The Government Has Withdrawn How to Rent But Landlords Still Owe Tenants New Information

The Headline Is True, But The Detail Matters More

The government's old How to Rent guide has now been marked withdrawn on GOV.UK following the private renting changes that took effect on 1 May 2026.

But landlords should be careful not to take the wrong lesson from that headline. This is not a case of the government simply removing paperwork and leaving nothing in its place. In practice, the old guide has been replaced by new information duties, and the correct document depends on what kind of tenancy you are dealing with.

What Has Changed Since 1 May 2026

GOV.UK now says that if a tenant already has a written assured or assured shorthold tenancy created before 1 May 2026, the landlord or agent must give them the government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026.

The government says this must be provided by 31 May 2026 and warns that failure to do so could lead to a fine of up to £7,000.

For new tenancies agreed on or after 1 May 2026, the position is different again. Instead of relying on the old How to Rent booklet, landlords now need to provide the required written tenancy information covering the key terms of the agreement.

Existing Written Tenancies Need The Information Sheet

The official Information Sheet page says it must be given where the tenancy:

• is an assured or assured shorthold tenancy
• was created before 1 May 2026
• has a wholly or partly written record of terms, including a tenancy agreement

The same page also says the exact PDF must be used and that landlords must not just send tenants a link. The document can be given by hand, by post, or electronically as the PDF attachment itself.

Verbal Tenancies And New Tenancies Follow A Different Route

The government has also published separate guidance on the written information that must be given to tenants. That matters for two groups in particular.

First, if an existing tenancy created before 1 May 2026 is based entirely on a verbal agreement, the landlord cannot use the Information Sheet instead of the required written terms. Second, for new tenancies from 1 May 2026 onwards, landlords need to provide the key written tenancy information from the start.

So the real compliance question is no longer “Did we send How to Rent?” It is “Which information duty applies to this tenancy, and can we prove we complied with it?”

Landlords Still Have To Serve Other Core Documents

The withdrawal of How to Rent does not remove the rest of a landlord's document-serving duties. Several other documents still need to be given to tenants under the ordinary private renting rules.

Based on current GOV.UK guidance, the main ones are:

• the gas safety record — tenants must get a copy before they move in, or within 28 days of the annual check
• the electrical safety report — existing tenants must get a copy within 28 days of the inspection, and new tenants must get it before they occupy
• the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — the landlord or agent must make this available to the person who becomes the tenant
• deposit prescribed information — if a tenancy deposit is taken, the landlord must protect it and give the required information within 30 days
• the new written tenancy information — required from 1 May 2026 for new tenancies and some existing ones where the newer written-information rules apply
• the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 — required for existing written assured or AST tenancies created before 1 May 2026

The Real Risk Is Assuming One Document Covers Everything

A lot of landlord admin drift comes from treating move-in compliance like a single box-ticking step. It is not. The Information Sheet deals with one part of the new tenancy-information regime, but it does not replace safety documents, deposit paperwork or the other written information tenants are entitled to receive.

That means a landlord can fix the withdrawn How to Rent problem and still be exposed elsewhere if the tenancy file is incomplete.

Why This Matters For Newcastle Landlords

For Newcastle landlords, this is exactly the sort of rule change that gets missed in busy summer turnover periods. Student stock, shared houses and managed portfolios often run on templated onboarding steps. If those templates still refer to the withdrawn guide, the file may already be wrong.

The risk is not only a technical one. If your paperwork is stale, it usually means other parts of the tenancy process may still be working from pre-1 May assumptions too, including deposit handling, safety-document service, rent review wording, notice handling and tenant communications.

What Landlords Should Check Right Now

• remove “How to Rent” from onboarding checklists for post-1 May 2026 tenancies
• identify all existing written assured or AST tenancies that need the Information Sheet by 31 May 2026
• check that gas safety, EICR, EPC and deposit prescribed information are all still being served in the right way and on time
• make sure the exact government PDF is being sent or handed over, not just a web link
• review any verbal or partly undocumented tenancy arrangements that may need written tenancy information instead
• update landlord workflows, CRM templates and move-in packs so they reflect the current rules
• keep a clean record showing when and how the correct document was served

Our View

The government has withdrawn the old How to Rent guide, but this is not deregulation. It is a paperwork swap with sharper consequences for getting the wrong document to the wrong tenancy.

The safest approach for landlords is simple: stop thinking in terms of the old booklet, and start thinking in terms of tenancy-specific information duties. If the process is not clear on that distinction yet, it needs tightening now.

This article is for general information only and reflects sources reviewed on 19 May 2026. It is not legal advice.