Section 21 notice is gone, but inspections are still lawful
Since the Renters' Rights Act abolished Section 21 no-fault evictions, many landlords and letting agents have assumed they can no longer enter a tenanted property without the tenant's explicit consent. That reading is wrong. Inspections remain lawful under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the tenancy agreement itself, provided the correct notice is given and the visit is reasonable. What has changed is the consequence of getting it wrong. With periodic tenancies now the default and tenants able to challenge poor practice through the Private Rented Sector Database, an inspection carried out without proper notice is no longer a minor administrative slip. It is evidence of non-compliance that can affect your ability to use Section 8 grounds.
How often can you legally inspect a rental property?
There is no statutory cap on inspection frequency in England and Wales, but case law and tribunal expectations have settled on a working norm. Most lettings professionals inspect every three to six months.
- Quarterly inspections suit older properties, HMOs, and tenancies with pets or students.
- Six-monthly inspections are appropriate for standard ASTs in good condition.
- Annual inspections are generally considered too infrequent to catch disrepair early or support a deposit claim.
Whatever interval you choose, it must sit consistently within the tenancy agreement. A clause permitting "reasonable access for inspection" is enforceable; a clause demanding access at any time without notice is not. Under the Housing Act 1988 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, you must give at least 24 hours' written notice and visit at a reasonable time of day. The Renters' Rights Act reinforces this and requires that any request to enter be for a specified purpose.
What proper notice looks like in 2026
Notice must be in writing, name the date and time window, state the purpose, and be delivered at least 24 hours before the visit. Email counts as writing if the tenant has agreed to that method. Text messages alone are risky. If the tenant refuses access, you cannot force entry without a court order. You can, however, record the refusal and continue with remote checks.
Practical steps for serving notice
- Send notice at least 48 hours ahead, giving the tenant a two-hour arrival window.
- Confirm the purpose: routine mid-term inspection, gas safety check, or repair verification.
- Keep a dated copy of the notice in the tenancy file.
Tenants must allow access for gas safety checks, EPC assessments, and works required under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. For everything else, cooperation is expected but not enforceable.
What a mid-term report should document
A mid-term inspection report is not a snapshot of cleanliness. It is a dated record of condition, occupation, and compliance at a point in time. The most useful reports contain:
- Room-by-room photographs with date and time stamps.
- Meter readings for gas, electricity, and water.
- Confirmation that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are present and functioning.
- Signs of condensation, damp, mould, or unreported repairs.
- Evidence of unauthorised alterations, subletting, or pets.
- Tenant declarations on anything the inspection could not cover.
Deposit dispute evidence now leans heavily on the quality of these records. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme and other government-approved schemes assess disputes on the balance of evidence. A mid-term report showing the same wear pattern at month three and month twelve is far stronger than a check-out report alone. Dispute adjudicators routinely note that landlords who fail to produce interim inspections lose claims for deterioration that could have been flagged earlier.
Photo evidence standards that stand up to scrutiny
Adjudicators at the Tenancy Deposit Scheme have rejected photographs that were undated, unlabelled, or taken in poor lighting. The standards that hold are consistent:
- Date and geolocation metadata embedded in the file.
- Wide shots showing the whole room, then close-ups of specific issues.
- An object for scale in close-ups, such as a coin or a tape measure.
- Consistent angles at each inspection so change can be compared.
Video walkthroughs are increasingly accepted, but they must be narrated and timestamped. Blurry or generic images attract little weight in a dispute.
Digital inspection tools and the AI shift
Paper checklists are being replaced rapidly. A property inventory app now lets an inspector capture photos on a phone, tag them to rooms, autogenerate a dated report, and send the tenant a copy for sign-off within minutes. Under the new regime, tenants are entitled to see the evidence being recorded about them, and the Private Rented Sector Database will require landlords to keep records that can be produced on request. Using property inventory software that timestamps and stores evidence centrally reduces the risk of lost files and inconsistent records.
AI-powered inventory software can also compare a mid-term report against the original check-in schedule and flag deterioration automatically. That comparison becomes the backbone of any deposit deduction claim.
Using mid-term reports to support deposit disputes
Deposit schemes award deductions for damage, missing items, cleaning, and unpaid rent, not for fair wear and tear. To argue the difference persuasively, you need a baseline and a series of interim comparators.
- Check-in report: signed by the tenant with photographs and descriptions.
- Mid-term reports: at least one, ideally two, showing condition over time.
- Check-out report: consistent methodology and angle with the earlier reports.
When the three sets align, adjudicators can trace deterioration to a specific period and weigh it against the tenancy length. When a landlord produces only a check-in and check-out report, the tenant's explanation for the change often prevails.
Compliance claims and the inspection trail
Mid-term inspections also feed compliance evidence. Gas safety records, EPC ratings, electrical installation condition reports, and licensing conditions all need periodic verification. A dated inspection report showing the gas certificate displayed, the alarm tested, and the EPC available supports a defence against civil penalties under the Housing Act 2004.
With the Decent Homes Standard being extended to the private rented sector, landlords will need to show that properties meet the standard throughout the tenancy, not just at the start. Mid-term inspections are the practical mechanism for that.
What to do before your next inspection
- Check your tenancy agreement permits the frequency and notice you intend to use.
- Book the visit at least 48 hours ahead and put the notice in writing.
- Update your inspection template to capture alarms, meters, and damp.
- Store all photographs and reports in one system that timestamps them.
Build inspection evidence into your CRM workflow
Landlords and agents who treat mid-term reports as a scheduled, digitised task are the ones winning deposit disputes and passing compliance audits. Our property inventory CRM lets you send notice, schedule inspections, capture photo evidence with automatic timestamps, and generate tenant-ready reports in a single workflow. Book a demo to see how it handles the Renters' Rights Act requirements end to end.