Why the Renters’ Rights Information Sheet Must Be Served Properly
From 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force. One of the key requirements is that all existing tenants must be served the official Government Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.
On the surface, this sounds simple. In practice, a lot of landlords are going to get caught out.
Sending a link is not enough
The Government guidance is clear:
• The Information Sheet must be served as a PDF
• Sending a link does not count as service
I’m already seeing landlords assume they’ve ticked this box because they’ve shared a link to the document.
If this isn’t served correctly, it may not cause an issue today, but it could cause serious problems later.
What does your tenancy agreement say about serving notices?
This is where it gets more complex.
Many tenancy agreements include a ‘service of notice’ clause, typically stating that notices are only deemed served if sent by first-class post.
So now you have two layers, the Government says serve a PDF, your tenancy agreement may say serve by post
It is not currently clear which takes precedence, which is why my process, and my advice to landlords, is to take a full ‘belt and braces’ approach.
Why you need to future-proof against Government advice
By serving the PDF, you have done exactly as advised. But as it’s not clear whether this advice overrides the notice serving process outlined in a tenancy agreement, there is a world where you could do exactly as advised and still be told down the line that you have not met your obligations.
This isn’t theoretical. We’ve already seen multiple examples where landlords followed the rules at the time and were later caught out when those rules changed or were tightened. For example;
Section 24 – The tax shock landlords didn’t see coming
Many landlords structured their portfolios in their personal name, working on the basis that they would be taxed on profit (income minus mortgage interest and costs).
Section 24 was introduced and gradually phased in, meaning landlords could no longer deduct mortgage interest in the same way.
Instead, many were effectively taxed on turnover rather than true profit, with only limited relief applied.
What that meant in practice:
• Landlords who were previously profitable suddenly saw margins collapse
• Some were pushed into higher tax brackets
• Others became loss-making overnight
The key point being that they hadn’t done anything wrong and had followed the rules at the time.
But the rules changed, and the impact was immense.
Section 21 – Compliance requirements applied backwards
Previous rules did not require landlords to retain historic Gas Safety Certificates.
The position tightened further when landlords were required, in order to serve a valid Section 21 notice, to demonstrate that Gas Safety Certificates had been provided throughout the entire tenancy. Had this applied only going forward, it would have been far less problematic. Instead, it was introduced retrospectively, leaving some landlords with long-running tenancies spanning as much as 20 years, technically now non-compliant through no fault of their own.
What that meant in practice:
• Landlords were unable to serve Section 21 notices
• Possession claims failed
• Missing paperwork from years earlier became a legal barrier
The key point here is that even if everything was ‘fine’ at the time…if you couldn’t prove it later, it didn’t count.
What this means for the Information Sheet
This is exactly why the current situation matters.
Right now, the Government says you need only serve a PDF, but your tenancy agreement may say serve by post.
The consequences of getting it wrong are not fully defined, but the examples above show that we have to plan for all eventualities and fully cover ourselves as landlords.
How I’m future-proofing myself with the Renters’ Rights Information Sheet
For me, it’s never about doing the bare minimum. It’s about protecting my future position and covering all angles. My approach has been:
• Send the PDF version of the Information Sheet
• Also serve it in line with your tenancy agreement (e.g. first-class post)
• Address it correctly to all named tenants
• Serve all of the above to guarantors as well
