How to rent in England — what to check before you sign

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 banned almost all fees charged to tenants in England. A landlord or agent cannot charge you for viewings, references, credit checks, inventories, administration, renewing a tenancy, or 'professional cleaning' as a condition.

What they may lawfully charge: the rent; a refundable tenancy deposit capped at five weeks' rent (six where annual rent is £50,000 or more); a refundable holding deposit capped at one week's rent; payments for changing the tenancy at your request, capped at £50 unless higher costs are evidenced; early termination charges not exceeding the landlord's loss; utilities, council tax, TV licence and communication services where the tenancy makes you liable; and default fees for a lost key or late rent, the latter capped and only chargeable once rent is 14 days overdue.

If you have been charged a prohibited fee, the landlord cannot serve a valid section 21 notice until it is repaid, and you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for its return. Trading Standards can also fine the landlord.

Wales and Scotland have their own equivalent bans, and Northern Ireland's rules differ again.

These are not formalities. In England, a landlord who has not provided them cannot validly serve a section 21 no-fault notice, which makes them a genuine protection rather than paperwork.

The How to Rent guide, the government's checklist for renters, must be provided in its current version at the start of the tenancy.

A valid Gas Safety Record from a Gas Safe registered engineer, dated within the last 12 months, must be given before you move in and renewed annually.

An Energy Performance Certificate. Properties must generally meet a minimum energy efficiency standard of band E to be let, with limited exemptions.

An Electrical Installation Condition Report, confirming the electrical installation was inspected within the last five years.

The deposit protection prescribed information, telling you which scheme holds your deposit and how to get it back.

Ask for all of these before signing. A landlord who cannot produce them is telling you something useful about how the tenancy will be run.

Fifteen minutes is enough to check the things that cost money later. Run the taps to check pressure and how long hot water takes. Open and close every window. Look for mould in wardrobes, behind furniture, on window reveals and in bathrooms — the smell is a better indicator than the walls, and damp is the single most common serious disrepair problem in English rented housing.

Check the EPC rating and ask what the previous tenant's energy bills were. A poorly insulated property with electric heating can cost several hundred pounds a month more to run than a well-insulated one at the same rent.

Ask what heating system it has, whether there is a working thermostat, whether the boiler was serviced, and where the stopcock and fuse box are.

Check mobile signal in the actual rooms, and the broadband options at the address using the Ofcom checker — not all properties can get a fast connection.

Ask who manages the property, whether repairs go to the agent or the landlord, and how out-of-hours emergencies are handled. Get the answer in writing if you can.

Complete the inventory and check-in report carefully and return it within the deadline, photographing everything with the date visible. This document, more than any other, determines whether you get your deposit back.

Check within a few weeks that the deposit was actually protected. You should receive confirmation from the scheme itself, not from the agent. If you do not, chase it — non-protection carries a penalty of one to three times the deposit and blocks a section 21 notice.

Set up utilities in your own name and take meter readings on move-in day. Tell the council you have moved in for council tax; single occupants get a 25 per cent discount and full-time students are exempt.

Get contents insurance. The landlord's policy covers the building, not your possessions.

Report repairs in writing and keep the record. A landlord's repairing obligations under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 cover the structure and exterior, and the installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation and heating — and cannot be excluded by the tenancy agreement. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 additionally requires the property to be fit to live in throughout the tenancy.