A rent book is a document that records details about a tenancy and notes all rent payments that are made.
As a Landlord, you are obliged to provide your tenant(s) with a ‘rent book’ at the commencement of a tenancy or another equivalent document serving the same purpose providing it contains all the necessary details.
You should record all rent payments in the rent book. If your tenant makes payments in person, you should sign the book or give a signed receipt with details of the payment. If your tenant pays in another way, such as by post or through the bank, you should either sign the rent book or give a written receipt within 3 months of the payment.
All rent and other payments under the tenancy must be acknowledged by you the landlord.
The rent book must contain specific particulars relating to the tenancy including, among other things:
- the name and address of the landlord and of the landlord’s agent (if any),
- the term of the tenancy,
- the amount of the rent and of any other payments to be made by the tenant to the landlord
- details of any advance rent or deposit paid
- an inventory of furnishings and appliances supplied with the house
- the rent book must also include a basic statement of information for the tenant which is set out in the Schedule to the Regulations.
The requirement to provide a rent book is set down in legislation since 1993