The Tenant Information Sheet: What Landlords Must Give Tenants (RRA 2026)

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduced a paperwork duty that's easy to miss because it isn't a form you'd recognise from the old regime: landlords have to give tenants a prescribed information sheet explaining the changes the Act makes. It's a small administrative task with a real penalty attached, and the deadline for existing tenancies has already passed. This is what the duty is, who it applies to, and how to get compliant if you missed it.

What this means for you. Two separate duties sit close together here and are easy to confuse: the information sheet (a prescribed document about the RRA changes) and the written statement of tenancy terms (the document setting out the tenancy's own terms). Both come from the same set of regulations. For existing tenancies that converted on 1 May 2026, the information sheet had to be provided by 31 May 2026. If you let through that date without giving it, you're non-compliant now and should remedy it.

What the information sheet is

The information sheet is a prescribed document — its content is set by the Secretary of State in regulations, namely the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/324). It explains to the tenant, in plain terms, the key changes the Renters' Rights Act makes to their rights: the move to periodic tenancies, the abolition of Section 21, how rent increases now work, and the routes available if something goes wrong.

The point of it is consumer protection — making sure tenants understand the new framework rather than relying on landlords or agents to explain it accurately. Because it's prescribed, you don't draft your own version from scratch; you provide the document in the form the regulations require.

Who has to give one, and by when

There are two situations:

Existing tenancies (converted on 1 May 2026)

For tenancies that were already running when the Act commenced, the transitional rule in Renters' Rights Act 2025 Schedule 6 paragraph 7 required the landlord to give the tenant the prescribed information "before the end of the period of one month beginning with the commencement date" — i.e. by 31 May 2026.

If you let that deadline pass, the duty doesn't evaporate — you're simply late. Provide the information sheet now. Late compliance is better than continued non-compliance, and it limits your exposure if the issue is ever raised.

New tenancies (entered into from 1 May 2026)

New tenancies fall under the main written-statement-and-information provisions of the Act (rather than the Schedule 6 transitional rule). In practice this means the information sheet and the written statement of terms form part of the documentation you provide at the start of a new tenancy. Build them into your onboarding pack alongside the deposit protection paperwork, the gas safety certificate, the EPC, and the "How to Rent" guide so nothing is missed.

Information sheet vs written statement of terms — don't conflate them

These are two distinct documents from the same regulations:

Document	What it is	When
Information sheet	Prescribed explainer of the RRA changes to the tenant's rights	Existing tenancies: by 31 May 2026. New tenancies: with onboarding.
Written statement of terms	The terms of this specific tenancy, set out in writing	At the start of the tenancy / on conversion, per the regulations

The information sheet is generic (the same changes apply to every tenant); the written statement is specific to the individual tenancy. Both are landlord duties under the RRA framework, and both should be in your standard pack.

How to get compliant

1. Provide the prescribed information sheet to every tenant — existing tenants who didn't receive it by 31 May, and every new tenant going forward.
2. Use the prescribed content from SI 2026/324 rather than a home-made summary.
3. Keep a record of when and how you provided it (date, method, a copy of what was sent). The record is what protects you if compliance is ever challenged.
4. Bundle it into your onboarding documents so new tenancies are compliant by default.

The whole duty takes minutes per tenancy once you've got the document and a system for sending it. The risk isn't the effort — it's forgetting, then discovering the gap during a dispute.

Related guides

• The Definitive Guide to the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — the full reform, including the documentation duties.
• The Renters' Rights Act Is Now Live: What Changed on 1 May 2026 — the commencement-day checklist.
• The Complete Landlord Compliance Checklist — every document you need to provide and keep.
• AST Template: What Changes Under the RRA — how the written statement of terms fits the new framework.

Sources

• Renters' Rights Act 2025 Schedule 6 — paragraph 7, the transitional duty to give existing tenants the prescribed information by one month after commencement.
• SI 2026/324 — Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet Regulations 2026 — the regulations prescribing the information sheet and written-statement content.
• Renters' Rights Act 2025 (full text) — the primary legislation.
• GOV.UK — Renting out your property: guidance for landlords — operator guidance on landlord documentation duties.

This is general information about the Renters' Rights Act information-sheet duty and is not legal advice. The precise prescribed content and provision requirements are set by regulations — check SI 2026/324 and current GOV.UK guidance, and take advice if you're unsure whether you've discharged the duty. Crocker Digital Ltd (Company No. 17008789) and RentersActReady accept no liability for action taken solely on the basis of this article.