Unit 4 is the specialist lettings unit — the one most directly relevant to day-to-day practice as a letting agent or property manager. It maps to twelve real learning outcomes covering services, appraisal, marketing prep, inventories, safety, HMOs, referencing, tenancy documentation, rent management, amendments, tenant protection and repairs. It overlaps heavily with the compliance law covered across the rest of this site, so each section links to our full, dated guide on that exact topic.
Services offered by letting agents
- Letting only — find a tenant, then the landlord manages independently
- Rent collection — letting plus ongoing rent handling
- Fully managed — letting, rent collection, repairs, inspections and compliance, end to end
Know what falls to the agent versus the landlord under each service level, since exam questions often test who is responsible for a specific compliance task under a given agreement — a fully managed agent typically carries far more direct compliance exposure than a letting-only agent, who has largely handed the ongoing duties back to the landlord.
The market appraisal process
- Comparable evidence from similar local properties, both currently listed and recently let
- Property condition, location and demand factors that adjust a valuation up or down
- Realistic pricing versus overvaluing to win an instruction — an ethical issue the exam expects you to recognise, since overvaluing damages the client’s interests even as it may win the business short-term
See our detailed guide on the evidence that actually holds up when a rent is challenged: rent increase tribunal evidence.
Preparing a property for market
Before marketing, every compliance document must be in place. Full guides: EICR and electrical safety, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and the full compliance deadline tracker. An Energy Performance Certificate at minimum band E is currently required before a property can lawfully be let.
Inventories, check-in/check-out and deposits
- A thorough, dated, photographed inventory is the single most important document for avoiding a deposit dispute — a schedule of condition without photographic evidence is much weaker if challenged
- Deposit cap: five weeks’ rent (six weeks if annual rent is £50,000 or more)
- Deposits must be protected in an approved scheme within 30 days, with prescribed information served
- A custodial scheme holds the deposit itself; an insured scheme lets the landlord retain the deposit while paying for insured protection — know the distinction, it is tested directly
Full guides: deposit protection rules and professional inventories.
Safety, fitness for habitation and energy efficiency
- A gas safety check is required every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer for any gas appliance in a let property
- An EICR must be renewed at least every five years, or sooner if the report specifies
- Smoke alarms must be fitted on every storey used as living accommodation; a carbon monoxide alarm is required in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker
The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 means a tenant can sue a landlord directly over an unfit property, without council involvement first. Know the current position on Awaab’s Law and whether it applies to private lets — it currently sets timeframes for social landlords only; extension to the private rented sector needs secondary legislation not yet made, and this is a genuinely popular exam misconception worth getting exactly right.
HMO legislation
- Mandatory HMO licensing — 5+ occupants, 2+ households, shared facilities
- Additional licensing — discretionary schemes catching smaller HMOs in over 70 councils
- Selective licensing — covers all private rentals in a designated area, not just HMOs
- Typical HMO licence fire safety conditions include adequate means of escape, fire doors, and detection systems appropriate to the property’s layout and occupancy — considerably more than a single smoke alarm in the hallway
Full guide: landlord licensing explained.
Applications, offers and referencing
- Right to Rent checks are mandatory for every adult occupier — digital verification rules changing October 2026
- Referencing should verify income, employment, previous landlord and credit history consistently for every applicant, to avoid discrimination risk
- Guarantor agreements need particular care since the Renters’ Rights Act — what’s changed
- Fraudulent applications are rising sharply — verifying applicants properly
Tenancy documentation, amendments and tenant protection
Preparing and providing tenancy documentation means ensuring the tenancy agreement itself, the government-mandated Information Sheet (for pre-existing tenancies affected by the Renters’ Rights Act), the How to Rent guide, the EPC, gas safety certificate and EICR are all correctly issued, with evidence of service retained — evidence matters as much as the act of serving.
Amending, extending or renewing a tenancy looks different since the Renters’ Rights Act: with fixed terms and break clauses gone, there is no renewal in the old sense. Any change to the terms of an ongoing periodic tenancy — for example adding a permitted occupier — should be documented in writing and agreed by both parties, since a unilateral change is not enforceable.
Tenant protection and how tenancies can be ended: Section 21 is abolished — how possession works now. Rent increases only via a Section 13 notice, once a year, two months’ notice, with the tribunal only able to match or reduce a landlord’s proposed figure. Pet requests need a written response within 28 days. Rental bidding and rent in advance beyond one month are both banned.
Repairing responsibilities
Repairing responsibilities sit primarily with the landlord under Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, covering the structure, exterior, and installations for water, gas, electricity, heating and sanitation. Good repair management includes: a clear reporting route for tenants, reasonable response timeframes, using competent contractors, and keeping records of every repair from report to completion — increasingly important now that possession claims turn heavily on documented evidence.
The regulatory backdrop
- Civil penalties up to £7,000 for breaches, up to £40,000 for offences, since 1 May 2026
- Rent Repayment Orders now up to 24 months’ rent for offences from that date
- The PRS Database and Landlord Ombudsman — registration will have implications for obtaining a possession order once fully rolled out
- Blanket bans on benefit recipients or families with children are unlawful discrimination
Quick revision checklist
- List the three main service levels a letting agent offers and what each includes
- State the deposit cap and the protection deadline, and the difference between custodial and insured schemes
- Name the three types of HMO licensing and what triggers each
- Explain why Section 21 no longer exists and what replaced it
- State the current rent-in-advance limit and the Section 13 notice period
- Explain a landlord’s repairing responsibilities under Section 11 LTA 1985
- Explain the current status of Awaab’s Law for private landlords