Resources — Operating · 5 min
Tenant Onboarding Checklist
A tenancy that starts tidy tends to stay tidy. Every item here exists because missing it costs real money later — several of them are the difference between a valid possession notice and an unenforceable one.
How to use this
Run it start to finish for every new tenancy. Keys don't change hands until every item in the first section is ticked.
01
Before the tenancy
- Full referencing: credit, employer, previous landlord, affordability at 30 ×'s monthly rent annually
- Right to Rent checks completed and copied
- Deposit capped correctly (five weeks' rent) and protected within 30 days
- Prescribed information served with the deposit certificate
- How to Rent guide (current version), EPC, gas certificate and EICR served BEFORE occupation — these gate a valid s21
02
Move-in day
- Signed AST with any addendums (pets, garden, parking)
- Independent inventory with timestamped photos, signed by the tenant
- Meter readings photographed together
- Keys logged: how many cut, who holds what
- Standing order confirmed for rent date; first month cleared before keys
03
The first quarter
- Two-week courtesy call: anything not working, anything unclear
- Six-week inspection, diarised with proper notice
- Repairs channel agreed and in writing (email or portal, not text-message chaos)
- Renewal and rent-review dates diarised at month one, not month eleven
Related documents
Working documents, not advice — take professional advice where your situation needs it.