Landlords in England have been reminded to look out for an updated version of the official How to rent guide, due to be published this week.

A copy of the guide must be given to new tenants along with gas safety and other certificates. And landlords must be certain that the version they hand over is the latest, the National Residential Landlords Association has reminded members.

Rules brought in eight years ago also make it mandatory for landlords in England to provide tenants who renew their tenancies with the latest version of How to rent: a checklist for renting in England ‘if there has been an update to the contents of the guide’.

The guide forms part of the prescribed information landlords must issue, and if they do not, they lose the right to repossess using Section 21.

The new guide has been updated to reflect recent legal changes, including the requirement for carbon monoxide alarms to be fitted in every room with a fixed fuel-burning appliance.

It also contains information on fitting smart meters.

The revised versions of the How to rent, and of the How to let guides will be available on the gov.uk website from Friday 24 March.