Single-let compliance is short and almost entirely statutory: gas every year, electrics every five, alarms at every tenancy, a legionella assessment you write yourself. Where landlords lose money is the letting agent's "compliance pack": certificates the law does not recognise, sold as if it did, on top of the real ones. Know the four statutory items, do them on the dates, and decline the rest.
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Compliance for Residential landlords (single lets)
Compliance for Residential Landlords — What You Actually Need
You let one home to one household. Your compliance is short, mostly statutory, and inspected only when something goes wrong or a tenant complains. Here is the list, what is actually law, and what a letting agent will try to add.
Your risk profile
Low to medium. A single let carries a small set of specific statutory duties with real penalties (gas, electrical, alarms) and a couple of general duties (legionella, common parts if applicable) that landlords routinely either ignore or overpay for. The building itself is a home; the Fire Safety Order does not apply inside it.
What applies to you
In the order it matters. Each links to a plain-English guide.
Required by lawYou must do this. Not doing it is an offence.
Required if…Required in some situations, not others. Depends on your premises and how you use them.
Good practiceNot written into law, but it is the recognised way to show you have met a legal duty.
Insurers, landlords or clients ask for itNot a legal requirement. A contractual one. Check the wording of what is actually being asked.
Optional, often oversoldNobody is making you buy this. Suppliers will still try.
Gas SafetyRequired by law
Annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, CP12 to the tenant within 28 days and before a new tenancy, kept for two years. Book it up to two months early and the anniversary date stays fixed.
Electrical (EICR)Required by law
Statutory in England every five years under the 2020 Regulations (and in Scotland and Wales under their own rules). Copy to the tenant within 28 days, to the council within seven days of a request, C1 and C2 fixed within 28 days.
Fire Risk AssessmentRequired if…
Not required inside a single self-contained let. Required for the common parts of a building with two or more homes (halls, stairs, shared entrances), which in a block is usually the freeholder or managing agent's job. If you own the whole building, it is yours.
Legionella Risk AssessmentRequired by law
Required, and you can do it yourself in an hour for a normal home: combi or cylinder, mains cold, any outlets that sit unused between tenancies. Write it down, flush outlets at void periods, done. There is no certificate.
PAT TestingGood practice
Any appliances you supply must be safe. A PAT test at the start of each tenancy is the accepted evidence for landlord-supplied white goods. The tenant's own kit is theirs.
Asbestos ManagementRequired if…
The duty to manage applies to common parts, not inside the home. Before refurbishing a pre-2000 property, a survey of the area being worked on protects you and the tradesperson.
Fire Alarm SystemsRequired by law
Smoke alarms on every storey and a CO alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (except gas cookers) are statutory for landlords in England, with equivalents in Scotland and Wales. Check they work at the start of every tenancy.
Common questions
Do I need a fire risk assessment for my flat?
Not inside it. The Fire Safety Order applies to non-domestic premises and the common parts of buildings containing two or more homes. If your flat is in a block, the freeholder or managing agent holds the assessment for the common parts; ask for a copy. If you own a house converted into flats, the common-parts assessment is yours.
My agent says I need a legionella certificate.
No such document exists in law or in HSE guidance. You need a risk assessment, which for a normal home is a page you write yourself, and simple controls at void periods. HSE's own landlord guidance says exactly this. An agent charging £80 to £150 for a "legionella certificate" is charging you for a form.
What are the statutory alarm rules?
England: a smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation and a CO alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, working at the start of each tenancy, and repaired or replaced when a tenant reports a fault. Scotland requires interlinked alarms throughout. Wales requires mains-wired interlinked smoke alarms and CO alarms. A £20 alarm and a photo of it working is the whole compliance.
What should this cost?
Annually: the gas check, £60 to £120. Every five years: the EICR, £120 to £250. At the start of each tenancy: alarm checks and a PAT of your appliances if you supply any. Everything else is your time. A single let should cost under £200 a year to keep compliant. Anything above that is either remedial work or an agent's add-ons.
Not sure how this applies to your premises?
Tell The Guide about your business and it will help you work out what you actually need — in plain English or full technical detail, your choice.
Review my risk →General information to help you understand your obligations and judge your own risk. Not legal advice.