Every deadline the law attaches to your rental. Watched.
Gas, electrics, EPC, licensing, deposit rules and the Renters’ Rights Act, tracked per property, with the fine on every reminder.
Free · about 2 minutes · no signup
What changed on 1 May 2026
The Renters’ Rights Act rewired the rulebook for every landlord in England. Each claim below links to the official source — read them, don’t take our word for it.
New paperwork, real fines
Existing tenancies needed the official information sheet by 31 May 2026; new tenancies need a written statement of terms. Civil penalties run up to £7,000.
SourceRegistration is coming
The PRS database rolls out regionally from late 2026: landlord and property registration, with penalties from £7,000 to £40,000 once it's mandatory in your area.
SourceEnforcement got teeth
Councils can issue civil penalties without prosecuting, and rent repayment orders now reach up to 24 months of rent.
SourceHow it works
Add a property
Postcode first. We resolve your council and its licensing schemes, and check the official EPC register for your certificate. About two minutes.
We generate every obligation
Your answers become the full list of legal deadlines for that property, dated, sourced, and honest about anything that still needs an answer.
Reminders with the fine attached
60, 30, 7 days and day-of. Subject line carries the property, the deadline and the maximum penalty — hard to ignore on purpose.
The obligations we watch
21 obligations · sources cited on every one
Certificates & inspections
Electrical safety report (EICR)
every 5 yearsElectrical installation report (EICR) at least every 5 years.
up to £40,000
EPC — valid certificate, minimum rating E (MEES)
every 10 yearsA valid EPC rated E or above before you market or let.
up to £5,000
Gas safety certificate (CP12)
annualAnnual gas safety check (CP12) by a Gas Safe engineer.
Unlimited fines
Legionella risk assessment
recommendedA simple, recorded risk assessment — recommended practice.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
ongoingSmoke alarms on every storey; CO alarms with fixed appliances. Good practice: alarm units carry a stamped expiry date (commonly 10 years), replace them by it, and test between tenancies.
up to £5,000
Alarms proven working at check-in
per tenancyEvery alarm in proper working order on the day a new tenancy begins, with a dated record. Testing between tenancies is good practice, not a legal requirement.
up to £5,000
Tenancy paperwork
Deposit protection + prescribed information
per tenancyProtect the deposit within 30 days and serve the prescribed information.
1–3× the deposit
How to Rent guide
per tenancyThe government's How to Rent guide, served at tenancy start — status under the RRA being verified.
Possession routes at risk
RRA information sheet (existing tenancies)
per tenancyThe official information sheet for tenancies that predate 1 May 2026.
up to £7,000
RRA written statement of terms (new tenancies)
per tenancyA written statement of terms at or before the tenancy start.
up to £7,000
Right to rent checks
per tenancyCheck every adult occupier's right to rent before move-in.
up to £20,000
Rent increases — once per year via Form 4A
per tenancyRent can rise at most once a year, via the Form 4A process.
Rise not binding
Licensing — depends on your council
Additional HMO licence (council designation)
ongoingA licence for HMOs where your council runs an additional scheme.
up to £40,000
Mandatory HMO licence (5+ people, 2+ households)
ongoingA licence for HMOs housing 5+ people from 2+ households.
up to £40,000
Selective licence (council designation)
ongoingA licence for ANY rental inside a designated area.
up to £40,000
On the horizon
EPC minimum rating C (confirmed, from 2030)
from Oct 2030The minimum rating rises to C for all tenancies.
Landlord ombudsman membership
date being setMandatory redress-scheme membership, expected around 2028.
PRS database — landlord and property registration
date being setRegister yourself and each property when your region goes live.
up to £40,000
Evidence practice — protects you in disputes
Check-in inventory
recommendedA dated, signed condition record at move-in — the document deposit disputes turn on.
Check-out inventory
recommendedThe matching condition record at move-out — without it, the check-in inventory proves little.
Periodic inspection
every 6 monthsA routine, notice-given look at the property — cadence yours to set (6-monthly by default).
One of these — rent increases via Form 4A — is a process rule rather than a dated deadline, so the two-minute check doesn’t report on it. In the app, each tenancy shows its earliest next permitted increase instead.
We read the law so you don’t
AI-checked rules, source-linked and dated.
Watching 58 official sources, every one of them fetched and checked on a schedule. Council licensing is checked council by council, against each council's own published page. Where a scheme is confirmed we show it in the council's own words, and where it is not we say so plainly rather than guess. Every rule links its official source, with the date we last checked it. The same rules the product runs on. When a source changes, the change is matched word for word against the official text and confirmed by an independent second check before anything updates.
| Rule | In plain English | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Additional HMO licence (council designation) | A licence for HMOs where your council runs an additional scheme. | Housing Act 2004, Part 2 (additional licensing designations); civil penalty maximum raised to £40,000 from 1 May 2026 |
| Alarms proven working at check-in | Every alarm in proper working order on the day a new tenancy begins, with a dated record. Testing between tenancies is good practice, not a legal requirement. | Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 4(1)(b) — verify |
| Deposit protection + prescribed information | Protect the deposit within 30 days and serve the prescribed information. | Housing Act 2004, sections 212–215 |
| Electrical safety report (EICR) | Electrical installation report (EICR) at least every 5 years. | Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 |
| EPC — valid certificate, minimum rating E (MEES) | A valid EPC rated E or above before you market or let. | Energy Act 2011; Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 |
| Gas safety certificate (CP12) | Annual gas safety check (CP12) by a Gas Safe engineer. | Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36 |
| How to Rent guide | The government's How to Rent guide, served at tenancy start — status under the RRA being verified. | Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 — post-RRA status under verification |
| Check-in inventory | A dated, signed condition record at move-in — the document deposit disputes turn on. | Not statutory — the evidence adjudicators weight most in deposit disputes |
…and 13 more. Every Compliance Pack carries the sources for its own property’s rules.
Proof, the day you’re asked for it
A licensing inspection, a remortgage, a deposit dispute — eventually someone official asks you to prove your property is compliant, and they usually give you a deadline. Datestone keeps the answer ready. Upload each certificate once; its expiry sets the next reminder. When the request comes, one click builds that property’s Compliance Pack — every obligation, its current status, the certificate behind it, and the legal source, each with the date we last checked it. Attach it, send it, done.
Pricing
Paid plans start with a 14-day trial. Cancel any time. 6 or more properties → Portfolio. Not ready to subscribe? A one-off Compliance Pack for any property is £19 →
Free
£0/month
One property, never missing a date.
- The free compliance checker
- Every obligation generated for 1 property
- Date reminders with the fine attached
Landlord
£6/month or £60/year
For most self-managing landlords.
- Up to 5 properties
- Certificate storage for your Compliance Pack
- Per-property Compliance Pack (PDF)
- Regulation-watch alerts across your councils
- The weekly portfolio digest
Portfolio
£12/month
For bigger portfolios and mixed councils.
- Up to 15 properties
- Everything in Landlord
- Priority support from a real landlord
More than 15 properties? Contact us.
Fair questions
Is this legal advice?
No. Datestone is a tracking tool. It generates the obligations that appear to apply to your property from your answers, reminds you before deadlines, and links every rule to its official source with the date we last checked it. For advice on your situation, speak to a solicitor or your landlord association.
Where do the rules come from?
From a maintained set of rules covering England: gas, electrical, EPC, alarms, deposits, right to rent, HMO and council licensing, and the Renters' Rights Act. Every rule cites its legislation or official guidance, and shows when we last checked the rule against that source.
What happens when the law changes?
We watch the official sources behind the rules, legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK guidance, and every night we check that each link we cite still leads where it did, council licensing pages included. When a watched source changes, the new wording is matched word for word against the official text and confirmed by an independent second check before any rule updates. Nothing changes silently, and every rule links its official source, with the date we last checked it.
What does “we need one answer” mean?
That we ask instead of guessing. Some obligations turn on a fact only you have — a certificate date, whether a deposit was taken — so the board asks, and one answer settles it. Licensing that only the council can confirm shows as “You might need this”. We never mark something safe by assumption.
Do you cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
Not yet. England only for now, but the rules are structured so Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can each be added as their own set later.
Can't I just Google this, or ask an AI?
For a one-off answer — absolutely, and you should. We're not selling you information; we're selling you the other 364 days. An AI answers when you ask. It doesn't know your EICR lapses in March, doesn't notice when your council designates your street a licensing area, and a chat transcript won't satisfy a lender or a council officer. We use AI too — to watch official sources and to verify every rule against its legal source, word for word, on the date shown, with every check logged and a human overseeing the pipeline. The question isn't whether you could track all this yourself. It's whether you will — every month, forever.
Can I cancel any time?
Yes. Monthly billing, cancel whenever. The free tier watches one property indefinitely, and paid plans start with a 14-day trial.
Two minutes. Every deadline. The fine attached.
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