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Short, plain-English explainers for the jargon this world runs on. Every “?” in the app lands here. Compliance information, not legal advice.
The PRS database
A new national register of private landlords and their properties, rolling out from late 2026.
PRS stands for Private Rented Sector. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates a national database that every private landlord in England must register on, property by property — rolling out region by region from late 2026 and nationwide through 2027.
It matters because registration becomes a gateway. Being unregistered costs you three ways: a council civil penalty of up to £7,000 for a first breach, rising to £40,000 for repeated breaches or false information (or prosecution); no possession order except on anti-social behaviour grounds; and a tenant can ask the tribunal for a rent repayment order of up to 24 months' rent, which is usually the biggest number of the three. Fees and exact regional dates haven't been published. Once you register, record your number and renewal date on each property and Wellkempt tracks the renewal.
Deposit protection (DPS, mydeposits, TDS)
Tenancy deposits must go into one of three government-approved schemes within 30 days.
Any deposit you take must be protected in one of three authorised schemes — the DPS, mydeposits, or TDS — within 30 days of receiving it, and the tenant (plus anyone who paid on their behalf, like a guarantor) must be served 'prescribed information' about where it's held.
Getting this wrong is expensive: courts can award one to three times the deposit, and since May 2026 an unprotected deposit also blocks possession on nearly all Section 8 grounds. If an agent set up your tenancy, they should have done this — each scheme has a free search to check.
TDS — is my deposit protected? · DPS — deposit search · mydeposits — deposit checker
Client Money Protection (CMP)
Insurance covering money your letting agent holds — not the same as deposit protection.
Every agent in England who handles landlord or tenant money must belong to a government-approved Client Money Protection scheme (Propertymark, Client Money Protect, Money Shield and others). If the agency goes bust or misuses funds — rent they've collected, your float — the scheme reimburses you.
A CMP certificate is often mistaken for deposit protection. It isn't: your tenancy deposit must still be in DPS, mydeposits or TDS separately. Record your agent's CMP provider and reference against the agent in Settings.
Section 13 rent increases
Since May 2026, the only lawful way to raise rent — on a prescribed form, with strict date rules.
Under the Renters' Rights Act, rent-review clauses are dead: a rent increase on an assured tenancy only works via a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, with at least two months' notice, taking effect on the first day of a rent period, no more than once every twelve months.
A notice with wrong dates is void and can't be amended. That doesn't cost you a year: the twelve-month rule runs from the date an increase actually took effect, and a void notice never took effect, so you can serve a fresh one straight away. What it costs is the delay, at least two months' notice from deemed service, landing on the next rent-period day, so typically two to three months of the uplift on a monthly tenancy.
Tenants can challenge at the First-tier Tribunal for £47 any time before the effective date. The tribunal can't backdate, and can't set the rent above what you asked for, so a referral has no upside risk for the tenant and is worth expecting. If they do refer, the new rent doesn't start on your date: it starts on the first rent day after the tribunal decides, and the tribunal can push it back a further two months if the increase would cause undue hardship. Wellkempt's rent-increase planner checks every date before you serve.
Deemed service
The law counts a notice as 'served' later than the day you post it.
Statutory clocks run from when a notice is deemed served, not when you sent it. First-class post is conservatively treated as served two working days after posting (weekends and bank holidays don't count); hand delivery counts same-day; email only safely counts if the tenancy agreement permits service by email.
This is why Wellkempt asks how you'll serve a Section 13 notice — the two-month minimum runs from the deemed date, and misjudging it voids the notice.
Gas safety records (CP12)
An annual gas check by a Gas Safe engineer, with a copy to tenants within 28 days.
Every gas appliance and flue must be checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer, producing the Landlord Gas Safety Record (often called a CP12). Existing tenants must get a copy within 28 days of the check; new tenants before they move in.
The service leg is the one landlords miss — holding the certificate isn't enough; you must be able to prove tenants received it, which is what Wellkempt's service log records.
EICR (electrical safety)
A five-yearly electrical inspection; unsatisfactory results start a 28-day remedial clock.
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is required at least every five years from a qualified inspector. Tenants get a copy within 28 days of the inspection; new tenants before occupation; the council can demand it within 7 days.
If the report is unsatisfactory (C1/C2 codes), remedial work must be completed within 28 days — or sooner if the report says so — with written confirmation. Record the outcome in Wellkempt and the remedial clock starts automatically.
EPC ratings and the 2030 standard (MEES)
Rentals need an EPC of E now — and government policy says C-equivalent by October 2030.
An Energy Performance Certificate lasts ten years and you need at least an E rating to let (with limited exemptions). In January 2026 the government confirmed rented homes must reach EPC C-equivalent by 1 October 2030, with a cost cap of £10,000 per property. The regulations themselves are still expected, so details may move.
Two things people miss about the cap. It tapers for lower-value homes: it can be no more than 10% of the property value, so a house worth £80,000 has an £8,000 cap. And spending from 1 October 2025 onwards counts towards it, so keep the invoices for work you have already done.
Also coming: from October 2026 the single-letter EPC is due to be replaced by a multi-metric assessment, so the rating you have now may not translate straight across. Get a fresh assessment before spending heavily on the basis of an old certificate.
The EPC register is public: Wellkempt can pull your current rating straight from it on the property page.
Right to rent checks
You must check every adult occupier's immigration status before the tenancy starts.
Before a tenancy begins, landlords (or their agents) must check that every adult who'll live in the property has the right to rent — via original documents, the Home Office online service, or from October 2026 a registered digital identity provider. Keep dated copies; penalties reach £20,000 per occupier for repeat breaches.
Some people have time-limited permission: record the expiry in Wellkempt and it schedules the follow-up check.
Awaab's Law
Fixed deadlines for investigating and fixing damp, mould and other hazards — coming to private rentals.
Named after Awaab Ishak, who died from mould exposure in social housing, this law sets hard timescales once a hazard is reported: investigate within days, tell the tenant what was found in writing, start works promptly. It has applied to social landlords since October 2025 and will extend to the private rented sector under the Renters' Rights Act — date not yet announced.
Wellkempt applies the social-housing timescales as practice now: log a damp/mould report as an incident and the response clocks start, building the evidence trail before it's mandatory.
The deposit cap
Deposits are capped at five weeks' rent (six above £50k a year).
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 caps tenancy deposits at five weeks' rent, rising to six weeks where the annual rent is £50,000 or more (above £100,000 a year the tenancy generally isn't an assured tenancy at all, so different rules apply). Anything above the cap is a prohibited payment the tenant can reclaim, and holding one can block possession. Wellkempt flags any recorded deposit that exceeds the cap.
Making Tax Digital (MTD)
Digital records and quarterly updates to HMRC — thresholds falling to £20k by 2028.
MTD for Income Tax requires landlords above an income threshold to keep digital records and send HMRC quarterly updates plus a year-end declaration. It started April 2026 for gross property and self-employment income over £50,000; the threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. Which side of the line you fall on is judged on the tax return for the year before last, so the April 2027 start is decided by your 2025/26 return — which catches most landlords with two or more properties.
Wellkempt's Tax page keeps records in the right shape: income from the rent ledger, expenses in HMRC categories, carved into the official quarters, exportable for bridging software.
Missing something? These explainers grow as questions come up. The rule set shows exactly what Wellkempt checks, with citations.