New tenancy checklist: what to do before you sign and move in

1. Before paying a holding deposit

Check the property and the people offering it

View it in person if you can. Confirm the full address, who the landlord or agent is, and who will manage the tenancy. Be wary if you’re asked to pay before viewing, the bank account belongs to someone who hasn’t been explained, or the basic details don’t match.

Still comparing homes? Take our questions to ask before renting a house to your next viewing.

Read the proposed agreement

Ask for the tenancy agreement before you pay. At the least, confirm:

• the advertised rent, and which bills or services it includes;
• who will live there;
• the payment date;
• any guarantor requirement;
• whether pets are allowed;
• any work promised before you move in; and
• the amount of the holding deposit and what happens to it.

A holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent. Keep the receipt, and a written record of the deadline for agreement and when it could be kept. Work out the limits for your rent.

2. Check the tenancy agreement before signing

Don’t skim it because it looks standard. It sets out what you’ve agreed to, and it is far easier to question before you sign.

The basic details

• every tenant’s full name;
• the landlord’s name, and an address where notices can be sent;
• the full property address;
• the rent, the deposit and the day rent is due;
• the start date;
• any parking, storage or shared areas included; and
• which bills are yours.

These should match the advert, the offer and what you’ve been told.

The tenancy type and notice

Since 1 May 2026 most new private tenancies in England are periodic: they run from one rent period to the next, with no fixed end date. You can end one by giving two months’ notice in writing, on the day the rent is due or the day before, and you keep paying rent during the notice.

Question an agreement that describes an ordinary new tenancy as a fixed term, sets out a different notice process, or still refers to section 21 “no fault” evictions. It was probably written on an old template.

The clauses that affect everyday life

Look closely at repairs and access, the garden and shared areas, pets, decorating, working from home, visitors and extra occupiers, parking, replacement keys, late-payment interest, bills and council tax, leaving early, and any guarantor. Make sure promised repairs, cleaning or decorating are written down with dates.

What to check in a tenancy agreement — the terms that most often need a question, and how the rules changed on 1 May 2026.

If a clause is confusing, ask what it means and ask for the answer in writing. Don’t sign something you haven’t been given time to read properly.

3. Pay only what can be charged

For most private tenancies in England:

Holding deposit

No more than one week’s rent.

Tenancy deposit

No more than five weeks’ rent, or six weeks where the rent is £50,000 a year or more.

Rent in advance

None before the agreement is signed. After signing, no more than one month’s rent before the tenancy starts.

Fees

Admin, referencing, check-in and inventory fees are all banned.

Ask for an itemised statement and receipts. If bank details arrive in a new or unexpected message, check them by phone with someone you know is genuine before paying.

4. Collect the documents

Keep everything in one folder: documents, emails, photos and receipts. Depending on the home, that should include:

• the signed tenancy agreement or written tenancy terms;
• the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC);
• the current gas safety record, if there’s gas;
• the electrical installation condition report;
• the deposit receipt and, within 30 days, the deposit protection details;
• the inventory and schedule of condition;
• the property or HMO licence details, where one is needed;
• who to contact for repairs and emergencies;
• every payment receipt; and
• written confirmation of any agreed work.

Save a screenshot or PDF of the original advert too. It helps if there’s a later disagreement about the rent, what was included or the facilities. How to check your deposit is protected.

5. Set up the bills and check your budget

Who pays what

Check who pays council tax, gas and electricity, water, broadband, the TV licence, parking permits and anything included in the rent. If bills are included, the agreement should say which — “bills included” rarely means every service, or unlimited use. Who pays council tax when renting.

The real monthly cost

Add council tax, energy, water, broadband, travel and insurance to the rent. The energy certificate shows how efficient the home is, though your own use and tariff decide what you actually pay. Complete RenterCheck adds council tax, water and broadband to the energy cost, and shows what you’d have left after rent and bills.

Contents insurance

The landlord’s insurance doesn’t normally cover your belongings. Consider contents insurance from the day you become responsible for the home, and check whether it includes accidental damage or tenant’s liability if you want them.

6. Get ready for moving day

• Confirm the date, time and place to collect the keys.
• Check your payment has arrived.
• Ask whether agreed repairs are finished.
• Book broadband early if it needs installing.
• Tell energy and water suppliers and the council when you become responsible.
• Redirect your post if you need to.
• Have a way to take and keep dated photos.

Don’t close the accounts at your old home until you’ve taken final meter readings there.

7. Inspect the home when you move in

The inventory

Compare every room and item with the inventory, and add anything missing: defects, stains, damage, meter readings. Don’t write “all fine” for something you haven’t checked. Photograph walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors and locks, the kitchen and appliances, bathrooms and sealant, furniture, outside spaces, existing damage and the meters — wide shots for context, close-ups for detail. Return the corrected inventory by the deadline and keep proof you sent it.

Write what you can measure. “Three-centimetre scratch on the left side of the bedroom door” survives a disagreement eight months later in a way that “door damaged” does not, because the second one can be read as covering anything. Send corrections by email so the record carries a date.

Test the essentials

Check the locks on every outside door and window, the smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms where required, the heating and hot water, taps and toilets, lights and sockets, supplied appliances and any entry phone. Report defects straight away by email or the agent’s repair system, with photos, and say if something is an urgent safety risk.

Meter readings

Photograph the gas, electricity and water meters on the day you become responsible, and send the readings to the suppliers. It stops you paying for the last occupier’s use.

8. Your first month

Deposit protection

Within 30 days of receiving your deposit, the landlord or agent must protect it in a government-approved scheme and send you the prescribed information. Check your name, the address and the amount are right, and that you know which scheme holds it. If nothing arrives, ask in writing and search the schemes yourself.

Real bills against your budget

Once the accounts are live, check the council tax band, tariffs and direct debits, and update your budget from real figures rather than the advert’s.

Repairs

Keep a written timeline of what you reported, the replies, appointments and outcomes. If a serious repair or safety problem isn’t dealt with, get advice from your council, Shelter or Citizens Advice.

9. When you move out

The check-in inventory decides what you are charged for at the end, which is why the hour you spent on it matters now. Go back through it room by room and deal with anything you can put right before anyone inspects.

Before you hand the keys back

• Compare the home with the inventory you signed at check-in, room by room.
• Clean to the standard the agreement asks for, and keep the receipt if you pay someone.
• Take everything of yours, including from lofts, sheds and the garden.
• Photograph the final condition the same way you did on the first day.
• Photograph the closing meter readings and send them to the suppliers.
• Return every key, fob and permit, and get written confirmation of what you handed over.
• Give a forwarding address for the deposit.

Fair wear and tear

You are not normally responsible for fair wear and tear, meaning the deterioration expected from ordinary use over the time you were there. You can be responsible for damage beyond that. Where the line falls depends on how old things were at the start, how long you lived there and how many of you there were, which is another reason the check-in photographs are worth more than any argument afterwards.

If a deduction is proposed that you disagree with, ask for it in writing with the evidence behind it, and remember the deposit scheme holding your money runs a free dispute service.

Common mistakes

• Paying rent before signing the tenancy agreement.
• Transferring money without checking who will receive it.
• Relying on spoken promises about repairs or what’s included.
• Signing without reading the notice and payment clauses.
• Forgetting to photograph existing damage.
• Accepting an inaccurate inventory because the deadline is short.
• Not recording the meter readings on the first day.
• Assuming the landlord’s insurance covers your belongings.
• Not checking whether a shared house needs a licence.
• Losing emails, receipts and the deposit protection information.