When Must a Landlord Provide A Rent Book?

It would be best if you always made the rent payable calendar monthly. One reason is to avoid a rent book being required to be given.

A rent book in the prescribed form must be provided where the rent is payable weekly. 

Section 4 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires the rent book or similar document to be provided, and section 5 describes what information must be contained. 

The rent book must contain the name and address of the landlord plus other information as prescribed. 

A prescribed form must be used where the tenancy is an assured shorthold tenancy. The prescribed form you must use is that contained in The Rent Book (Forms of Notice) Regulations 1982, which have been amended several times.

A failure to provide a rent book is a criminal offence, as is the demand for rent without a rent book.

Section 7 outlines the various offences and penalties. The most accessible place to obtain a rent book is a stationer such as WH Smith.

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Rent Setting

The landlord and tenant should mutually agree on the initial rent. During the first six months of a tenancy, tenants can refer the rent to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber - Residential Property) for review if they consider the rent above the market rent. This is, however, very rarely done.

Record Keeping and Data Protection

It is essential that landlords have a good system of record keeping. A file should be kept for a property and then each time a new tenancy is given to a new tenant