diff --git a/app/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser.rb b/app/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser.rb
index 289566508..0cd25b40c 100644
--- a/app/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser.rb
+++ b/app/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser.rb
@@ -143,6 +143,11 @@ class BulkUpload::Lettings::RowParser
   validates :field_1, presence: { message: I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: "letting type") },
                       inclusion: { in: (1..12).to_a, message: I18n.t("validations.invalid_option", question: "letting type") }
   validates :field_4, presence: { if: proc { [2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12].include?(field_1) } }
+
+  validates :field_96, presence: { message: I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: "tenancy start date (day)") }
+  validates :field_97, presence: { message: I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: "tenancy start date (month)") }
+  validates :field_98, presence: { message: I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: "tenancy start date (year)") }
+
   validates :field_98, format: { with: /\A\d{2}\z/, message: I18n.t("validations.setup.startdate.year_not_two_digits") }
 
   validate :validate_data_types
@@ -341,7 +346,7 @@ private
   end
 
   def validate_relevant_collection_window
-    return unless start_date && bulk_upload.form
+    return if start_date.blank? || bulk_upload.form.blank?
 
     unless bulk_upload.form.valid_start_date_for_form?(start_date)
       errors.add(:field_96, I18n.t("validations.date.outside_collection_window"))
@@ -351,6 +356,8 @@ private
   end
 
   def start_date
+    return if field_98.blank? || field_97.blank? || field_96.blank?
+
     Date.parse("20#{field_98.to_s.rjust(2, '0')}-#{field_97}-#{field_96}")
   rescue StandardError
     nil
@@ -392,9 +399,17 @@ private
       next if question.completed?(log)
 
       if setup_question?(question)
-        fields.each { |field| errors.add(field, I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: question.check_answer_label&.downcase), category: :setup) }
+        fields.each do |field|
+          unless errors.any? { |e| fields.include?(e.attribute) }
+            errors.add(field, I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: question.check_answer_label&.downcase), category: :setup)
+          end
+        end
       else
-        fields.each { |field| errors.add(field, I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: question.check_answer_label&.downcase)) }
+        fields.each do |field|
+          unless errors.any? { |e| fields.include?(e.attribute) }
+            errors.add(field, I18n.t("validations.not_answered", question: question.check_answer_label&.downcase))
+          end
+        end
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/spec/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser_spec.rb b/spec/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser_spec.rb
index 867e5028b..14c4ae3f3 100644
--- a/spec/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/bulk_upload/lettings/row_parser_spec.rb
@@ -529,7 +529,7 @@ RSpec.describe BulkUpload::Lettings::RowParser do
     end
 
     describe "fields 96, 97, 98 => startdate" do
-      context "when any one of these fields is blank" do
+      context "when all of these fields are blank" do
         let(:attributes) { { bulk_upload:, field_1: "1", field_96: nil, field_97: nil, field_98: nil } }
 
         it "returns an error" do
@@ -541,6 +541,18 @@ RSpec.describe BulkUpload::Lettings::RowParser do
         end
       end
 
+      context "when one of these fields is blank" do
+        let(:attributes) { { bulk_upload:, field_1: "1", field_96: "1", field_97: "1", field_98: nil } }
+
+        it "returns an error only on blank field" do
+          parser.valid?
+
+          expect(parser.errors[:field_96]).to be_blank
+          expect(parser.errors[:field_97]).to be_blank
+          expect(parser.errors[:field_98]).to be_present
+        end
+      end
+
       context "when field 98 is 4 digits instead of 2" do
         let(:attributes) { { bulk_upload:, field_98: "2022" } }