Glossary

UK lettings compliance glossary

The terms, certificates and statutory forms UK landlords and letting agents run into — defined in plain English, with the governing regulations named. See the compliance reference for the full matrix, or read the compliance guides.

AML (Anti-Money Laundering): The obligations on letting agents under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 to carry out customer due diligence and ongoing monitoring. Lettings agents handling qualifying tenancies must register with HMRC and screen the parties to a tenancy. Read the guide.
Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST): The most common form of residential tenancy in England historically. Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 new and existing ASTs convert to assured periodic (rolling) tenancies with no fixed term. Read the guide.
Client Money Protection (CMP): A scheme that protects client money (such as rent and deposits) held by a letting agent. Membership of a government-approved CMP scheme is mandatory for letting and managing agents in England and Wales. Read the guide.
Compliance score: Vantage's single 0–100 measure of how compliant a property is, weighted by the risk severity of each outstanding obligation, so the highest-risk gaps surface first across a portfolio.
CP12 (Gas Safety Record): The Landlord Gas Safety Record produced after an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, required under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. It must be renewed every 12 months and given to the tenant within 28 days, and to a new tenant before they move in. Read the guide.
Decent Homes Standard: A minimum quality standard for housing, being extended to the private rented sector under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Related provisions ('Awaab's Law') set timescales for landlords to address serious hazards such as damp and mould.
EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report): A report on the condition of a property's fixed electrical installation, required at least every 5 years under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. Non-compliance can attract a financial penalty of up to £30,000 per property. Read the guide.
EPC (Energy Performance Certificate): A certificate rating a property's energy efficiency from A to G, valid for 10 years and required at the point of marketing and letting. It is lodged on the GOV.UK EPC Register. Read the guide.
HMO (House in Multiple Occupation): A property let to three or more people forming more than one household who share facilities. Larger HMOs need a mandatory licence; councils may also operate additional or selective licensing schemes. Licences typically last up to 5 years.
How to Rent guide: The government checklist that must be served on tenants at the start of each new tenancy in England. Serving the current version is a precondition for a valid Section 21 notice (now abolished) and remains good practice and a statutory duty for new tenancies.
Legionella risk assessment: An assessment of the risk of legionella bacteria in a property's water system, which landlords must carry out and review (commonly every two years) under health and safety law.
MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards): The standards under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 setting the minimum EPC rating a property must meet to be let. The current minimum is Band E, with a planned rise to Band C for the private rented sector around 2030. Read the guide.
Periodic tenancy: A tenancy that rolls from one rent period to the next with no fixed end date. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 makes assured periodic tenancies the default, replacing fixed-term ASTs. Read the guide.
Prescribed information: The set of details about a protected deposit and its scheme that a landlord or agent must give the tenant within the statutory deadline. Failing to serve it can bar a possession claim and trigger a financial penalty. Read the guide.
PRS Database (Property Portal): The digital private rented sector database introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Landlords must register themselves and their properties and record key compliance information before letting.
Redress scheme: An approved complaints scheme that letting agents in England must join, giving tenants and landlords access to independent dispute resolution. A separate landlord ombudsman is being introduced under the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Read the guide.
Rent Smart Wales: The Welsh registration and licensing scheme under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. Landlords with property in Wales must register, and anyone carrying out letting or management work must be licensed and trained. Read the guide.
Rental bidding ban: The Renters' Rights Act 2025 prohibition on inviting or accepting offers above the advertised rent. Landlords and agents must publish an asking rent and cannot run bidding wars. Read the guide.
Renters' Rights Act 2025: The reform of the English private rented sector that abolishes Section 21 'no-fault' evictions, converts assured shorthold tenancies into rolling periodic tenancies, ends fixed terms, bans rental bidding, limits rent in advance and introduces the PRS Database and a landlord ombudsman. Read the guide.
Right to Rent: The duty under the Immigration Act 2014 to check that adult occupiers have the legal right to rent in England before a tenancy begins. Breaches can lead to civil penalties and, for knowing breaches, criminal liability.
Scottish landlord registration: The requirement under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 for private landlords to register with the local authority for each area where they let property, renewable every three years. Read the guide.
Section 13 rent increase (Form 4A): The statutory route to increase rent on an assured periodic tenancy under section 13 of the Housing Act 1988. From 1 May 2026 a private landlord in England proposes a new rent on the prescribed Form 4A, no more than once a year, and the tenant can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal.
Section 21 notice: The 'no-fault' notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, historically served on the prescribed Form 6A to recover possession without giving a reason. Section 21 was abolished for the private rented sector in England on 1 May 2026 by the Renters' Rights Act 2025, leaving Section 8 as the route to possession. Form 6A now applies only to social housing. Read the guide.
Section 8 notice: A notice seeking possession under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, relying on one or more statutory grounds in Schedule 2 (such as rent arrears or anti-social behaviour). Since 1 May 2026 private landlords in England must serve it on the prescribed Form 3A (Form 3 now applies only to social housing). Each ground carries its own notice period. Read the guide.
Selective licensing: A scheme under the Housing Act 2004 letting a local authority require licences for all private rented properties in a designated area, regardless of whether they are HMOs.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: Under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022, landlords must fit a smoke alarm on each storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, and ensure they work at the start of each tenancy. Breaches carry a penalty of up to £5,000.
Tenancy deposit protection: The requirement to protect a tenant's deposit in a government-approved scheme and serve prescribed information. In England and Wales this is within 30 days of receipt; Scotland uses 30 working days and Northern Ireland 28 days. Failure can cost the landlord one to three times the deposit. Read the guide.
UK Sanctions List screening: Checking tenants, landlords and guarantors against the consolidated UK Sanctions List maintained by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). Financial sanctions compliance applies to all letting agents regardless of rent level and has been mandatory since 14 May 2025. Read the guide.
Written Statement of Terms: A written statement of the key terms of a tenancy that landlords must provide under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, helping tenants understand their rights from the outset.

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