If you've already emailed your tenants a link to the GOV.UK Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet and ticked the job off your list, I'd ask you to keep reading for the next couple of minutes, because there's a good chance you haven't actually served it.
This is the question I keep being asked by landlords this week and it's the question that nobody seems to be answering clearly. The honest answer is that GOV.UK is quite explicit about this, but the explanation is buried in their guidance and most landlords have never read it.
What GOV.UK Actually Says
The guidance on the GOV.UK Information Sheet page includes this specific line, and it's the one most people are missing:
"If you email the information sheet, you must attach the PDF — you cannot send a link."
That's not a suggestion or best practice, that's the rule. If you've emailed your tenants the GOV.UK URL and considered the job done, you haven't done it. The Information Sheet has to be delivered as the actual document, and forwarding a link to the document isn't the same thing as delivering it.
Why This Rule Exists
I'm wondering if part of the reason this rule catches people off guard is that it seems pedantic, but it actually makes sense when you think about it from an enforcement angle.
If you forward a link, the tenant may or may not click it. The GOV.UK page may be updated, moved, or temporarily unavailable. The link could be filtered by their email client as suspicious. The PDF on the other end might be a different version than the one you intended to serve. None of that is hypothetical, all of it happens, and any of it gives a tenant grounds to say they didn't receive the Information Sheet in any meaningful sense.
Serving the actual PDF as an attachment removes all of that. The tenant has the document. You have a record of what version you sent. The proof is the email itself.
The Four Valid Methods
GOV.UK recognises four ways to validly serve the Information Sheet:
Hand delivery. You print the PDF and give it to the tenant in person, ideally with them signing and dating a duplicate copy that you keep.
First-class post. You post the printed PDF, preferably by recorded or signed-for delivery so you have proof of postage and ideally proof of delivery too.
Email with the PDF as an attachment. You send an email with the actual PDF attached as a file, not a link in the body of the email.
Leaving the document at the property. This one only works in specific circumstances and it's the weakest evidentially, so I'd treat it as a last resort if none of the others are possible.
If you've already served via one of these methods properly, you're fine. If you sent a link, you need to do it again.
What to Do If You've Already Sent a Link
The good news is that the deadline is still days away, so there's time to put it right. Here's what I'd suggest.
Re-send the email with the actual PDF attached this time. In the body of the email, add a short note acknowledging the correction — something like "Following up on my earlier email — please find the actual Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet PDF attached, as required by GOV.UK guidance. Apologies for any confusion."
That note matters for two reasons. It demonstrates good faith if anything ever gets contested, and it makes the chronology clear in your own records. If a council ever asks for proof of service, you want to be able to show that you served by 31 May, even if the first attempt was technically flawed.
Save the corrected email properly. The sent email is your evidence, so make sure it's actually in your sent folder and that the attachment is still attached when you open it later. I've seen landlords assume the email is saved when it's been silently filtered or deleted.
Keep a copy of the exact PDF you served. GOV.UK has been known to update the Information Sheet (it was last updated 22 April 2026), and if they update it again before you re-serve, you'd want to know which version your tenant received. Saving the PDF locally takes 10 seconds and gives you a verifiable record.
Once you've served correctly, the next question most landlords ask is what proof of service you actually need to keep — the answer is more specific than most people expect.
A Few Related Questions I Keep Being Asked
Does it count if I sent the email but the tenant didn't open it? Yes. Your legal duty is to serve, not to compel them to read it. As long as the email was correctly sent with the PDF attached, you've discharged the duty.
What if the email bounced or got returned? Then it didn't reach the tenant, so it wasn't served. You'd need to try again by a different method.
What if my tenant says they didn't get it? You need the proof of sending. Your sent email with the attachment is your evidence. If they're disputing it, you've at least documented that the attempt was made.
Does this rule apply to letting agents serving on my behalf? Yes, the method requirement is the same whoever is doing the serving. But the legal duty falls on you, the landlord, so if your agent emailed links rather than attachments, you're the one who needs to put it right.
The Deadline Isn't Moving
I keep hearing landlords say they'll deal with this in the last week of May, and I'd gently push back on that. The deadline is 31 May 2026 and the fine is up to £7,000 per tenant. Leaving it to the final week means no margin to fix anything that goes wrong, and plenty of things can go wrong with email delivery.
If you've sent links rather than attachments, this week is the week to put it right. It takes maybe ten minutes per tenant and it's the difference between being compliant and being exposed.
Try Doorkeep for 99p → Start your trial
Doorkeep fetches the official GOV.UK PDF, attaches it to an email to each tenant, and logs delivery in an Evidence Vault so you've got the proof if anyone ever asks. 99p for the first month, £5.99/month after that. But the manual process above works perfectly well if you'd rather sort it yourself.
The main thing is to get it done properly before 31 May.
Published 15 May 2026. Based on GOV.UK guidance current at the date of publication. This is informational content, not legal advice. Always check the latest version on GOV.UK.