Is email service of a Gas Safety Certificate enough?
Yes — service by email with the PDF attached is widely accepted in England, provided the tenancy agreement allows electronic notice. Keep a timestamped copy in your audit log. A link to a folder is not service; the file itself must reach the tenant’s inbox.
What blocks a Section 8 possession claim?
Deposit compliance, and registration on the PRS Database once it opens. For an assured tenancy beginning on or after 1 May 2026 the court cannot make a Section 8 possession order while the deposit is unprotected, the scheme’s requirements are unmet or the Prescribed Information has not been given, on every ground except 7A and 14 (anti-social behaviour). Returning the deposit cures it. A missing CP12, EICR or EPC does NOT bar a Section 8 claim: those carry their own penalties (an unlimited fine and up to 6 months for gas, up to £30,000 for electrical safety) and they weigh on the reasonableness test the court applies to discretionary grounds, but they are not a statutory bar. The How to Rent guide never barred Section 8 at all — it was a Section 21 precondition, and both Section 21 and the guide itself are gone.
Does the move-in pack still matter after Section 21 is abolished on 1 May 2026?
Yes — even more so. Section 8 grounds 1 and 1A (landlord moving in or selling) require that statutory information duties have been complied with. A missing item becomes the tenant’s defence in court.
Do I have to re-serve documents at every renewal?
You serve any renewed Gas Safety, EICR or EPC certificate within 28 days of issue. You do not re-serve unchanged documents. There is no longer a How to Rent guide to re-serve: GOV.UK withdrew it on 1 May 2026, and it is retained only for a Section 21 notice served before that date.
How does LetCompliance help?
On the property page, the move-in pack sender pre-ticks every uploaded statutory document, shows an amber warning row for anything missing (with statute reference and the GOV.UK link), and emails the lot to the tenant via Resend — with one structured audit row per attachment.