The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 is a government-produced document for certain tenancies in England. The document is dated 2026, but the legislation behind it is the Renters' Rights Act 2025. Keeping those two names separate avoids a common source of confusion.
The main deadline has passed. Most landlords and letting agents who had an assured or assured shorthold tenancy with written terms created before 1 May 2026 had to give the exact official PDF to every named tenant by 31 May 2026. New tenancies created on or after 1 May follow a different written-information process.
Which existing tenancies required the Information Sheet
The Information Sheet applied where all of the following were true:
- The tenancy was an assured or assured shorthold tenancy in England.
- It was created before 1 May 2026.
- There was a wholly or partly written record of its terms, including a written tenancy agreement.
For those tenancies, the landlord did not need to replace or reissue the existing agreement. Instead, the landlord or letting agent had to give the government-produced Information Sheet to every tenant named on the agreement by 31 May 2026.
The duty did not apply to lodgers. Other accommodation outside the assured-tenancy system can also follow different rules, so the tenancy type matters.
If a letting agent managed the property, GOV.UK says the agent had to give the sheet even where the landlord had also provided it. Landlords and agents therefore needed a clear record of who completed the delivery for each tenancy.
New and oral tenancies use written key information instead
The Information Sheet is not the document used to create a new tenancy on or after 1 May 2026. For a new tenancy, the landlord must give prescribed written information about the key terms before the parties sign an agreement or otherwise agree the tenancy. That information can be included in a written tenancy agreement or supplied separately.
A pre-1 May tenancy based entirely on an oral agreement was also treated differently. The landlord could not satisfy the requirement by giving the Information Sheet. Prescribed written information about the tenancy's key terms had to be supplied by 31 May 2026 instead.
The distinction is therefore:
| Tenancy position | Document required | Main deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-1 May 2026 tenancy with written terms | Exact Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 | 31 May 2026 |
| Pre-1 May 2026 wholly oral tenancy | Prescribed written information about key terms | 31 May 2026 |
| New tenancy on or after 1 May 2026 | Prescribed written information about key terms | Before signing or otherwise agreeing the tenancy |
Our guide to written tenancy information after the Renters' Rights Act explains the separate written-terms duty.
How the Information Sheet had to be delivered
The valid document is the exact PDF downloaded from the official GOV.UK Information Sheet page. A landlord or agent should not substitute an edited summary, a third-party leaflet or a Bellsoph article for that PDF.
GOV.UK lists two valid delivery routes:
- Give or post a printed copy to the tenant.
- Send the PDF itself as an electronic attachment, for example by email or text message.
Sending only a link to the PDF does not meet the stated delivery requirement. The guidance does not say that a tenant must sign an acknowledgement or separately consent to electronic delivery for the Information Sheet to be valid. A landlord can still retain ordinary evidence of delivery, such as the dated email with its attachment or a note showing when a printed copy was posted or handed over. That is record keeping, not an additional statutory formality.
When a duty can arise after 31 May 2026
There is a narrow later transitional case. It concerns a landlord who served a valid Section 8 or Section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, but the notice later ceased to be valid or the court proceedings ended without possession being granted.
Where the tenancy then becomes an assured periodic tenancy and it has a wholly or partly written record of terms, the landlord has one month to give the Information Sheet. The one-month period runs from the date the notice ceased to be valid or the possession proceedings concluded.
This later rule is not a general rolling deadline for all landlords who missed 31 May. It is tied to the specific pre-commencement possession transition described in the current GOV.UK guidance.
Consequences of not providing the document
Failure to provide the required Information Sheet can be reported to the local council. Current GOV.UK guidance states that the landlord, agent or another person acting on the landlord's behalf can receive a financial penalty of up to £7,000 for the breach.
The official guidance does not say that this failure alone automatically creates a Rent Repayment Order, blocks a rent increase or carries a £30,000 penalty. Those outcomes should not be added to a checklist for this specific duty without a separate, current legal basis.
A practical evidence check
A useful compliance record for an affected tenancy can show:
- whether the tenancy was created before or after 1 May 2026;
- whether its terms were written, partly written or wholly oral;
- every tenant named on the agreement;
- the exact version of the government PDF that was supplied;
- the delivery method and date; and
- whether a pre-May possession notice later triggered the one-month transitional rule.
These records do not replace the official document. They simply help show what was supplied and when. For the wider tenancy changes that began on 1 May, read our Renters' Rights Act 2025 guide.
This is general information for England, not legal advice; check current GOV.UK guidance or obtain advice for a specific case.