The Renters' Rights Act information sheet (2026)

The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet is a 4-page government PDF that landlords had to give to every named tenant on a written private tenancy that started before 1 May 2026, by 31 May 2026. You must give the exact PDF from GOV.UK, as a printed copy or as an attachment to an email or text; a link is not enough. If you missed the deadline, give it now, because the civil penalty is up to £7,000.

What is the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet?

Its full title is "The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026". The government published it on 20 March 2026 and updated the page in April and June 2026. It tells tenants on existing tenancies how the Renters' Rights Act changed their tenancy on 1 May 2026.

Two rules about the document itself:

• GOV.UK says it is "only valid when downloaded from this page". Download it from the GOV.UK publication page, not from a third-party website.
• You must give "the exact PDF". Don't retype it, add your branding or turn it into a letter.

For existing tenancies, the Information Sheet does the job the old How to Rent guide used to do. That guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026.

Who had to receive the Information Sheet?

The duty covers assured and assured shorthold tenancies entered into before 1 May 2026 where the terms are wholly or partly in writing. It goes to every tenant named on the tenancy agreement, not one per household.

Your situation	Information Sheet needed?	What applies instead
Private tenancy from before 1 May 2026, wholly or partly written	Yes, to every named tenant, by 31 May 2026
Private tenancy from before 1 May 2026, entirely verbal	No	Written information on the key terms, by 31 May 2026
New tenancy agreed on or after 1 May 2026	No	A written statement of terms before the tenancy is agreed
Lodger in your own home	No	Lodgers are outside this duty
Social housing assured tenancy	No	Social housing moves to the new rules later
A section 21 or Section 8 notice was valid on 1 May 2026	Yes, but later	Within one month of the notice ceasing to be valid, or of the court process ending without a possession order

If a letting agent manages the property, the agent must give the sheet too, even if you have already done so.

When was the deadline?

The main deadline was 31 May 2026. The Act says "within one month beginning with the commencement date", and the commencement date was 1 May 2026.

There is a later deadline for tenancies that were caught up in a possession notice on 1 May 2026. Where a valid section 21 or Section 8 notice had been given before that date, the sheet is due within one month of:

• the notice ceasing to be valid, for example because no claim was started by 31 July 2026; or
• the court process ending without a possession order.

Example. Ahmed served a section 21 notice on his tenant in February 2026 but never applied to court. The notice stopped being valid after 31 July 2026, so the tenancy became an ordinary assured periodic tenancy and the Information Sheet was due within one month of that point.

How must you give it?

GOV.UK allows two methods:

1. A printed copy, handed to the tenant or posted to them.
2. The PDF sent as an attachment to an email or a text message.

GOV.UK is explicit: "You must not email or text a link to the PDF." A link to the GOV.UK page, or to a file in cloud storage, does not count.

Keep evidence that each named tenant received it:

• By email: keep the sent email showing the attachment, the date and every recipient address.
• By post: keep proof of posting and a note of the address used.
• By hand: write down who delivered it, to whom and on what date.

Our Information Sheet cover email template gives you wording to send with the attachment.

What is the penalty for not giving it?

GOV.UK says a landlord who doesn't give the Information Sheet "could be fined up to £7,000". The fine is a civil penalty imposed by your local council, after a notice of intent and a chance to make representations, and you can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

The Act's penalty rules for tenancy breaches go further for persistent cases. If a breach continues more than 28 days after a penalty, or the same kind of breach happens again within 5 years, it can become a criminal offence. The council can impose a civil penalty of up to £40,000 instead of prosecuting. See the full table in our guide to Renters' Rights Act fines.

Watch out: we have not found any rule that makes the Information Sheet a condition of a valid Section 8 notice or a possession order. The risk of missing it is a council penalty, not a failed claim. Deposit protection is different: it can block a possession order.

Missed the 31 May 2026 deadline? What to do now

GOV.UK doesn't say what happens if you give the sheet late. The National Residential Landlords Association advises serving it anyway, to reduce the risk of fines and follow-up penalties. Here is a simple catch-up routine:

1. List your tenancies. Note every private tenancy that started before 1 May 2026 and has written terms, and every tenant named on each one.
2. Download a fresh copy of the PDF from the GOV.UK publication page.
3. Send it the right way: a printed copy, or the PDF attached to an email or text. Never a link.
4. Include every named tenant, including each joint tenant.
5. Ask your agent whether they sent it, if one manages the property, and get a copy of their proof.
6. Record the date and method for each tenant and keep the evidence with your tenancy file.

If a tenancy had a section 21 or Section 8 notice in play on 1 May 2026, check whether the one-month window after the notice lapsed has also passed, and give the sheet now if it has.

Information Sheet or written statement: which one do you need?

The two documents are often confused:

	Information Sheet	Written statement of terms
For	Written tenancies from before 1 May 2026	New tenancies from 1 May 2026, and verbal tenancies from before then
Deadline	31 May 2026 (or one month after an old notice lapsed)	Before the tenancy is agreed (verbal tenancies: by 31 May 2026)
What it is	The government's fixed PDF	Your own document, which can be your tenancy agreement, covering the prescribed items
Maximum penalty	£7,000	£7,000

For tenancies that started before 1 May 2026, our guide to existing tenancies covers the other rules that changed.

What to do next

Add the date you gave the Information Sheet to each tenancy record. Our compliance reminders let you log it alongside your gas safety, EICR, EPC, deposit and licence dates. For everything else the Act changed, go back to the Renters' Rights Act hub, or work through the landlord checklist.