on or after the decision, with no backdating. What the tribunal does The tribunal decides the open-market rent for the home. It is not deciding whether the increase is fair in the abstract. It is deciding what the property would let for. It cannot set a rent higher than the one the landlord proposed. If it decides after the date on the notice, the new rent starts from the first rent day on or after the decision. There is no backdating. For hardship it can set a later start, within two months of the decision. That makes evidence one-sided. Good evidence protects the figure you asked for. It cannot get you more. Asking high in the hope of meeting in the middle does not work. How often do tenants challenge? Much more often than before the Act. There were 166 market-rent determinations in July 2026. Before the Act, the monthly figure was about 42. How do landlords fare? In Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules, 60% set the rent below the landlord’s proposal, 40% confirmed it, and the median cut was 5%. In 18%, the rent did not go up at all. On a £1,500 rent proposed at £1,650, a 5% cut is about £990 in the first year. Set below the proposal: 60% of new-rules decisions. Proposal confirmed: 18%. Median cut: 5%. No increase at all: 18%. Median wait from application to decision: 82 days; 169 in the Midlands. The 60%, 40% and 5% figures come from Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules (June–September 2026). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The wait costs money too The new rent runs from the first rent period starting on or after the decision. With a median wait of 82 days, the old rent carries on for months after the date on the notice. In the Midlands, with a median of 169 days, that gap is longer still. Tell the landlord about the wait before the notice goes, not after the tenant applies. See how a proposed figure might fare with the free rent increase tribunal risk checker . Why published decisions cannot set your rent It is tempting to price from past decisions. There are too few. 478 post-Act market-rent decisions fall across 323 postcode districts, and only four districts have five or more. Decisions tell you the risk. The figure itself should come from your own achieved lettings nearby, checked against official local rent averages from the ONS. Before you serve: a challenge-ready checklist A proposed rent you could defend from your own recent lettings. The ONS local average for the area, as a cross-check. Landlord approval on the record. The correct start date: two months’ notice and 52 weeks since the last change. Proof of service for every tenant. A pack you can file quickly if the tenant applies. The free Section 13 rent review playbook walks through each step. If you are a tenant Apply before the new rent starts — the last day is the day before the date in the notice. Tenant access to Abide.Rent is always free. Where Abide.Rent fits Rent reviews in Abide.Rent put the risk on the figure before the notice goes out: your achieved lettings, the ONS anchor, and what the tribunal decided for proposals like yours, with the sample size shown. What tribunals decided in the first cases under the new rules Case Rent: current → proposed → decided Why LON/00BB/MRA/2026/0009 £3,103 → £3,180 → £3,180 Nine agreed lettings in the same block beat the tenant’s asking rents BIR/00CS/MRA/2026/0013 £1,360 → £1,500 → £1,360 Landlord relied on a portal price guide; £47 fee repaid to the tenant MAN/00BN/MRA/2026/0043 £1,650 → £1,700 → £1,450 Nearby flats advertised for less; the rent went down HAV/21UD/MRA/2026/0019 £860 → £1,300 → £860 No increase until damp repairs were finished MAN/00EJ/MRA/2026/0034 £1,200 → £1,700 → £1,300 Per-room student lets were not comparable to a family let MAN/00BM/MRA/2026/0049 £895 → £925 → £925 Start date moved for hardship after the tenant showed her income and outgoings Across the 77 new-rules decisions, 60% of rents were set below the proposal and 18% ended with no increase at all. Tribunals need evidence for hardship: ‘a mere assertion of undue hardship would not be sufficient’ (BIR/37UD/MRA/2026/0005, citing Anderson v Kokins & Kokina [2024] UKUT 0091 (LC)). Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on gov.uk between 1 March and 12 October 2026, 79 of them under the rules in force from 1 May 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### Gas Safety certificate: landlord vs letting agent duty Gas safety is one of only two duties that can move from landlord to agent — and only in writing. When it moves, when it does not, and the dates to track. Quick answer The landlord is responsible for the annual gas safety check and the Gas Safety record, unless the duty has moved to the letting agent under a written management agreement. Gas safety and Right to Rent are the only two duties that can move. On let only or rent collection, gas safety stays with the landlord. The check is due at least every 12 months, and existing tenants get a copy within 28 days. The gas safety rules A Gas Safe registered engineer checks every gas appliance and flue at least every 12 months. Existing tenants get a copy of the record within 28 days of the check. New tenants get a copy before they move in. No gas supply at the property: the duty does not apply. Most people call it a gas safety certificate. On this site it is the Gas Safety record. The rules are the same whatever you call it. When the duty can move to the agent Only two duties can move from a landlord to an agent: Right to Rent and gas safety. Both need it in writing. Everything else stays with the landlord, whatever the agreement says. For gas safety, the writing is a management agreement. That is why it can move on a fully managed or guaranteed rent instruction, and not on let only or rent collection. Service level by service level Let only (tenant find): the landlord does the check and is liable. Rent collection: the landlord does the check and is liable. Fully managed: the agent usually books the engineer. Liability moves only if the written management agreement says so. Guaranteed rent: as fully managed. The named landlord is still the landlord. Self-managed: the landlord, with no agent in the picture. Doing the task is not the same as being liable for it. An agent can book every gas check on a fully managed book without ever taking the duty in writing. If a check is missed, the question is who held the duty on that date. The answer is in the agreement, not in who usually picks up the phone. The exact wording that moves the duty is a matter for a housing solicitor, not for us. See who is liable for every duty, by service level, with the free agent or landlord responsibility checker . When the service level changes Service levels change. A landlord moves from fully managed to let only, or takes a property back to self-manage. When the management agreement ends, so does any written transfer of gas safety. Record the date, and make sure the landlord knows the next check is now theirs. A worked example A Gas Safe registered engineer checks the boiler and hob on 12 October 2026. Copy to the existing tenants by 9 November 2026. Next check due by 12 October 2027. A sensible reminder: 60 days before, in August 2027. Run any certificate date through the free certificate expiry calculator . Gas safety checklist Is there a gas supply? If not, record that. Date of the last check and the engineer’s Gas Safe registration. Next due date: no more than 12 months on. Date the copy went to each current tenant, and how. For new tenants: copy given before move-in. Service level for this property, and whether the agent took gas safety in writing. Gas sits alongside EICR, EPC, deposit and Right to Rent in the free Renters’ Rights Act compliance checklist . The rules in one table Duty Deadline Annual safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer Every 12 months Keep the anniversary date when checking early Check up to 2 months before the due date Copy to existing tenants Within 28 days of the check Copy to a new tenant Before they move in Keep the record At least 2 years HMOs: send the record to the council Within 7 days of a written request The gas rules are criminal law, enforced by the Health and Safety Executive through the courts. Councils add their own route: in HMOs and licensed properties a missing or unproduced gas record is a housing offence, with a civil penalty of up to £40,000. What tribunals decided Case What happened Council Tribunal MAN/32UD/HNA/2022/0085 & 0086 HMO manager accused of not sending the gas record when asked. It proved the record had been posted to the council on 28 March 2022 £1,069.52, cut to £534.76 Cancelled MAN/00DA/HNA/2025/0603 Landlord produced a gas record dated after the council’s inspection, with no proof one was valid on the day; other works outstanding £14,250 proposed, £7,500 final £10,500 — increased on appeal What the cases teach A valid gas record is not enough. You need proof it existed on the day, and proof of when it was sent. An appeal is a re-hearing. The tribunal can set a higher penalty than the council did. Health and personal circumstances counted as mitigation, but only with evidence. If the management contract makes the agent responsible for gas maintenance and safety checks, HSE’s guidance is that the same duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 apply to the agent. Check what the management agreement actually says. 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 records the service level per property, and duties shows who does each task and who is still legally responsible. Gas moves to the agent on the record only when the written agreement is on file. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### EICR rules for landlords: every 5 years and the 28-day copy An EICR is due at least every five years, sooner if the report says so, and the tenant must have a copy within 28 days. Who is liable, and what to track. Quick answer A landlord in England must have the electrical installation inspected by a qualified electrician at least every five years, or sooner if the report says so. The Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) goes to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection, and to new tenants before they occupy. If the report is unsatisfactory, remedial work must be done within 28 days or the shorter time the report gives. The three EICR clocks The inspection: at least every 5 years, or sooner if the report gives an earlier date. The tenant copy: within 28 days of the inspection for existing tenants; before they occupy for new tenants. Remedial work: within 28 days of an unsatisfactory report, or the shorter time the report sets. The five years is a maximum. If the electrician writes an earlier next-inspection date on the report, that date is the one that counts. Track the report’s own date, not a round five years from the last one. A worked example An electrician inspects a flat on 12 October 2026 and the report is satisfactory, with no earlier date given. Copy to the existing tenants by 9 November 2026. Next inspection due by 12 October 2031. A sensible reminder: 60 days before, in August 2031. If the report had said the next inspection was due in three years, the due date would be October 2029. If the report is unsatisfactory The remedial work must be done within 28 days, or within the shorter time the report gives. Keep the electrician’s written confirmation that the work is done, with its date. Without it, the file shows an unsatisfactory report and nothing after. Work out your own dates with the free certificate expiry calculator . It covers the Gas Safety record and EPC too. Who is liable: landlord or agent? The landlord. Electrical safety is not one of the two duties that can move to an agent. Only Right to Rent and gas safety can, and only in writing. On a fully managed property the agent usually books the electrician and sends the report. That is doing the task. It does not move the liability. A missing or late report is still the landlord’s problem. The 28-day copy is the one that slips Inspections get booked because someone chases the expiry date. The tenant copy is quieter. It is easy to file the report and forget to send it. Keep a record of when the copy went, how, and to whom. Send it to every tenant named on the tenancy. EICRs and the PRS Database The PRS Database opens on 15 December 2026, region by region. Its property entry is expected to cover gas, EICR and EPC details alongside postcode, type, bedrooms and rent. A portfolio with gaps in its EICR dates will find out at registration. Better to find out now. EICR checklist for every property Date of the last inspection. Next due date — from the report if it is earlier than five years. Result: satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If unsatisfactory: remedial work done, with the date and the electrician’s confirmation. Date the copy went to each current tenant, and how. For a new tenancy: copy given before the tenant moved in. EICRs sit alongside gas, EPC, deposit and alarms in the free Renters’ Rights Act compliance checklist . The rules in one table Duty Deadline Regulation Inspect and test the installation At least every 5 years, or sooner if the report says so Reg. 3(1)(b) Copy to existing tenants Within 28 days of the inspection Reg. 3(1)(d) Copy to a new tenant Before they occupy Reg. 3(3) Copy to the council Within 7 days of a written request Reg. 3(1)(e) Remedial or further investigative work Within 28 days, or the shorter period in the report Reg. 3(4) Written confirmation of the work To the tenant and the council within 28 days of completion Reg. 3(4)(c) Financial penalty for a breach Up to £40,000 per breach Reg. 11 Decisions before 2026 refer to a £30,000 maximum. The cap in regulation 11 now reads £40,000. What tribunals decided Case What went wrong Council Tribunal MAN/16UD/HNA/2022/0003 No evidence the installation had been inspected before the council asked £1,000 £750 LON/00BK/HNA/2022/0026 Unsatisfactory reports at two flats; remedial work done only before the final notice £5,000 each proposed, cut to £2,000 each £2,000 each, appeal dismissed CAM/33UE/HNA/2024/0613 A new report (26 November 2023) was not acted on; a long record of compliance did not help £5,000 × 2 £5,000 × 2, confirmed MAN/00EJ/HUA/2025/0001 Landlord relied on a document that was not a valid EICR £7,500 £5,000 CAM/00MD/HNA/2025/0608 Unsatisfactory report, no remedial work, the property left without power; an older certificate did not relate to the property £17,600 £16,500 LON/00AT/HNA/2025/0668 Two breaches of regulation 3 alongside an ignored improvement notice £37,000 in total (£6,000 per EICR breach) £37,000, confirmed What the cases teach The council has to prove the breach beyond reasonable doubt — but it only needs your file to be empty. Keep the report, the date it reached the tenant and the completion certificate for any remedial work. Fixing the fault before the final notice reduced the penalty. It did not remove it. An Electrical Installation Certificate for new work, or a minor works certificate, is not an EICR. A satisfactory report years ago does not cover a new unsatisfactory one. The 28-day clock starts on each report. 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 Certificates in Abide.Rent hold the EICR date, the report’s own next-due date, and the date the tenant was given a copy. The 28-day duty runs from the inspection date. The tenant confirms receipt in their portal, free of charge. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### What is a Landlord Registration Number (LRN)? The LRN is the number the government’s PRS Database gives a landlord. What it is, how it differs from a Property Registration Number, and where it must appear. Quick answer A Landlord Registration Number (LRN) is the number the government’s PRS Database issues to a landlord when they register. Each rented property also gets a Property Registration Number (PRN). The government says both numbers will have to appear on adverts once the government’s later advert rules start. The database opens on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands. LRN and PRN: two different numbers Landlord Registration Number (LRN): identifies the landlord. Property Registration Number (PRN): identifies the rented property. Both are issued by the PRS Database, the government’s register for the private rented sector in England. Both will have to be on adverts once the government’s later advert rules start. A landlord with ten properties has one landlord registration and ten property registrations. The fee is £65 per property per year, so that landlord pays £650 a year. What the database is expected to ask for The property entry is expected to cover the postcode, property type, bedrooms and rent, plus gas, EICR and EPC details. That is the data a good property file already holds. Gaps found now are cheaper than gaps found at registration. When the landlord or the agent changes The PRN belongs to the property. It does not leave with a tenant. The LRN identifies the landlord. If the property is sold, the buyer is a different landlord, registering in their own name. If the agent changes, the numbers should move to the new agent with the rest of the file. When will you get one? Not before your region opens. The database rolls out one region a month, each with a three-month window. The West Midlands opens first, on 15 December 2026. London opens on 15 July 2027, with a deadline of 14 October 2027. The South West is last, and every landlord in England must be registered by 14 November 2027. Check any postcode with the free PRS Database deadline checker . Why the number matters Adverts will be the visible test. Once the advert rules start, a listing without both identifiers is a signal anyone can check. Possession is the expensive one. Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. Who applies: landlord or agent? The landlord registers. That stays true on let only, rent collection, fully managed and guaranteed rent. An agent may help gather the details, and will usually be the one writing the advert. So the agent needs the numbers, even though the agent cannot apply for them. What we do not know yet The format of the numbers has not been set out in the sources we rely on. We will not guess it. There is no public API planned for the database. Expect to copy numbers across by hand, and to check them. What letting agents can do now List which landlord owns which property, with the legal name the landlord will register under. Confirm each property’s region from its full postcode. Agree in writing who will register and by when. Gather property type, bedrooms, rent, and Gas Safety, EICR and EPC dates. Make a field for LRN and PRN on every property record. Once the advert rules start, block adverts that would go live without both identifiers. Use the free PRS Database readiness pack to collect this across a portfolio. Where Abide.Rent fits Abide.Rent does not register landlords or properties. PRS Database tracking stores the LRN and PRN you enter on each property, shows the regional deadline, and keeps the numbers with the file when the property changes agent. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### PRS Database registration: deadlines by region The PRS Database opens region by region from 15 December 2026. Every window, every deadline, and what registration costs. Quick answer The government’s PRS Database opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands only. Each English region then gets its own three-month window, one region a month, ending with the South West. Every landlord in England must be registered by 14 November 2027. The fee is £65 per property per year. The regional rollout was announced by MHCLG on 9 September 2026. Every window and deadline is in the table further down. One region opens each month, starting with the West Midlands. The region is the property’s region, not the landlord’s home address. A landlord with homes in Birmingham and Bristol faces two different deadlines. Postcodes on a border Some postcode areas cross a regional or national border — SK, S, PE, MK and KT among them. For those, the region comes from the full postcode. Do not guess from the first letters. Postcodes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are outside the English database altogether. Enter a postcode in the free PRS Database deadline checker to see its window, its deadline and the fee for your portfolio. What registration gives you Registration issues a Landlord Registration Number (LRN) and a Property Registration Number (PRN). The government says both will have to appear on adverts for the property once the government’s later advert rules start. What happens if a property is not registered Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. With Section 21 gone since 1 May 2026, possession depends on a Section 8 ground. An unregistered property closes most of those doors. What it costs The fee is £65 per property per year. That is a government charge, not a software charge. Ten properties is £650 a year. A 221-property portfolio is £14,365 a year. Landlords will want to know which of them pays, and when. Plan by deadline, not by landlord An agency with branches in two regions has two sets of deadlines. A landlord with homes in three regions has three. Sort the book by property region first. Then work through each window in order, starting with whichever opens soonest. Who registers: landlord or agent? The landlord. Registration is a landlord duty on every service level — let only, rent collection, fully managed and guaranteed rent. An agent can help gather the details. It cannot take the duty. There is no public API planned for the database. Agents with large books should expect to enter details property by property. Readiness checklist Every property’s full postcode, and its region. Landlord legal name for each property, including company landlords. Property type, bedrooms and current rent. Gas Safety record, EICR and EPC dates. Who is registering, and by when, agreed in writing with each landlord. A place to store the LRN and PRN once issued, and a check that adverts carry them. The free PRS Database readiness pack turns this into a working list for a whole portfolio. Every window on one page Region Opens Register by West Midlands 15 Dec 2026 14 Mar 2027 East of England 15 Jan 2027 14 Apr 2027 East Midlands 15 Feb 2027 14 May 2027 South East 15 Mar 2027 14 Jun 2027 Yorkshire and The Humber 15 Apr 2027 14 Jul 2027 North West 15 May 2027 14 Aug 2027 North East 15 Jun 2027 14 Sep 2027 London 15 Jul 2027 14 Oct 2027 South West 15 Aug 2027 14 Nov 2027 What the fee comes to Properties Fee a year at £65 each Fee a month, spread 1 £65 £5.42 10 £650 £54.17 50 £3,250 £270.83 221 £14,365 £1,197.08 What is at stake Failure Consequence Not registered by the regional deadline Civil penalty up to £7,000 for a first breach False information, or a continuing or repeat breach Civil penalty up to £40,000, or prosecution Seeking possession while unregistered No possession order, except on Ground 7A or Ground 14 (anti-social behaviour) Advertising without the registration numbers A breach once the government’s later advert rules start How councils already enforce a register: licensing cases The PRS Database is new, so there are no tribunal decisions on it yet. The nearest thing councils already enforce is property licensing: a list of who lets what, with civil penalties for being missing from it. These decisions show how that enforcement works in practice — and that the agent who collects the rent is not safe either. Case Who was penalised Council Tribunal What decided it CAM/33UD/HNA/2022/0007 Landlord, unlicensed house in a selective licensing area £7,500 £2,750 Offence proved; the tribunal reworked the amount LON/00BH/HNA/2023/0059 Letting agent £12,000 £12,000, confirmed “We are not the landlord” failed; the management agreement did not move the offence CHI/00MR/HNA/2020/0005 Letting agent collecting the rents of a 12-bedroom HMO £6,000 £12,000, increased The agent received the rents, so it controlled the property BIR/00FY/HNA/2022/0014 Letting agent (franchise branch) £3,870 £1,788.20 Offence proved; reduced for safe certificates and later compliance, plus the agent’s 10% commission taken back Councils pursue whoever controls the property, and that includes an agent receiving the rent. A tribunal can raise a penalty as well as cut it. Penalties are worked out from the council’s published policy, so a clean record and fast compliance do reduce them. 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 does not file the registration. PRS Database tracking shows each property’s region, window and deadline, stores the numbers you enter, and flags adverts that would go out without them. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### How much notice for a rent increase in England? At least two months, and no more than once every 52 weeks. How to work out the real start date, with a worked example. Quick answer At least two months. A Section 13 rent increase on an assured periodic tenancy in England cannot start until two months after the notice is treated as served. It also cannot start until 52 weeks after the rent last changed. Whichever date is later applies, moved forward to the start of a rent period. The rent can go up at most once every 52 weeks. The two-month rule The two months run from deemed service, not from the day you sign the notice. By hand, the notice is treated as served the same day. By first-class post or by email, treat it, conservatively, as served on the second working day after it goes. Email only counts if the tenant agreed in writing to email service. The 52-week rule A new rent cannot start until 52 weeks after the rent last changed. That is the last Section 13 increase, a tribunal-set rent, or the start of the tenancy. The 52 weeks run from when the last increase took effect. Selling the property does not restart them. Nor does a change of agent. Then the rent day Take the later of the two dates. Then move it forward to the start of the next rent period. If the rent is due on the 1st, the new rent starts on a 1st. A weekend that delays deemed service can push the date past a rent day. That costs a whole month. A worked example Rent is due on the 1st. The rent last changed on 1 December 2025. The notice goes in the post on Monday 12 October 2026. Deemed service: Wednesday 14 October 2026, the second working day after posting. Two months later: 14 December 2026. 52 weeks after the last change: 30 November 2026. The later date is 14 December 2026. The next rent day is 1 January 2027. Earliest new rent: 1 January 2027. The tenant can apply to the tribunal up to 31 December 2026. Had the rent changed in late January 2026 instead, the 52-week line would have set the date, not the notice. Run your own dates through the free Section 13 rent increase calculator . It shows which rule is binding. Notices are not interchangeable Ground 8, the rent arrears possession ground, uses four weeks’ notice. A Section 13 rent increase needs at least two months. They are different notices with different forms. Form 4A is the prescribed form for a Section 13 rent increase (SI 2026/354). Abide.Rent uses the current GOV.UK version. Too early is the expensive mistake A notice that never took effect can be served again. You lose the two months’ notice — and longer if nobody spots the defect until the tribunal. And if the tenant does go to the tribunal and it decides after the date on your notice, the new rent starts from the first rent day on or after the decision. There is no backdating. Notice-period checklist Date the rent last changed, from the file, not from memory. Rent day. Service method, and the tenant’s written consent if you are using email. Deemed service date, allowing for weekends and bank holidays. Later of the two floors, moved to the rent day. Tribunal deadline: the day before the new rent starts. For the whole rent review — figure, approval, form, service — get the Section 13 rent review playbook . Where Abide.Rent fits Abide.Rent keeps proof of service on the property file: how the notice went, when, and when the tenant confirmed. The next allowed date is written back on the property, so it survives a sale or a change of agent. Notices that failed — and one that survived Case What was wrong Result MAN/00BS/MRA/2026/0001 Start date neither a rent day nor 52 weeks from the tenancy start; not signed by the joint landlords; no landlord contact details Struck out MAN/00CG/MRA/2026/0063 Dated 5 May, received 5 July, for a 1 August start — less than two months Invalid under s.13B LON/00BH/MRA/2026/0003 The agent decided its own first notice was invalid and served another mid-case Rent set below the current rent HAV/00HB/MRA/2026/0010 Wrong tenancy start date on the form Survived — a reasonable tenant would understand it Count the two months from when the tenant receives the notice, not the date on the form. Check every date against the tenancy before you serve. Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on gov.uk between 1 March and 12 October 2026, 79 of them under the rules in force from 1 May 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### Section 13 notice: how to raise the rent in 2026 How a Section 13 rent increase works in England since 1 May 2026: the two-month notice, the 52-week rule, service, and what happens if the tenant goes to the tribunal. Quick answer To raise the rent on an assured periodic tenancy in England, serve a Section 13 notice on the prescribed form. The new rent can start no earlier than the later of two dates: two months after the notice is treated as served, and 52 weeks after the rent last changed. It then moves to the start of a rent period. The tenant can refer the increase to the First-tier Tribunal before it takes effect. What changed on 1 May 2026 The tenancy reforms took effect on 1 May 2026. Section 21 ended. Fixed terms became assured periodic tenancies. Section 13 became the way to increase the rent. At most once every 52 weeks, with at least two months’ notice. Filling in the form is the easy part. Plenty of tools do it. The work is making sure the figure, the date and the proof of service hold up if the tenant challenges. The two dates that set the earliest new rent Work out both dates. The later one wins. Two months after the notice is treated as served. 52 weeks after the rent last changed — by a Section 13 increase, a tribunal-set rent, or the start of the tenancy. Then move forward to the start of the next rent period (the rent day). Selling the property does not restart the 52 weeks. Nor does changing agent. The clock runs from when the last increase took effect, not from when its notice was served. A notice that never took effect can be served again. You lose the two months’ notice — and longer if nobody spots the defect until the tribunal. Put your own dates into the free Section 13 rent increase calculator . It shows the earliest start date and the last day the tenant can apply to the tribunal. How the service method moves the date The two months run from when the notice is treated as served. That depends on how you serve it. By hand, to the tenant or left at the property: treated as served the same day. First-class post: treated, conservatively, as served on the second working day after posting. Email: only if the tenant agreed in writing to email service. Treated, conservatively, as served on the second working day after sending. A weekend or bank holiday can cost several days. If it pushes the date past a rent day, it can cost a whole month. Serve every tenant named on the tenancy. Keep a copy of exactly what was served, not a later edit. The form Form 4A is the prescribed form for a Section 13 rent increase (SI 2026/354). Abide.Rent uses the current GOV.UK version. The form states the current rent, the proposed rent and the date the new rent starts. If that date is too early, the notice may never take effect. Price it before you serve The tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one you proposed. Asking for more than the market will bear does not protect you. Evidence protects your figure. It does not raise it. In Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules, 60% set the rent below the landlord’s proposal, 40% confirmed it, and the median cut was 5%. In 18%, the rent did not go up at all. On a £1,500 rent proposed at £1,650, a 5% cut is about £990 in the first year. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Check the figure first with the rent increase tribunal risk checker . Section 13 checklist Current rent, and the date it last changed. Proposed rent, backed by your own achieved lettings nearby. Landlord approval on the record. Every joint tenant identified and named. Form checked against the gov.uk prescribed-forms library. Service method chosen, and proof kept: a photo, a certificate of posting, or the sent email plus the tenant’s written consent. Earliest start date and the tribunal deadline in the diary. The full process, step by step, is in the free Section 13 rent review playbook . Where Abide.Rent fits Rent reviews in Abide.Rent work out the 52 weeks from the file and flag a date that looks too early. The landlord approves on the record. You send the notice. We keep how it was sent, whether the email was reported as opened, and when the tenant confirmed. What tribunals decided in the first cases under the new rules Case Rent: current → proposed → decided Why LON/00BB/MRA/2026/0009 £3,103 → £3,180 → £3,180 Nine agreed lettings in the same block beat the tenant’s asking rents BIR/00CS/MRA/2026/0013 £1,360 → £1,500 → £1,360 Landlord relied on a portal price guide; £47 fee repaid to the tenant MAN/00BN/MRA/2026/0043 £1,650 → £1,700 → £1,450 Nearby flats advertised for less; the rent went down HAV/21UD/MRA/2026/0019 £860 → £1,300 → £860 No increase until damp repairs were finished MAN/00EJ/MRA/2026/0034 £1,200 → £1,700 → £1,300 Per-room student lets were not comparable to a family let MAN/00BM/MRA/2026/0049 £895 → £925 → £925 Start date moved for hardship after the tenant showed her income and outgoings Across the 77 new-rules decisions, 60% of rents were set below the proposal and 18% ended with no increase at all. Tribunals need evidence for hardship: ‘a mere assertion of undue hardship would not be sufficient’ (BIR/37UD/MRA/2026/0005, citing Anderson v Kokins & Kokina [2024] UKUT 0091 (LC)). Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on gov.uk between 1 March and 12 October 2026, 79 of them under the rules in force from 1 May 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Abide.Rent tracks this for every property you manage. Free for a month, no card. Not legal advice. ### Why determinations cannot set the rent 846 decisions across 514 postcode districts, and only 13 with five or more. What tribunal decisions can tell you about a rent — and what they can’t. The short answer Published tribunal decisions are the best evidence there is of how a challenge will go. They are the worst possible evidence of what your property should rent for. There are too few of them, in too many places, and each one turns on the evidence the two parties happened to send. We read every market-rent decision the First-tier Tribunal published between 1 March and 12 October 2026 — 846 of them. This is what they can and cannot tell you. Too thin to price a rent from The 846 decisions cover 514 postcode districts. 330 of those districts have exactly one decision. Only 13 have five or more. If you priced only from decisions in the same district with at least five cases, almost every property in England would have no number at all. Decisions All 2026 decisions Under the new rules (from 1 May 2026) Decisions published 846 79 Postcode districts covered 514 72 Districts with one decision 330 66 Districts with five or more 13 0 Busiest district DA2 (Dartford), 9 M7 (Salford), 3 Under the new rules the picture is starker still. In the first five months, no postcode district had more than three decisions. A ‘tribunal rent’ for your street does not exist. Why the number in a decision is not a market price It reflects the evidence the parties sent, not the market Most cases are decided on the papers. Under the new rules, 76 of 79 had no hearing, and only one had an inspection. The tribunal values what it is shown. In LON/00BJ/MRA/2026/0014 neither side sent any comparables; the tribunal used its own knowledge, put similar flats at £2,500 to £3,200, and could only confirm the landlord’s £2,200 because of the ceiling. That £2,200 is not a market rent. It is the most the tribunal was allowed to give. The ceiling distorts every confirmed figure Since 1 May 2026 the tribunal cannot set a rent above the landlord’s notice (Housing Act 1988, s.14ZB). So a confirmed rent tells you only that the market was at least that much. In MAN/00BN/MRA/2026/0039 the tribunal valued a Manchester house at £1,500 and set £1,200, because £1,200 was in the notice. Condition deductions are specific to one home Tribunals value the home ‘modernised and in good order’, then deduct for what is wrong with it. £20 for damaged flooring (MAN/00BY/MRA/2026/0038). £150 for single glazing, worn floor coverings and being unfurnished (LON/00AF/MRA/2026/0055). In HAV/21UD/MRA/2026/0019 the rent was frozen at £860 until damp repairs were done. None of that tells you anything about the flat next door. Old-rules cases look nothing like new ones Notices served before 1 May 2026 are still being decided under the old rules, where the tribunal could go above the landlord and backdate. In LON/00AG/MNR/2026/0211 a proposed £293.55 a week became £917 a week. Those cases sit in the same list on gov.uk. Mixing them with new-rules cases gives nonsense. What decisions are good for: judging the risk Pooled across the country, decisions tell you how often a figure like yours survives, and why the ones that didn’t were cut. That is useful before you serve a notice. Under the new rules Result Set below the landlord’s proposal 60% (46 of 77) Proposal confirmed in full 40% (31 of 77) No increase at all 18% (14 of 77), 4 of them below the current rent Median cut where cut 5.1%, about £95 a month Hearing held 3 of 79 Hardship delay granted About 3 of 30 requests The size of the increase matters more than anything else. Across the old-rules cases with all three rents recorded: Increase asked for Cut when challenged Median result vs the proposal Under 5% 41% 0.0% 5–10% 63% −2.3% 10–15% 74% −4.5% 15–20% 81% −6.7% 20–30% 78% −7.3% 30–50% 75% −9.3% 50% or more 86% −16.6% What tribunals actually trust Reading the 79 new-rules decisions, a clear order of evidence emerges. Agreed new lettings in the same building or street. Nine agreed lettings in one build-to-rent block confirmed a landlord’s full figure (LON/00BB/MRA/2026/0009). The flat next door, the same size, let on the open market (CAM/00MC/MRA/2026/0008). Asking rents for similar homes within about a mile — ‘the tone of the market’, but not conclusive (HAV/24UG/MRA/2026/0021). Portal price guides: ‘not the best evidence’. One landlord relying on one lost the whole increase (BIR/00CS/MRA/2026/0013). Renewals with sitting tenants: discounted, because ‘the existing tenant factor needs to be stripped out’ (MAN/00BR/MRA/2026/0042). Lettings only from your own managed blocks, or redacted agreements that hide the date: marked down (HAV/29UN/MRA/2026/0012). So where should the figure come from? From your own agreed new lettings of similar homes nearby, dated, with the size measured internally and the condition noted — anchored to the ONS Price Index of Private Rents for the area. Then use the decisions to check the risk on that figure: how big is the ask, how does the home’s condition compare, and what would a tribunal see if the tenant applied tomorrow. Try it on one property with the free rent increase tribunal risk checker , or read twenty case notes in the free Section 13 rent review playbook . Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on gov.uk between 1 March and 12 October 2026, 79 of them under the rules in force from 1 May 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Not legal advice. ### Rent tribunal decisions in 2026: what 846 decisions tell agents We read every market-rent decision published in 2026. Volumes, outcomes under old and new rules, how long it takes by region, and what moved the result. The month the tribunal got busy The First-tier Tribunal decided 181 market-rent cases in July 2026 (166 decisions were published that month), against about 42 a month before the Act. June was 153 and May 115. Most of those were still old-rules cases — notices served before 1 May 2026 — but the first decisions under the new rules arrived at the end of June. Decision month (2026) Market-rent decisions published January 39 February 35 March 49 April 37 May 115 June 153 July 181 August 92 September 38 August and September look lower because decisions are published weeks after they are made. Those months will fill in. Two regimes in one list A decision coded MNR is an old-rules case: the tribunal could set the rent above the landlord’s figure and backdate it. A decision coded MRA is a new-rules case under s.14(A3): the notice is a ceiling and the new rent starts at the first rent period beginning on or after the decision, unless the date on the notice is later. Read the code before you read the result. Measure Old rules (MNR) New rules (MRA) Decisions with a clear outcome 659 77 Set below the proposal 70% 60% Confirmed in full 24% 40% Set above the proposal 6% Not allowed Median cut where cut 7.4% 5.1% Hearing held 7% 4% Landlord used an agent 25% 49% How long it takes From application to decision, across 591 decisions with both dates: Tribunal region (office) Median days London 90 Northern (Manchester) 83 Southern (Havant) 84 Eastern (Cambridge) 79 Midland (Birmingham) 171 All regions 82 London was not the slow one; the Midlands was, at more than five months. The first new-rules decisions came faster — a median of about seven weeks — but that is because only quick cases have finished so far. What moved the outcome Inspection: when the tribunal visited, 87% of rents were cut (median −10%), against 68% on the papers. A hearing: 79% cut, against 69%. Damp or mould raised by the tenant: 79% cut, against 64%. Landlord represented by an agent: cuts were about as common, but only 2% of agent cases went above the proposal under the old rules, against 8% without one. What this means for your next notice Expect a challenge on a bigger increase. Above 15%, four in five were cut. Fix condition first. Tribunals price defects line by line, and can freeze the rent. Bring agreed lettings, not price guides. Get the notice right: two of the first 79 new-rules cases were struck out on timing and form. The full method, case notes and templates are in the free Section 13 rent review playbook . Source: Abide.Rent analysis of 846 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) market-rent decisions published on gov.uk between 1 March and 12 October 2026, 79 of them under the rules in force from 1 May 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Not legal advice. ## Resources ### PRS Database readiness list What to have on the property record before 15 December 2026 — without pretending the register is open. The register is not open yet. This list is the data it is expected to ask for, gathered now so registration takes minutes per property rather than a scramble at the regional deadline. Abide.Rent shows your progress against it but does not file the registration. 1. Your region and its window Which region each property is in. The database opens one region at a time, each with a fixed window to register. The deadline for each region, in the diary of whoever will register. Look up your window in the PRS Database deadline checker . 2. The landlord The landlord’s full legal name — a company’s registered name and number if it is a company. A contact address and email the landlord is happy to have on the register. Who will register: the landlord, or the agent on the landlord’s behalf, agreed in writing. 3. Each property Full address and postcode, and the UPRN if you have it. Property type and number of bedrooms. Whether it is let, and the tenancy start date. Licence details if it is an HMO or in a selective licensing area. 4. Safety and certificates Gas safety record date (if there is gas), EICR date and EPC rating with expiry. Copies on the property file, not in an inbox. Find what is missing with the landlord compliance checker . 5. The numbers it will issue A Landlord Registration Number and a Property Registration Number, issued when you register. Somewhere to record both against each property, because both will have to appear on adverts once the government’s later advert rules start. 6. The fee £65 per property per year, once live — for example, a 221-property book is £14,365 a year. Budget for it per landlord, since it is the landlord’s charge. More detail: what the PRS Database will require . Once registration is required for the property, an unregistered landlord cannot obtain a possession order except on grounds 7A or 14. ### Rent review checklist Before a notice goes out: the number, the band, the risk, the approval, the form, the service trail. Use this before a proposed increase goes out. Work down it in order: each step depends on the one before. It is a list, not advice — where a step turns on the law, the linked guide says what the rule is and where it comes from. 1. Can you raise the rent at all? The tenancy is an assured tenancy in England, where a rent increase goes through Section 13 and Form 4A. At least 52 weeks since the tenancy began or since the last increase that took effect. A notice that never took effect does not use up the 52 weeks. No other increase is pending on the same tenancy. Check the dates in the Section 13 rent increase calculator and read a notice that never took effect . 2. The number Current rent, proposed rent and the percentage between them. Achieved rents for similar homes nearby — let, not just advertised — with dates and sources. The ONS private rent index for the area, as an anchor rather than a target. Tribunal decisions for similar homes in the region, and how often proposed increases were cut. Test the figure in the tribunal risk checker , then read will this increase survive? . 3. The people Landlord approval of the figure, on the record, before anything is served. Every joint tenant named — a notice goes to all of them. If an agent serves, the agreement gives the agent authority to serve. If someone is a tenant here and a landlord elsewhere, those records kept apart. See authority to serve and approving a review . 4. The form and the date The current prescribed form (Form 4A), checked against GOV.UK on the day you prepare it. A start date that gives at least the minimum notice and falls at the start of a rental period. The proposed rent, the start date and the names match the tenancy record exactly. Signed by the landlord, or by the agent with authority. Read Section 13 and Form 4A and the two-month minimum . 5. Service and proof The service method allowed by the tenancy (post, by hand, or email if agreed in writing). Proof kept at the time: certificate of posting, a photo, a witness, or the email and any reply. The notice, the evidence behind the figure and the proof stored together on the property file. See serving by post and recording service . 6. If the tenant applies to the tribunal The evidence pack is ready: comparables, condition, the notice and proof of service. Everyone knows the increase does not start while the referral is open. The file is on legal hold so nothing in it is deleted. Read what the tribunal can do and the evidence pack . Not legal advice. England, private rented sector. ## Pages ### Complaints How to complain about Abide.Rent, what happens next and how long it takes. Not for disputes between landlords, agents and tenants. Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). This procedure covers the product, this website, billing and how we handle personal data. It is free to use. 1. How to complain Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. Put “Complaint” in the subject line. If you have an account, you can also open a ticket in the product under Help → Tickets. Tell us who you are, the account or property it is about if there is one, what went wrong, and what you would like us to do. Do not send tenancy documents or bank details by email. 2. What happens next We acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days. We send a full answer within 20 working days. If we need longer, we tell you why and when you will hear from us. If you are not happy with the answer, reply and ask for a review. A director reviews it and replies within a further 20 working days. 3. If you are still not satisfied If your complaint is about personal data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at any time — you do not have to come to us first: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Telephone 0303 123 1113. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ We do not currently use an alternative dispute resolution scheme. A consumer can still take a claim to the courts. 4. Disputes we cannot decide We are not a party to your tenancy. A complaint about a landlord or a letting agent goes to them first. A letting agent must belong to a government-approved redress scheme, which can look at it next. A deposit dispute goes to the deposit protection scheme that holds the deposit. A rent increase can be referred to the First-tier Tribunal. We can tell you what the product records, but we do not decide who is right. Nothing on this page is legal advice. ### Cookie notice What Abide.Rent stores on your device, why, for how long, and how to change it. Written for PECR, the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Not legal advice. This is the clear and comprehensive information we must give you before storing or accessing information on your device. It is not legal advice. The law is the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2426) (“PECR”), as amended — including by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 — and, where a cookie is personal data, the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The Information Commissioner’s Office enforces both. See the ICO’s guide: Cookies and similar technologies . The privacy notice is the Article 13 notice for personal data. The terms of use are the contract. Cookie settings are in the footer and at the bottom of this page. 1. Who the controller is Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). We are the controller for the cookies on this website and the product. Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. 2. What we do today We use strictly necessary cookies and similar storage. We do not set advertising or marketing cookies. We do not embed YouTube, social posts or advertising tags that would set someone else’s cookie. We may also use the analytics tools in section 8. The analytics table on this page is generated from the site’s own settings: a tool is listed there only while it is switched on, and the table says “None in use” when none is. PECR regulation 6 requires consent unless an exception applies. For strictly necessary storage we rely on regulation 6(4): storage that is strictly necessary to provide a service you asked for, or that is only for transmitting a communication. Helpful-for-us is not enough. A preference cookie that only remembers your answer to this notice falls within that exception. For visit counting only, we rely on the statistical-purposes exception added to regulation 6 by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, in force since 5 February 2026: storage or access used only to produce aggregate statistics about how the site is used, so that we can improve it. Anything that needs consent is named on this page — the cookie, the purpose, the life, and who else can read it — before it is set. The banner offers accept and reject with equal prominence. Optional cookies stay off until you accept. Continued browsing is not consent. We do not treat a privacy policy you never opened as consent. We do not pre-tick a box. 3. How to read the inventory The table on this page is the inventory. Each row states the name, the host, who sets it, the category, the purpose, how long it lasts, the technology, the PECR basis, the UK GDPR Article 6 basis, and when it is set. Product cookies are not set on the public marketing homepage. They are set only after you ask to sign in, create an account, or accept an invite. 4. What personal data cookies carry A cookie is personal data under the UK GDPR when it can identify you, alone or with other data we hold. Session tokens identify your account. Context cookies identify the capacity and record you are acting in. The preference record is a device-level choice; we do not join it to your name unless you are signed in on the same browser and we have a reason to. Server logs may still record an IP address when a cookie is sent — see the privacy notice. rb_access and rb_refresh are HttpOnly. Page scripts cannot read them. They are SameSite=Lax. In production they are marked Secure and travel only over HTTPS. We do not put a password in a cookie. 5. Lawful bases Two regimes apply at once. PECR decides whether we may set the cookie. The UK GDPR decides whether we may process the personal data it carries. Strictly necessary product cookies — PECR regulation 6(4)(b); UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b) contract. Isolation cookies (rb_context, rb_context_id) — PECR regulation 6(4)(b), because isolation is the service; UK GDPR Article 6(1)(b) and 6(1)(f) (preventing a dual-role leak). Preference cookie — PECR regulation 6(4)(b) for a choice we asked you to record; UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f). Host / TLS cookies — PECR regulation 6(4)(a) transmission; UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f). Any future optional cookie — PECR consent (regulation 6(1)) and UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a) consent. Withdrawal will be as easy as giving it and will not affect processing before you withdrew. You have the right to object to legitimate-interest processing. Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. We will stop unless we have compelling legitimate grounds that override, or the processing is for a legal claim. 6. Two hosts The marketing site and the signed-in product are different hosts. A cookie set on one is first-party on that host only. We do not use it as a cross-site advertising identifier. The content editor on the marketing host sets its own sign-in cookie for our editors only; it is not a public page and is not indexed. 7. International transfers Cookies are sent only to the host that set them. Some of our people work in India and can access account and log data; section 7 of the privacy notice explains how those transfers are protected. 8. Analytics Visit counting (Plausible), if listed in the analytics table. Plausible counts visits without setting a cookie or storing anything on your device. It works out a daily visitor count from a hash of your IP address and browser with a salt that is deleted every 24 hours, and keeps neither. It gives us totals only — pages, where visitors came from, country and device type — never a profile of you. Plausible is our processor and keeps the data in the EU. Because this is aggregate statistics to improve the site, we rely on the statistical-purposes exception and do not ask for consent. You can object, simply and free of charge: choose Reject analytics in Cookie settings, or send a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal from your browser. Usage recordings (Microsoft Clarity), if listed. Clarity records how pages are used — clicks, scrolling and the layout of the page — to show us heatmaps and recordings of visits, so we can find pages that are hard to use. Form fields are always hidden. Clarity sets cookies, records individual visits, and Microsoft says it acts as a controller of Clarity data, so Clarity loads only after you choose Accept analytics. We tell Clarity that advertising use is refused. If you later reject analytics, we tell Clarity, and it deletes its cookies from this site. Product analytics (PostHog), if listed. The signed-in product asks people in agency and landlord accounts whether it may record which pages they open and which steps they finish, and separately whether it may record sessions with every word, typed value and picture hidden. Nothing is recorded until they allow it, the answer can be changed under Your account › Usage analytics, and nothing is recorded in the tenant portal, the platform console or on pages opened from a private link. It identifies people by their internal account numbers, never by name or email. PostHog is our processor and keeps the data in the EU. A/B testing, advertising, social pixels, fingerprinting for advertising, and cross-site trackers are off. Cookie settings shows each category and whether it is in use. 9. What we do not do No pre-ticked boxes. No “by using this site you agree to all cookies”. No cookie wall that blocks the public legal pages, this notice, or the privacy notice. No selling of device identifiers or cookie data. No third-party advertising network on these hosts. No Google Analytics, Meta pixel, LinkedIn Insight or advertising tags. No use of a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal as consent. We honour either signal as a refusal of analytics, on this site and in the product. 10. How to change your choice Use Cookie settings in the footer or on this page. The panel lists each category, whether it is in use, and whether it is required. Strictly necessary stays on; PECR does not let us offer a site that cannot keep a session. Withdrawing an optional choice will be as easy as giving it. If you rejected optional cookies, we will not ask again for at least six months unless the cookies we use change — that is the ICO’s working guideline, not a lock-in. The preference record lasts up to 12 months. If we add a tool that needs consent, we ask again. You can also delete cookies in your browser. That will sign you out of the product and forget this notice, so we may show the notice again. “Block all cookies” will break sign-in, because the product cannot keep a session without a strictly necessary cookie. The ICO’s public guide to browser controls is here: ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies/ . 11. Other technologies PECR covers more than HTTP cookies: local storage, pixels, fingerprinting, SDKs, device identifiers. We do not fingerprint devices for advertising. The marketing site uses first-party localStorage for the same preference record as rb_cookie_prefs, and, if you reject analytics while Plausible is in use, for plausible_ignore, so that Plausible counts nothing from this browser. The signed-in product uses first-party local storage for strictly necessary session purposes, for your answer about usage analytics, and — only if you allow it — for PostHog. The same rules apply. We do not set a tracking pixel on the public pages. Emails the product sends — invitations, notifications and notices sent by email — contain a small image and tracked links that report whether the email was delivered, opened or clicked. That is how the sender sees whether an email was reported as opened. Section 3 of the privacy notice explains it. 12. Children The product is not for anyone under 18. We do not set product cookies in order to create an account for a child. If you believe we have, contact us as the privacy notice says. 13. Your rights Where a cookie is personal data, the UK GDPR rights in the privacy notice apply — including access, rectification, erasure (except a legal hold or a legal obligation), restriction, objection, and the right to complain to the ICO. You can ask for a copy of the preference record we hold for this browser. You are not required to acknowledge the notice to read this page or the privacy notice. 14. Changes The published version of this page is the current one. The date at the top will change when the substance changes. If we add, rename or extend a cookie, we will update the inventory before we set it — and, for an optional cookie, we will ask again. 15. Complaints Privacy questions follow the privacy notice . You can complain to us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office about cookies and PECR as well as about the UK GDPR: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ Telephone 0303 123 1113. You do not have to complain to us before you go to the ICO. ### Data processing terms When an agency or landlord puts other people’s personal data into Abide.Rent, they are the controller and we process it for them. These terms set out how. Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). These data processing terms form part of our terms of use . They apply when you — an agency or a landlord with an account — use the product to process personal data about other people, such as tenants, landlords, guarantors and your staff. They are the contract UK GDPR Article 28 requires. If they conflict with the terms of use on data protection, these terms apply. 1. Who does what For the tenancy records you put into the product, you are the controller and we are your processor. You decide why those records are processed; we process them to provide the product to you. We are a controller, not your processor, for: the accounts people use to sign in; security and service logs; billing; support; and the copies of issued documents each party keeps after the notice is sent. The privacy notice covers that processing. 2. The processing Subject matter and purpose: providing the product — storing tenancy records, generating documents, recording service, sending the emails you ask the product to send, and keeping legal holds. Duration: while your account is open, then as section 10 sets out. Types of personal data: names, contact details, addresses, tenancy and rent details, documents, messages, service records, and email delivery, open and click events. Data subjects: tenants and other occupiers, landlords, guarantors, your staff and anyone else you add to a record. Special-category and criminal-offence data: not required by the product. Do not enter it unless you have a lawful basis and have told us. 3. Your instructions We process the personal data only on your documented instructions. These terms, the terms of use and your use of the product’s settings are your instructions. If we think an instruction breaks data protection law, we will tell you. If the law requires us to process the data in another way, we will tell you first unless the law forbids it. 4. Confidentiality Everyone we allow to process the personal data is bound by a duty of confidentiality and sees only what they need to do their job. 5. Security We keep measures appropriate to the risk, as UK GDPR Article 32 requires. They include: encryption of data in transit (HTTPS); passwords stored only as salted hashes, and optional sign-in with Google; access limited by role and by account, so one customer cannot see another’s records; backups of the database, and logs of access to it; a legal hold that stops held records being deleted. 6. Sub-processors You give us general authorisation to use the sub-processors in the table on this page. We will give you at least 30 days’ notice, by email to the account owner and on this page, before adding or replacing one. If you object on reasonable data-protection grounds and we cannot resolve it, you may cancel under the billing terms. Each sub-processor is bound by data-protection terms that give the same protection as these. We remain responsible to you for what they do. 7. Transfers outside the UK Some sub-processors, and some of our own people, process personal data outside the UK. Each transfer is covered as section 7 of the privacy notice describes. 8. Helping you If someone asks us to exercise a data-protection right over a record you control, we will pass the request to you without undue delay and will not answer it ourselves unless you ask us to. The product lets you find, correct and export records. We will give you reasonable help with data protection impact assessments and with any consultation with the Information Commissioner’s Office. 9. Personal data breaches We will tell you without undue delay, and in any case within 48 hours of becoming aware, of a personal data breach affecting the records you control. We will tell you what we know — what happened, what data and how many people are affected, what we are doing about it — and keep you updated, so that you can meet your own duties. 10. When the account closes Export your records before you close the account; export works on every plan. Within 90 days of closure we delete the personal data we process for you, except: records under a legal hold, which we keep until the hold ends; copies of issued documents that another party keeps as their own record; and anything the law requires us to keep. 11. Information and audits We will give you the information you reasonably need to show that we meet Article 28. You may audit that, or appoint an independent auditor bound by confidentiality, once a year on 30 days’ notice, at your cost, in a way that does not expose other customers’ data. We may answer first with documents, and you agree to rely on them where they are enough. 12. Email tracking When the product sends an email for you, it records whether the email was delivered and whether it was reported as opened or a link was clicked. You decide whether to send notices by email, and you are responsible for telling the people you write to, as your privacy notice requires. 13. Liability Each party’s liability under these terms is subject to the limits in the terms of use, except where the law does not allow a limit. Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. The privacy notice explains the processing we do as a controller. ### Privacy notice How Abide.Rent uses personal data on the website and in the signed-in product, who processes it, where, for how long, and your rights. Not legal advice. Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). This notice is the information the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 require us to give you. It is not legal advice. Cookies are explained in the cookie notice . The contract for using the site and the product is in the terms of use . 1. Who we are and how to contact us Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). Our registered details, our ICO registration number and, if we are established outside the UK, our UK representative are shown there. Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. You do not need an account to contact us. We have not appointed a data protection officer, because the law does not require one for what we do. 2. Our two roles When an agency or a landlord puts tenancy records into the product — names, contact details, rent, documents — they are the controller of those records, and we process them on their behalf under our data processing terms . If your details are on a tenancy record, the agency or landlord who added you is the first place to ask about that record. We will pass on any request you send us. We are the controller for everything else in this notice: visits to this website, the account you sign in with, security and service logs, billing, support, and the copy of an issued document that each party keeps. 3. Personal data we use If you read this website We do not ask for your name. Our hosting provider processes your IP address, browser details, the date and time, and the page requested, in server logs. We do not set advertising cookies, and we do not sell this data. If the analytics tools listed in the cookie notice are switched on: Plausible counts visits without cookies and keeps totals only (legitimate interests, and you can object); Microsoft Clarity records how pages are used only if you accept analytics (consent); and in the signed-in product, PostHog records which pages and steps agency and landlord users use only if they allow it (consent), by internal account numbers, never in the tenant portal. The processors are in the table below. If you create an account or accept an invitation Identity and contact details — name, email address, password (stored only as a hash), and the role you act in (agent, landlord or tenant). If you sign in with Google: your name, email address and Google account identifier, which Google sends us when you choose it. Account and security data — sign-in times, the IP address used, session tokens and the view you are using. Billing data, if you pay — the payer, plan, number of tenancies, invoices and Stripe references. Stripe holds your card details; we never see the full card number. Support messages you send us. If someone else adds you to a tenancy record An agency or landlord may enter your name, email address, address and tenancy details, and the documents they send you. We process that for them as described in section 2. If you then sign in as a tenant, your sign-in account is ours to look after. Emails the product sends The product sends sign-in codes, invitations, notifications and, when the sender chooses, notices by email. Those emails use small images and tracked links that tell us whether the email was delivered, whether it was reported as opened, and whether a link was clicked. We record that against the email so the sender can see it. An “opened” report is a signal, not proof: some email programs block images and some open every email automatically. Public tribunal decisions Published First-tier Tribunal decisions are public information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We use them to show outcome rates. They can contain names; we do not use them to find out about you. 4. Why we use it and our lawful basis To run the website and keep it secure — legitimate interests. To create and run your account, invite people, keep dual roles apart and show the right view — contract. To keep the copy of an issued document each party holds, and to keep a legal hold on records attached to a live notice, tribunal referral or possession claim — legitimate interests (each party being able to show what happened), and legal obligation where we must not destroy evidence. To take payment and keep billing records — contract and legal obligation (tax and accounting law). To send service emails and record delivery and opens — contract for account emails; for emails sent on a customer’s behalf, we act on their instructions. To answer support requests and complaints — legitimate interests. To improve the product using counts that do not identify anyone — legitimate interests. To comply with the law, including data protection requests and court orders — legal obligation. Marketing email — only with your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. We do not need special-category data. Do not put health, ethnicity or criminal-offence data into a free-text field. We do not make solely automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects: a rent range or a risk score supports a person, who still proposes, approves and serves. 5. Your right to object You can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time. We will stop marketing when you ask. For other processing we will stop unless we have compelling grounds that override your interests, or we need the data for a legal claim. Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. 6. Who we share it with The processors that help us run the product are in the table on this page. Each works under a contract that requires it to protect the data and use it only for us. We also share personal data with: people you invite to a property record, to the extent that record is for them; a CRM you choose to connect, when connectors exist, in the direction you set; professional advisers bound by confidentiality; a court, tribunal, regulator or the ICO where the law requires it; a business that takes over the product, which must keep to this notice. We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it with advertisers. 7. Transfers outside the UK Some of our people work in India and can access personal data to support and maintain the product. Some processors in the table process data outside the UK. India and the United States do not have a full UK adequacy decision. Where a transfer is not covered by adequacy regulations (including the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, where the recipient is certified), we use the ICO’s International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses, with a transfer risk assessment. You can ask us for a copy of the relevant safeguards. 8. How long we keep it Website server logs: up to 90 days, unless a security investigation needs them for longer. Your account: while it is open. After you close it, we delete account data within 90 days, except as below. Records under a legal hold: until the hold ends, then six years — the usual time limit for a contract claim in England — then deleted or anonymised. Copies of issued documents that each party keeps: for as long as that party’s own account exists, and at least as long as any legal hold. Billing records: six years after the end of the financial year they relate to, as tax law requires. Support messages and complaints: up to 24 months after the conversation closes, unless a claim needs them. Email delivery and open events: as long as the notice or message they relate to. Cookie preferences: up to 12 months, or until you change them. 9. Your rights Under the UK GDPR you have the right to: be told how your data is used — this notice; a copy of your personal data; have inaccurate data corrected; have data erased in some cases — not where a legal hold or the law requires us to keep it; restrict how we use it; data portability, where the basis is contract or consent; object — see section 5; withdraw consent where we relied on it; complain to the ICO. Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. We reply within one month. For a tenancy record an agency or landlord controls, we pass your request to them and help them answer it. Separate roles stay separate: a request about your tenant role does not touch your landlord role, or the other way round. 10. Children The product is not for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly create accounts for children. If you believe we have, contact us and we will delete the account unless a legal hold prevents it. 11. How to complain You can complain to us using our complaints procedure . You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK supervisory authority: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Telephone 0303 123 1113. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ You do not have to come to us first. 12. Changes The published version of this page is the current one. The date at the top changes when the substance changes. If we start a new purpose or a new kind of transfer, we will update this page before we do it — and, where the law requires, tell you directly. ### Billing terms The free trial, what Portfolio costs, how quantity is counted, renewal, failed payments, cancelling, refunds, price changes and VAT. Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). These billing terms form part of our terms of use . If the two disagree about money, these billing terms apply. Tenants never pay, so nothing here applies to tenant access. 1. The free trial The trial runs for 30 days from the day you sign up and includes every feature, for as many properties as you like. We do not ask for a card to start it. The trial ends 30 days after sign-up. We do not charge you automatically when it ends. If you have not chosen Portfolio by then, the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted. 2. Plans and prices Portfolio monthly — £8.99 a month including 3 properties, then £2.00 a month for each extra property and £1.00 a month for each property from the 21st. Portfolio yearly — the monthly price for your property count, times twelve, less 30% (£75.51 a year for 3 properties). Solo — free for 1 property. You can always read and export your records. One-off packs, only on Solo — £29 for one notice, £120 for one evidence bundle. Prices are in pounds sterling. No VAT is charged. Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and a UK business accounts for any VAT under the reverse charge. Portfolio includes every feature: rent reviews, notices, evidence bundles, monthly landlord statements and the compliance score. You are not charged again for each notice. The prices on the pricing page on the day you subscribe are the prices you pay, until we change them under section 9. 3. How the quantity is counted Portfolio is charged per property on your working list, let or empty. Archiving a property frees its place; its issued documents stay on the record. Tenant access is never counted. The base price covers 3 properties. There is no cap on properties. When the number of properties goes up during a period, the next invoice includes a proportionate charge for the rest of that period. When it goes down, the lower number applies from the next period. The product shows the number it will bill. 4. Payment and renewal You pay by card through Stripe, in advance, at the start of each month or year. Your subscription renews automatically for another period of the same length until you cancel. Invoices are in the product under Billing. We never see or store your full card number. You can switch between monthly and yearly under Billing. The switch takes effect at the next renewal date. 5. If a payment fails If a payment fails you have 14 days’ grace. After that the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted, and anything under legal hold stays readable. Stripe may try the card again during the grace period. We email the account owner when a payment fails. Update the card under Billing to stay on Portfolio. 6. Cancelling You can cancel at any time in the product, under Billing. Cancelling stops the next renewal. Portfolio stays on until the end of the period you have already paid for, and then the account moves to Solo. We do not charge you again. Your records stay, and you can still read and export them. 7. Refunds We do not refund part of a month or year you have paid for, except where the law requires it, where we charged you in error, or under the consumer cancellation right below. If you are a consumer — using Abide.Rent wholly or mainly outside your trade or business — you can cancel a new paid subscription within 14 days of starting it. If you asked us to start Portfolio straight away, we may keep a proportionate amount for the days you had it. Letting agents and landlords who let property as a business are not consumers for this purpose. 8. One-off packs A pack is a single payment, taken when you buy it, for one notice (£29) or one evidence bundle (£120) on an account on Solo. A pack is used when the notice or bundle is generated. A used pack is not refundable; section 7 covers anything else. Packs are never charged during the trial or while you are on Portfolio. 9. Price changes We will email the account owner at least 30 days before a price change takes effect. The new price applies from your next renewal after that date. If you do not want to pay it, cancel before the renewal and the account moves to Solo at the end of the period. 10. VAT and invoices No VAT is charged. Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and a UK business accounts for any VAT under the reverse charge. We supply Abide.Rent from outside the UK and are not registered for UK VAT. If your business is registered for UK VAT, you account for it under the reverse charge; each receipt and payment record says so. Tell us under Billing if your invoices need a VAT number or a different billing address. 11. What you keep, whatever happens Control follows payment; evidence does not. Whoever pays runs the account. A notice already sent stays with each party. Anything attached to a live notice, tribunal referral or possession claim stays readable on any plan, including after a failed payment. You can always export. 12. Questions and complaints Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. If something has gone wrong, our complaints procedure sets out what happens next. ### Terms of use The contract for the public website and the signed-in product. Not legal advice. You remain responsible for every notice you serve. Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). These terms apply to the public website and the signed-in product. They are not a substitute for advice from a solicitor. The billing terms , the data processing terms , the privacy notice and the cookie notice form part of these terms. Creating an account, accepting an invitation or using the signed-in product is your agreement. If you do not agree, do not use the product. 1. Who we are Abide.Rent is operated by the company named under “Who we are” on this page (“we”, “us”, “our”). Our registered details and contact address are shown there. England only. Private rented sector. We do not offer the product for Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish housing law, and we do not claim to. 2. What these terms cover They cover the public website and, once you create an account, the product at the app host. They also cover documents, ranges, risk scores, checklists and other output the product produces. They do not make us a party to your tenancy, your management agreement, a tribunal referral, a possession claim, or a dispute between an agent, a landlord and a tenant. Control follows payment. Evidence does not. We stay out of other people’s disputes. 3. Not legal advice Nothing on the website or in the product is legal advice, a legal opinion, or a regulated legal service. We are not a solicitor, a barrister, a licensed conveyancer, a claims-management company, or a firm authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. A rent range, a risk score, a duty matrix, a form preview, a checklist, a guide or a review date supports your decision and records it. It is not a promise that an increase will survive, that a notice is valid, that a duty has transferred, or that a property is ready for the Private Rented Sector Database. Check every form against the current version on GOV.UK before you serve it. The two duties that can transfer to an agent — Right to Rent and gas safety — turn on exact contract wording. A housing solicitor confirms that. We record what you tell us. We do not read your agreement. You remain responsible for every notice you serve, every form you use, every service you record, and every registration you make. We never serve a notice, and serving is never available over the API. 4. Who may use the product You must be at least 18 and able to form a binding contract. If you use the product for an agency or a company, you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation. That organisation is also bound. Agents and landlords who use the product in the course of business deal with us as businesses. Tenants, and anyone using the product wholly or mainly outside their trade, are consumers. Consumer statutory rights are not excluded. See section 13. Paid plans and one-off packs are sold to businesses only. Before the first payment, the workspace confirms that it is buying for a business that lets or manages residential property, and gives a VAT number, a company number or a reference such as its PRS Database or deposit scheme number. Tenants never pay. 5. Accounts, roles and legal hold The payer owns the account. Tenants never pay. Tenant access is not a plan. A person can be a landlord and a tenant at once. We do not join those roles in an agency view, and you must not try to make us. Keep sign-in details confidential and tell us if you think an account is compromised. You are responsible for what is done with your sign-in and by people you invite. Documents already issued cannot be taken back. Each party keeps their own copy. Legal hold overrides everything: anything attached to a live notice, tribunal referral or possession claim stays readable on any plan, including after a failed payment. That is not a licence to keep using paid features without paying. We may suspend or restrict an account that we reasonably believe is being used for fraud, to serve a notice by API, to probe another person’s separate role, or otherwise in breach of these terms. Legal hold still applies to records that are already on a hold. 6. Your data and your promises When you put other people’s personal data into the product, you are the controller of it and we process it for you under the data processing terms . You confirm that: the data you enter is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge; you have a lawful basis to put other people’s personal data into the product (including tenants, landlords and staff), and you have told them what your privacy notice requires; you will not upload special-category data we have not asked for; you will not use the product to generate a notice you have not reviewed; you will not present our output as legal advice or as our opinion of a specific tenancy. If the data is wrong, the output is wrong. A notice that never took effect can be served again. You lose the two months’ notice — and longer if nobody spots the defect until the tribunal. That loss sits with the person who served the notice, not with us. 7. What the product does not do It does not serve or post a notice, and serving is not an API route. It does not file a tribunal application or pay the tribunal fee. It does not register a property on the Private Rented Sector Database. There is no public API planned for that register. It does not connect to any CRM yet. Connectors are planned. Alto has no open API. It does not transfer a legal duty. Only Right to Rent and gas safety can transfer, and only in writing. Everything else stays with the landlord. It does not price a property from tribunal decisions. Decisions show risk. The range comes from lettings you have achieved, checked against official averages (ONS PIPR). It does not invent testimonials, street-level comparables, or a check against a register that is not open. 8. Public data and editorial content Tribunal figures use public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. That licence is not a promise that the data is complete, current, or enough to price a property. Each guide shows the date it was written or last reviewed, because housing-law copy goes out of date. A date is not a warranty. Do not treat a blog post or a checklist as the Act. 9. Acceptable use You must not: misuse the website or product, including by introducing malware or attempting unauthorised access; scrape, harvest or republish the tribunal data or another user’s records, except to export your own copies as the product allows; use output to mislead a tenant, a landlord, a tribunal or a local authority; serve a notice, or claim we served one, when we did not; copy the product or our editorial content except as these terms allow; use the website or product for anything that is unlawful in England and Wales. 10. Intellectual property We and our licensors own the website, the product, the design and the editorial copy. You receive a limited, revocable, non-exclusive licence to use the product for your own tenancies and agency work while your account is entitled to it. You keep ownership of the data you put in. You allow us to host, process, display and back up that data only to provide the product, to comply with the law and to keep a legal hold. That permission continues for records on a legal hold. Your copies of documents already issued remain yours. We do not claim copyright in a statutory form owned by the Crown. 11. The free trial, fees and billing The billing terms set out the detail. In short: The free trial lasts 30 days from sign-up, includes everything in Portfolio and needs no card. We do not charge you when it ends. After the trial, Portfolio is £8.99 a month including 3 properties, then £2.00 for each extra property (£1.00 from the 21st). Paying yearly saves 30%. Or stay on Solo, which is free for 1 property. On Solo, a new rent increase or evidence bundle is a one-off pack: £29 for a rent increase, £120 for an evidence bundle. Portfolio is paid by card, in advance, and renews automatically each month or year until you cancel. The amount follows the number of properties on the working list; the base price covers the first three. If a payment fails you have 14 days’ grace. After that the account moves to Solo. Nothing is deleted, and anything under legal hold stays readable. You can cancel at any time. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the period you have paid for; then the account moves to Solo. We do not refund part of a period, except where the billing terms or the law say so. We give at least 30 days’ notice of a price change, which applies from your next renewal. No VAT is charged. Abide.Rent is sold to businesses only, and a UK business accounts for any VAT under the reverse charge. 12. Changes to the product and these terms We may change the product, withdraw a feature, or correct a form when GOV.UK changes it. We may change these terms. We will post material changes on this page with a new date and email account owners at least 30 days before a change that affects what you pay or what the product does for you. A change that increases a consumer’s liability does not bind that consumer until they accept it. 13. Liability Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that English law does not allow us to exclude or limit. If you are a consumer, your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 remain. Digital content and services must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. We do not exclude those rights. Subject to the two paragraphs above, we are not liable for: a defective, late or void notice; a tribunal decision, cut, wait or fee; a possession claim being refused or delayed, including for want of PRS Database registration; a duty that did not transfer because the contract wording failed; loss of rent, profit, chance, goodwill or business; loss or corruption of data except where the law requires us to restore it; or any indirect or consequential loss. A tribunal cannot award more than the landlord proposed, and evidence cannot raise the figure. We do not accept liability for a cut, or for a proposal that was too high. Subject to the same two paragraphs, our total liability arising out of or in connection with the website, the product or these terms — whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise — is limited to the greater of (a) the fees you actually paid us for the product in the 12 months before the claim arose, and (b) one hundred pounds sterling (£100). During the free trial, (b) applies. If you deal with us in the course of business, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 requires limitation clauses to be reasonable. We consider the cap reasonable because the product is a record and a drafting aid, the trial is free, you review and serve every notice, and the loss from a defective notice or a tribunal cut is not one we can price or insure against for you. Do not treat us as an insured adviser. 14. Indemnity If you use the product in the course of business, you will indemnify us against losses, damages, reasonable costs (including legal fees), claims and proceedings arising out of: any notice, form, certificate, pack or other document you generate, download, serve or rely on; any data, instruction, approval, acknowledgement or omission that you, or a person you invite, put into the product; your breach of these terms or of the law; a third-party claim — including from a tenant, a landlord, an agency, a tribunal, a local authority or a buyer of a property — that your use of the product caused them loss or infringed their rights. The indemnity does not cover loss caused by our own breach, negligence or fraud. It does not apply to consumers, whose liability is whatever the law provides. You remain responsible to the tenant and the local authority for the duties that stay with the landlord. Your remedy against an agent, if any, is under your agreement with them — not against us. 15. Other services The website and product link to GOV.UK, tribunal registers and other sites. Their terms apply to their services. The processors we use to run the product are listed in the privacy notice . 16. Ending the contract You may stop using the website at any time. You may cancel Portfolio under the billing terms and close an account that is not on a legal hold, after exporting your copies. We may end or suspend the product if you materially breach these terms and do not put it right within a reasonable time after notice, or immediately if the breach cannot be put right (including an attempt to serve a notice by API). Sections 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14 and 19, and legal hold, continue after the contract ends. 17. Complaints Email us at the address under “Who we are” on this page. Our complaints procedure says how long a reply takes and where to go next. Using it does not stop a consumer going to court. 18. Law and disputes These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that a consumer may also bring proceedings in the courts of the part of the United Kingdom where they live. 19. General If a court finds a clause unenforceable, the rest remains. These terms are the entire agreement for the website and the product, and replace earlier versions. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver. You may not assign the contract without our consent. We may assign it to a business that takes over the product, if your rights are not reduced. Nothing here creates a partnership, agency or employment relationship. We are not your agent for service of notices. ### About Abide.Rent England. Private rented sector. The ledger for the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Abide.Rent is the ledger for the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. England only. Private rented sector. The useful question is whether a rent increase will survive — not whether a tool can fill in a form. We are not the government’s register. One-month free trial of every feature. No card needed. After the trial, Portfolio is £8.99 a month including 3 properties, then £2.00 for each extra property (£1.00 from the 21st). Paying yearly saves 30%. Or stay on Solo, which is free for 1 property. On Solo, a new rent increase or evidence bundle is a one-off pack: £29 for a rent increase, £120 for an evidence bundle. Tenants never pay. Control follows payment. Evidence does not. What we do not claim We do not invent testimonials. We do not claim an Alto API. We do not serve a notice over an API. We do not register landlords or properties on the government’s PRS Database. We do not treat determinations as a street-level pricing feed. We do not say evidence raises the rent. Ground 8A does not exist. How we write and check what we publish Guides, blog posts and the help centre are written by the team that builds Abide.Rent, from the same rules the product runs on. Prices on these pages are generated from the same pricing rules the product bills by, and automated checks flag out-of-date or overstated wording before a page is published. Every page shows when it was written and, once checked against the primary sources below, when it was last reviewed. Tribunal figures come from published First-tier Tribunal decisions that we read and code ourselves; each figure names its sample and date. We do not publish testimonials, star ratings or customer logos we do not have. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will correct the page and its review date. Contact us Primary sources Guides marked “Reviewed” were checked against these sources on the date shown. Guides marked “Written” have not yet had that check. A review date is the date the page was read, not a warranty. We do not file tax returns and we do not file the PRS Database. GOV.UK — statutes, regulations, official guidance. gov.uk HSE — gas safety. hse.gov.uk MHCLG — Renters’ Rights Act, MEES, EPC policy. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ICO — UK GDPR and tenant data. ico.org.uk MoJ and HMCTS — court forms and possession statistics. HM Courts and Tribunals Service HMRC — tax publications. We do not submit a return. hmrc.gov.uk legislation.gov.uk — Acts in force. legislation.gov.uk Gas Safe Register — engineer and business verification. gassaferegister.co.uk Standing caveats Nothing here is legal advice. The two liability-transfer mechanisms turn on the exact wording of the agreement. The 60%, 40% and 5% tribunal figures come from Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules. Tribunal data is Open Government Licence v3.0: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ### One file per property — year after year One file per property. Will the increase survive? Local rents and tribunal decisions on the pack. Proof it was served. Who is still legally responsible. The next date if you sell or change agent. Abide.Rent is one file per property. The form is free. The work is joining things up: a figure you have checked against the evidence, proof it was served, who is still legally responsible, and a file you still have if the agent leaves. You send the notice. We keep how it was sent, whether the email was reported as opened, and when the tenant confirmed. We show the earliest date your file allows, and flag one that looks too early. One-month free trial of every feature. No card needed. After the trial, Portfolio is £8.99 a month including 3 properties, then £2.00 for each extra property (£1.00 from the 21st). Paying yearly saves 30%. Or stay on Solo, which is free for 1 property. On Solo, a new rent increase or evidence bundle is a one-off pack: £29 for a rent increase, £120 for an evidence bundle. Tenants never pay. Portfolio includes every feature: rent reviews, notices, evidence bundles, monthly landlord statements and the compliance score. You are not charged again for each notice. Put the tenancy on the file Address, current rent, every earlier rent, people, certificates, deposit, official property number, title, and what the agent is hired to do. Someone can be a tenant here and a landlord elsewhere. The agency never sees that other record. One landlord can be fully managed on one property and self-managing the next. Only Right to Rent and gas safety can move to the agent, and only in writing. Everything else stays with the landlord. We show who does the task and who is still legally responsible. Price the increase Reviews are worked out from the last increase and the 52-week rule. We show when a review is due and flag a date that looks too early. The range comes from similar lettings you have already done, checked against official local rent averages (ONS). Tribunal decisions show what is contestable. In Abide.Rent’s analysis of the first 77 tribunal decisions under the new rules, 60% set the rent below the landlord’s proposal, 40% confirmed it, and the median cut was 5%. In 18%, the rent did not go up at all. On a £1,500 rent proposed at £1,650, a 5% cut is about £990 in the first year. We do not invent a comparable on the next street. The tribunal cannot give you more than you asked. A notice that never took effect can be served again. You lose the two months’ notice — and longer if nobody spots the defect until the tribunal. Approve, send, keep proof of service The landlord approves on the record. The form is filled from the file — that is the easy part. You send it. Abide.Rent does not send it for you. The tenant confirms or queries after signing in, free of charge. How you sent it, whether the email was reported as opened, and when the tenant confirmed is the record you can put forward if they later say they never got it. The next allowed date is written back on the property. The file outlives the people Selling does not restart the 52 weeks. Changing agent does not wipe the history. The person who leaves keeps a copy of their own time. You can export on any plan. Copies already sent stay. If a notice is already out or the tenant has gone to the tribunal, that file stays readable even if the account later moves to Solo. We do not file the government’s registration. We do not invent a comparable on the next street. We do not say a CRM connector is live until it is. Not legal advice. England, private rented sector.