What the checks do
- Give the earliest start date for a new rent.
- Give the earliest and the last day for court proceedings after a section 8 notice.
- Show each test with its source.
- Give a cautious date, labelled, where the texts leave a doubt. A later date is never too early.
What they do not do
- Choose a ground for you.
- Check the deposit, licences, gas safety or the information you owed the tenant.
- Work out postal delivery.
- Cover Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, social housing or farm workers’ homes.
Where the rules come from
- Housing Act 1988, section 13
- Housing Act 1988, section 8
- Housing Act 1988, section 4A
- Housing Act 1988, section 14ZB
- Housing Act 1988, sections 16E and 16M
- Housing Act 1988, Schedule 2
- S.I. 2003/259, explanatory note
- S.I. 2026/354, regulation 3
- Renters’ Rights Act 2025, Schedule 6
- Form 4A (05.26), notes
- Form 3A (05.26), notes
- Form 3A: guidance for private landlords
- Form 3A: legal wording for possession grounds
- GOV.UK guidance for landlords: rent increases
- GOV.UK guidance for landlords: repossessing your property
Last read: 11 November 2026. Forms matched with GOV.UK: 11 November 2026.
Notice pack
The checks are free. The notice pack is the official GOV.UK PDF with your details and the dates filled in, a check sheet and a service record, made in your browser. £9 for one notice, including VAT.