Tenant check · Same rules, both sides
Are you protected? Find out in two minutes.
Your landlord owes you a protected deposit, safety certificates, a written statement, proper notice and repairs in time. Most tenants never check. This runs the same rules MyLandlordPA uses to audit landlords, from your side: what you should have, what it means if you don't, and the free route to put it right.
Step 1
Answer the questions
15 plain questions about what you were given.
Step 2
See what it means
Each gap with the law behind it and the landlord's penalty, in your words.
Step 3
Take the free route
Landlord first, then the scheme, council, tribunal or ombudsman. Never a paid referral.
Step 4
Keep your record
Sign up free, upload what you have, and the check runs on evidence. Your landlord need not be here.
Free check
15 questions. Nothing stored.
Answer from what you actually have. England only; law checked on 27 September 2026. Information, not legal advice.
1 of 15 · Safety
Were you given a copy of the current gas safety record (a yearly check by a Gas Safe engineer) before you moved in, and after each check since?
2 of 15 · Safety
Were you given the electrical safety report (EICR, valid 5 years) before you moved in?
3 of 15 · Safety
Did you see an Energy Performance Certificate rated E or better before you signed?
4 of 15 · Safety
Was there a working smoke alarm on every floor, and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a boiler or fire, on the day you moved in?
5 of 15 · Your paperwork
For a tenancy from 1 May 2026, were you given a written statement of the terms before it started? For an older one, the government information sheet?
6 of 15 · Deposit
Was your deposit protected with mydeposits, TDS or DPS within 30 days of you paying it, and did you get the certificate?
7 of 15 · Deposit
Within 30 days, were you given the "prescribed information": which scheme holds your deposit, the reference, and how to get it back?
8 of 15 · Deposit
Is your deposit no more than 5 weeks' rent (6 weeks if the rent is £50,000 a year or more)?
9 of 15 · Rent
Were you asked for no more than one month's rent before moving in, and was the rent the one advertised (no "offers over", no bidding)?
10 of 15 · Rent
If your rent has gone up, was it by a section 13 notice (Form 4) with at least 2 months' notice, no sooner than 12 months after the last rise or the start?
11 of 15 · Registration and licensing
Once your region's date has passed, is your landlord and the property on the Private Rented Sector Database?
12 of 15 · Registration and licensing
If you share with 3 or more people from different households (an HMO), or the council has selective licensing, does the property have its licence?
13 of 15 · Your records
Do you have a copy of your signed tenancy agreement and a check-in inventory with photos?
14 of 15 · Fees
Have you been charged anything other than rent, a refundable deposit, a holding deposit of up to a week's rent, utilities, or a fee for a change you asked for?
15 of 15 · Repairs
When you report damp, mould or a hazard, does the landlord investigate and fix it within the set times (Awaab's law)?
Where to get help
Free routes, in the order that works.
Ask your landlord in writing
Your landlord or their agent
Always the first step: a dated message asking for the document or the fix. Keep a copy.
Deposit scheme dispute service
mydeposits, TDS or DPS (free)
Deductions you do not agree with at the end of the tenancy. For a deposit that was never protected, the claim is in the county court (1 to 3 times the deposit); get free advice first.
The Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman (free, phased in after the database)
Complaints about how your landlord handled something, once they must be a member.
The council's private sector housing team (free)
Safety certificates, licensing, disrepair and hazards, banned fees, illegal eviction. Councils fine landlords and can help you apply for a rent repayment order.
First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
The tribunal (free to apply for a rent challenge)
A rent increase you think is above market, and rent repayment orders for an unlicensed property or an illegal eviction.
Shelter, Citizens Advice, or a law centre
Before any claim, and at once for a notice, threats to evict, or a lock change.
A solicitor regulated by the SRA (legal aid may cover it)
A court claim, possession proceedings, or a serious disrepair case.
MyLandlordPA never conducts a claim, never fills in a court or tribunal form and never takes a fee for a legal referral. A brand may list housing solicitors at no commission, with their SRA number shown.
Tenant check questions
Is this for tenants or landlords?
Both, and that is the point. MyLandlordPA runs the same 15 legal duties for a landlord (the landlord audit) and for a tenant (this check). A landlord sees what they have not evidenced; a tenant sees what they were not given. Same rules, both sides.
Does my landlord need to use it?
No. Sign up free as a tenant, add your tenancy and upload what you were given, and the check runs on your own record. If your landlord joins later and adds your email, the two sides link and the documents they serve you appear with a dated receipt.
Will you help me sue my landlord?
No. MyLandlordPA gives you information about the law in England (checked 27 September 2026), tells you what a gap means and points you to the right free route: your landlord first, the deposit scheme, the council, the tribunal, the landlord ombudsman, Shelter or Citizens Advice. It drafts a letter for you to send. It does not conduct claims, does not fill in court forms and never takes a fee for a legal referral.
Can my landlord see my answers?
No. Your record, your uploads, your answers and your chats are yours. You can send your landlord a plain summary of the gaps if you choose to.
What does it cost?
Nothing, ever, for tenants. The platform is paid by providers who win work through it, never by tenants or landlords.
Know before you need to.
Your record, your evidence, the same rules as the landlord's audit. Free for tenants, always.