I emailed my tenant a link to the gov.uk page. Does that count?
It is an easy thing to have done. The information sheet lives on gov.uk, the link is right there, and pasting it into an email feels like the modern, sensible way to send someone a government document. A lot of landlords did exactly this in May 2026 and reasonably assumed they were finished.
The guidance describes something different, and the difference matters both legally and practically.
What the guidance describes
GOV.UK: written information you need to give to your tenant sets out that the information sheet must have been given by either posting or hand-delivering a printed copy, or by sending a digital copy — the example given is “as an attachment to an email or text message”. The thing that travels to the tenant is the document. A hyperlink is a reference to a document held somewhere else, on a website you do not control.
Why the evidential problem is the bigger one
There are three practical problems with a link, separate from the wording, if a tenant later says they were never given the information sheet.
First, a link proves you sent a URL. It does not indicate the tenant opened it, and it certainly does not indicate they read a document. An attachment at least travels with the message.
Second, gov.uk pages get updated, restructured and moved. If the page changes or the URL is retired, you have no way of demonstrating what was at the other end of that link on the day you sent it. Whereas a saved copy of the file you attached is fixed evidence of exactly what your tenant received.
Third — and this is the one that decides most disputes — the tenant’s honest answer eighteen months later may be that they saw an email with a link in it and did not realise it was a document they needed to read. A tenant can say that about a link. It is much harder to say about an attached PDF with the name of the Act in the filename.
The fix, which takes about ten minutes
- Download the actual file from gov.uk and keep your own copy of it.
- Send it as an attachment to each tenant named on the agreement — individually, not as one email to a shared address.
- Say why you are re-sending. Something plain works best: “I sent you a link to this in May; I’m re-sending the document itself so we both have a proper copy on file.” No drama, no admission of anything, and it creates a fresh dated record.
- Ask for a one-line confirmation of receipt and file the reply.
While you are at it
Check who you sent it to, not just what you sent. The same guidance requires the information sheet to reach all tenants named on the agreement, and the single most common defect after the link problem is a household where only the lead tenant was served. Our guide on whether every tenant needs their own copy covers that, and proving you served it covers what to keep on file.
Find every gap in 2 minutes — free
The free check asks how the information actually reached your tenants and flags this exact problem — along with everything else the Act changed that you may not have caught.
Take the free compliance check →More guides
Written statement of terms · Missed the 31 May deadline? · How to increase rent (Form 4A) · Does every tenant need their own copy? · Proving you served it · Why Form 4A notices get rejected · Do you need a deed of guarantee? · Pet rent and pet insurance · The 28-day pet rule