Moving Into a Rental in the UK: The Paperwork Every Tenant Should Keep

Moving into a rented home in the UK comes with more paperwork than people expect. Some of it is your protection if anything goes wrong, some of it is the landlord's legal duty, and some of it is small but boring stuff you will be glad to have when you eventually move out. Here is what to keep, why it matters, and what to do if you do not have it.

Your Tenancy Agreement

This is the contract between you and your landlord, and it sets out the rent, deposit, length of the tenancy, and rules for the property. Read it before you sign and keep a signed copy. If something later goes wrong, the agreement is the first thing a court or deposit scheme will look at.

Deposit Protection Certificate

If you rent on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, your landlord must protect your deposit in one of three government-approved schemes within 30 days of receiving it. These are the Deposit Protection Service (DPS), MyDeposits, and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS). You should get the certificate plus a document called the prescribed information.

If you do not receive these, your landlord cannot serve a Section 21 eviction notice and may owe you up to three times the deposit. Keep these documents safe, ideally not in a damp drawer in the property itself.

Inventory and Check-In Report

This is a written and ideally photographed record of the condition of the property and its contents when you moved in. Without it, deposit disputes turn into your word against the landlord's, and the deposit schemes side with whoever has the evidence. Take your own photos on day one as well, including time stamps if you can.

Gas Safety Certificate (CP12)

If the property has gas appliances, the landlord must get them tested annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer and give you a copy of the certificate within 28 days of the test. No certificate is a serious red flag and a reportable safety issue.

EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)

Every rented home must have a valid EPC with a rating of E or above. The landlord must give you a copy at the start of the tenancy. As well as being a legal requirement, the EPC tells you what your bills are likely to look like.

How to Rent Guide and Right to Rent

The government publishes a How to Rent guide for England, and your landlord is required to give you the latest version. If they need to evict you later through a Section 21, this guide must have been provided. The landlord must also have completed a Right to Rent check using your passport or other approved ID. Keep a copy of whatever you handed over for that check.

Receipts and Records During the Tenancy

Get a receipt every time you pay rent in cash, save bank statements if you pay by transfer, and keep every email about repairs and complaints. If something is broken, putting it in writing protects you from being blamed for it later.

At the End of the Tenancy

When you move out, take detailed photos again and request a check-out report. Compare it to your check-in report and challenge anything unfair through the deposit scheme. The scheme is free to use and the burden of proof is on the landlord.

Keep It All in One Place

Most of these documents only matter when something has gone wrong, and that is exactly when they are hardest to find. Orlo lets you store them in a workspace just for that property, share read-only links with the letting agent or council if you need to, and pull everything back up on the day you finally move out.