The Court of Appeal decided that where a corporate landlord or agent is completing certain statutory forms including a Section 8 Notice, such documents do not have to be ‘executed’ in accordance with the formalities set out in Section 44 of the Companies Act 2006.

The General Data Protection Regulations (EU GDPR) were rolled out across the EU on 25 May 2018. The Regulations brought consistency in data handling to EU member states and granted individuals additional rights on when and how their personal data is used.

Since 1 February 2016, all landlords or agents of private rental accommodation in England have been required to carry out Right to Rent checks for new tenancy agreements to determine whether occupiers aged 18 and over have the right to live in the UK legally.

In May 2020, the Northern Ireland Assembly passed this Act to make emergency changes during the coronavirus outbreak in relation to notices to quit given by landlords in the private rented sector.

The PRS accounts for nearly 20 per cent of all households in England and houses more families than social housing. It's therefore good practice for letting agents have the confidence to respond appropriately and know what signs to look out for.

The Housing and Planning Act 2016 allowed Ministers to introduce electrical safety standards for tenancies in the private rented sector.

At the Summer Budget 2015, the then Chancellor George Osborne announced that the amount of Income Tax relief landlords can get on residential property finance costs will be restricted to the basic rate of tax (currently 20 per cent).

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 introduce measures to improve the energy efficiency of private rented property.

This Act replaces Section 8 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) in England, with the purpose of improving living standards in the private and social rented sectors.

On 20 December 2019, the UK Government introduced the Fifth Money Laundering Directive. The extent and application of the Regulations apply to all letting agents working in the UK.

Part 4 of The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 gave powers to the Scottish Government to make 'tenancy deposit regulations' to govern the operation of schemes safeguarding tenancy deposits paid in connection with the occupation of any living accommodation.

The new regulations came into force on 11 November 2019 and amend the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 made under the provisions of the Housing Act.

The Deregulation Act 2015 introduces a number of important changes to when a landlord may serve a Section 21 Notice in order to regain possession of their property.

The Act came into force on 1 September 2019 meaning letting agents and landlords can only charge fees relating to rent, security deposits, holding deposits, or when a tenant breaches a contract.

Mandatory registration for private landlords in Scotland was introduced in 2004. Local authorities are responsible for maintaining information on landlords in their area.