Dear Duchess,

Or can we call you Meg? Everyone here at the PDPLA hopes that you are enjoying married life and that both you and Harry are settling into your new home at Kensington Palace.

We wanted to apologise on behalf of the British people as a whole, for the amount of paperwork you have been subjected to over the past 10 days and wanted to ensure that you know it is not personal, all new tenants are in exactly the same position. (Typically, each new tenant is burdened with around 100-120 pages of 'information" which we have to share to meet our legal requirements. Obviously, no tenant ever sits down and reads it all before signing, so it is of debatable value but this is what we have to do).

Let us try to help by explaining some of the key pieces of documentation you have been presented with as a new tenant….

Now firstly, don"t make the mistake many do and think you don"t need paperwork as it is your mother-in-laws house - that could get both you and her into a lot of trouble and whilst we always hope for the best, the paperwork protects us should the outcome not be as happy as was planned or hoped for. (And to be accurate, although it is mum-in-laws house, she manages it through a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) called 'The Royal Household - Property Section" so everyone involved needs the right paperwork in case of problems down the line.

So, this is what you should have:

An AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement), this is the main contract allowing you to live in the property detailing your rights and responsibilities and also, your landladies responsibilities too. These documents are typically around 10 pages long.

Addendum to the AST - This is typically 3 or 4 extra pages with specifics on what you are allowed to do / expected to do, etc

Information for Tenant - This is a useful document as it has information on who to call if something needs fixing, how to open the safe, when to put the bins out, etc. If it is comprehensive it will be another 2-3 pages.

A Guarantors Agreement - We have heard that your landlady has let the property without a guarantor. You are quite lucky as this is unusual and it has saved you from another 12 pages of paperwork.

An Inventory - This is important as it details everything that is in the house and what condition it is in. Frequently these days they are delivered on a CD as a video to avoid disputes on condition, but assuming yours is paper it can be anything from 3-4 pages for an unfurnished property to 20 or more if furnished.

A Gas Safety Certificate - This sheet of paper is important and shows that gas appliances have all been checked and serviced within the past 12 months.

An EPC - Typically 6-8 pages, your landlady is legally required to share this with you. It shows how energy efficient the property is though like most other tenants, this is largely irrelevant as in a market with such little supply, no one debates or worries about the EPC rating.

An EICR - Some landlords hand over the Electrical safety report, some don"t. If your home is in an HMO your landlady is legally required to do so. As Kensington Palace has multiple occupants you could argue that it is an HMO but I guess that depends on the number of live in staff (if more than 2 it is definitely an HMO and needs to be licensed accordingly, which will bring a tranche more paperwork).

How To Rent - The Checklist for Renting, when you moved in you were asked for a copy of your passport. This was not racist or an attempt to keep you out of the family, all tenants are asked as it is a legal requirement. Coupled with this landlords and landladies are legally required to give you this 8 page checklist which tells you all about renting a property. It is worth noting that the 15-20% of UK citizens who don't have passports often find it hard to rent as they cannot prove their right to live here which we agree, is absurd.

Certificate of Deposit Protection - If you paid a security deposit when you moved in, you should have one of these.

Deposit Protection Prescribed Information - This also relates to your security deposit and it is a legal requirement that you are given this, it will range from 4-12 pages depending on the scheme used.

Deposit Protection Scheme Leaflet - Another 4 pages

Privacy Notice and GDPR documentation - A typical privacy notice will run to around 30 pages if it is comprehensive. Add to this the additional documentation associated with data protection compliance and you probably have around 35 pages in total related to this.

Obviously this is quite daunting. If you need help, we do have a NEWLY UPDATED checklist (INCLUDING GDPR) which will help you understand some of this, find it here:

http://pdpla.com/landlords-checklist