What documents must I give a tenant at the start of a tenancy?

In England: the Energy Performance Certificate (free of charge, before letting), the current Gas Safety Certificate (before occupation, where there's a gas supply), the Electrical Safety Report (EICR — before occupation), and — under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — a Written Statement of Terms before signing. If you take a deposit, the tenant must also receive the Prescribed Information and scheme leaflet. The wizard gathers all of these into one tracked pack.

Do I have to use a RentFig tenancy agreement?

No. Upload your own and the wizard still handles e-signing, the document pack, deposit protection and the compliance checklist — and serves a standalone Written Statement of Terms before signature. RentFig's own templates are post-Renters' Rights Act periodic agreements in three variants.

What if the deposit arrives at key handover?

Send the move-in pack first. It carries the signed agreement and the certificates the tenant must have before they move in, and it activates the tenancy so rent invoices start. Once the deposit is protected, send the deposit paperwork (certificate, Prescribed Information, scheme leaflet) to finish. The 30-day clock runs from the day you receive the money and is tracked either way.

Can I add a guarantor?

Yes, on an optional step. Add up to four guarantors, choose whether each is liable for their named tenant, the whole rent, or a capped sum, and execute a Deed of Guarantee. RentFig generates the deed for e-signing with a witness, or you can upload one already signed. The guarantor gets their own copy by email.

What happens to items I skip?

Nothing is silently forgotten. Every skipped or postponed statutory item stays on the tenancy's setup checklist as outstanding, and the Tenancies page shows a progress strip for every in-flight setup.

Tenancy Setup Wizard

Set up a tenancy with the key legal steps in one place.

Most tenancy problems are baked in on day one. The wizard walks the whole setup in one sitting — Right to Rent, referencing, a post-Renters’ Rights Act agreement, the document pack and deposit protection — ending with your tenant getting the documents they should receive, previewed before it goes out.

Start Free Try the demo

Setup checklist

Tracked for every new tenancy

Written Statement servedDone ✓
Right to Rent recordedDone ✓
Agreement e-signedDone ✓
EPC / Gas / EICR providedDone ✓
Deposit protectedDone ✓
Prescribed Information servedDone ✓

Skipped something? It stays tracked as outstanding, not silently dropped.

Why day one matters

None of these can be fixed retroactively — so the wizard makes each one an explicit, tracked step.

Up to £40,000

Council penalty for not giving the tenant the Electrical Safety Report (EICR) before they occupy — Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020.

30 days, up to 3x

Protect the deposit and serve the Prescribed Information within 30 days of receiving it, or the tenant can claim up to three times the deposit.

Before signing

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 requires the tenant to receive a Written Statement of Terms before the agreement is signed.

Try it yourself

Click through a sample tenancy setup: generate the tenancy agreement, edit it, send it for signing and choose what goes in the pack. Sample data only — nothing is saved or sent.

rentfig.co.uk/tenancies/wizardDemo · sample data

Step 1 of 9

Tenancy Basics

Property

Flat 2, 14 Sample Road, Anytown

Tenant

Sam Carter · sam@example.com

Start date

1 October 2026

Rent

£1,150 per month

Deposit

£1,326 (5 weeks' rent)

Within capDeposit checked against the 5-week limit

Saved as a draft — the tenancy only goes live when setup is sent.

Nine guided steps

Start from Tenancies → Tenancy Setup Wizard. Leave halfway? A progress strip on the Tenancies page continues exactly where you left off.

Tenancy Basics

Property, tenants, dates, rent and deposit — created as a draft that only activates when setup is sent.

Right to Rent

A recorded check for every adult living at the property, with follow-up dates scheduled for time-limited permissions.

Referencing

Built-in credit and reference checks on each tenant — no separate portal, no re-keying.

Guarantor (optional)

Add up to four guarantors, set what each one is liable for, and execute a Deed of Guarantee — e-signed with a witness, or upload one already signed.

Tenancy Agreement

Post-Renters' Rights Act periodic templates (whole property, joint sharers, HMO room), filled in from the tenancy and editable in the preview, then sent for e-signing. A RentFig agreement doubles as your RRA 2025 Written Statement of Terms.

Documents & Compliance

EPC, gas safety and EICR gathered with a per-item decision — include in pack, already provided, or send later — plus any extra documents you want to attach, like the inventory. Anything postponed is tracked as outstanding.

Deposit & Protection

DPS, TDS or mydeposits, custodial or insured, with the certificate, scheme leaflet and the 30-day Prescribed Information clock tracked.

Review & Send Everything

Preview the email to your tenant, then send the agreement (the signed copy, if you used e-signing) and every document. Deposit paid at key handover? Send the move-in pack now and the deposit paperwork once it's protected.

Complete — day-one tasks

Move-in checklist seeded automatically: alarms tested, inventory, keys, meter readings, council tax and utilities notified.

Ahead on AI

A guided wizard, with AI that does real work

While a lot of landlord software is still talking about AI, the wizard already uses it, and the rest of RentFig works with the AI assistant you already use.

Certificate dates read for you
Upload the EPC, gas safety certificate or EICR in the Documents step and the dates are read automatically, ready for you to check. On Business and during the free trial.
More on RentFig's AI →
Ask Claude about your lettings
Connect Claude, or another AI assistant that supports custom connectors, and ask who owes rent or which certificates are due. Read-only, signed in as you. Every paid plan and the free trial.
Connect your AI assistant →
AI Mode, your own assistant
Ask “When does the Elm Street tenancy end?” or “Who owes rent?” inside RentFig. From Starter.
See AI Mode →

AI answers are help, not legal advice. Check anything important before you rely on it.

See it in action

Real screens from the wizard — each statutory rule shown where you act on it.

Right to Rent step of the Tenancy Setup Wizard: a note that every adult living at the property needs a check before the tenancy starts under the Immigration Act 2014, with the tenant flagged as Not checked yet and the option to continue and record it later — Right to Rent — every adult checked before the tenancy starts

Documents and Compliance step: the Energy Performance Certificate card marked Required with its statutory rule (given free of charge before letting), an upload panel that reads the dates automatically, and a Send later decision tracked as outstanding with an audit-trail note — Documents & Compliance — per-item decisions, tracked as outstanding

Deposit and Protection step: a live deadline chip reading Protect and serve Prescribed Information by 1 October 2026 with 71 days left, a Connect TDS scheme integration, and scheme plus custodial-or-insured recording fields — Deposit & Protection — the 30-day clock, tracked live

FAQ

What documents must I give a tenant at the start of a tenancy?: In England: the Energy Performance Certificate (free of charge, before letting), the current Gas Safety Certificate (before occupation, where there's a gas supply), the Electrical Safety Report (EICR — before occupation), and — under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — a Written Statement of Terms before signing. If you take a deposit, the tenant must also receive the Prescribed Information and scheme leaflet. The wizard gathers all of these into one tracked pack.
What is Prescribed Information and when is the deadline?: The statutory details of how the tenant's deposit is protected. You must protect the deposit and serve the Prescribed Information within 30 days of receiving the deposit — the wizard tracks both against that clock.
Do I have to use a RentFig tenancy agreement?: No. Upload your own and the wizard still handles e-signing, the document pack, deposit protection and the compliance checklist — and serves a standalone Written Statement of Terms before signature. RentFig's own templates are post-Renters' Rights Act periodic agreements in three variants.
What if the deposit arrives at key handover?: Send the move-in pack first. It carries the signed agreement and the certificates the tenant must have before they move in, and it activates the tenancy so rent invoices start. Once the deposit is protected, send the deposit paperwork (certificate, Prescribed Information, scheme leaflet) to finish. The 30-day clock runs from the day you receive the money and is tracked either way.
Can I add a guarantor?: Yes, on an optional step. Add up to four guarantors, choose whether each is liable for their named tenant, the whole rent, or a capped sum, and execute a Deed of Guarantee. RentFig generates the deed for e-signing with a witness, or you can upload one already signed. The guarantor gets their own copy by email.
What happens to items I skip?: Nothing is silently forgotten. Every skipped or postponed statutory item stays on the tenancy's setup checklist as outstanding, and the Tenancies page shows a progress strip for every in-flight setup.

Full step-by-step guide: How to set up a tenancy

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal, financial or tax advice. UK landlord rules are technical and changing quickly — always check current gov.uk and your local authority guidance, and consult specialists for decisions about your own portfolio.

Your next tenancy, set up right.

Free to start. The wizard itself costs nothing extra — e-signing is on paid plans and uses credits, and referencing is charged per check.

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