The Renters' Rights Act 2025: A Landlord's Guide

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (RRA) has been in force since 1 May 2026. Section 21 is abolished, every assured shorthold tenancy has converted automatically to a periodic assured tenancy, rent increases run only through Section 13, upfront rent demands are capped, and rental bidding wars are banned. If you manage lettings in England, three changes matter most — explore each one below.

The three biggest changes for landlords

The Renters' Rights Act at a glance

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and is being brought into force in three phases. It amends the Housing Act 1988 and is the largest reform of the private rented sector in England in over 35 years. The full text is at legislation.gov.uk, and the government's own implementation roadmap sets out the full phasing.

Since 1 May 2026, in the private rented sector in England:

• Section 21 ("no-fault") evictions are abolished. Landlords seeking possession must use Section 8 with a statutory ground.
• Fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies are abolished. All assured tenancies are periodic by default; existing fixed terms converted automatically.
• Rent-review clauses are unenforceable. Rent can only be increased through Section 13 using the prescribed Form 4A, no more than once every 12 months.
• Upfront rent payments are restricted. No more than one month's rent can be required in advance after signing.
• Rental bidding wars are banned. Properties must be advertised at a stated asking rent, and offers above it cannot be invited or accepted.
• A statutory pet-request process applies. Landlords cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant's request to keep a pet, have 28 days to respond, and can require pet damage insurance.
• Discriminating against tenants with children or on benefits is illegal. Landlords and agents cannot withhold a property, refuse a viewing, or refuse a tenancy on either basis.
• The Information Sheet had to be served on all existing assured tenants between 1 and 31 May 2026 (see below).

Two things this phase does not yet do: it has not touched the social rented sector (due to follow from 2027, worked through with the Regulator of Social Housing), and it has not introduced the PRS Database or the Ombudsman — those are Phase 2. Separately, local councils already gained stronger investigatory and enforcement powers from 27 December 2025, ahead of the main Phase 1 commencement.

Two live deadlines landlords cannot ignore right now

The Information Sheet deadline (31 May 2026) has passed. Every landlord with an existing assured or assured shorthold tenancy was required to give the official Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 — the exact, unmodified government PDF, not a summary — to each named tenant, by post, by hand, or as an email or text-message attachment. Full guidance is on gov.uk. If any tenancy was missed, serve it now: the obligation does not lapse, non-compliance is enforceable through the Act's civil penalty regime (check gov.uk for current penalty levels), and for a portfolio landlord the cumulative exposure across several tenancies can be significant.

One narrow exception applies: where the existing tenancy was wholly oral (no written agreement at all), the landlord instead had to provide a written statement of the tenancy's key terms by 31 May 2026 — not the Information Sheet. This is set out in section 12 of the Act and applies rarely in practice.

31 July 2026 is a live, approaching deadline. Where a Section 21 notice was validly served before 1 May 2026, court proceedings relying on it must be issued by 31 July 2026 at the latest. After that date the notice can no longer be used at all, and any possession claim must instead be brought under Section 8 with a statutory ground. Any landlord still sitting on a pre-commencement Section 21 notice should treat this date as final.

What's next: Phase 2 and Phase 3

Phase 2, from late 2026, rolls out the Private Rented Sector Database in stages, starting with a regional launch for landlord and council registration. Signing up will be mandatory for all PRS landlords, who will need to provide contact details, property details, and safety records (gas, electrical, EPC), and pay an annual fee to be confirmed closer to launch. The Landlord Ombudsman is also established during Phase 2, but landlord membership only becomes mandatory once the scheme has scaled up — the government's roadmap targets 2028 for that requirement.

Phase 3 extends Awaab's Law and introduces a modernised Decent Homes Standard (DHS) to the private rented sector for the first time, giving councils new enforcement powers over property condition. Following its 2025 consultation, the government's policy statement on the reformed Decent Homes Standard confirms the DHS will apply to the PRS from 2035. The implementation timetable for Awaab's Law in the PRS has not yet been confirmed and remains subject to further consultation. Neither of these is live yet — there is no PRS-specific compliance action to take on either one today, beyond staying aware of the timeline.

Common confusions about the RRA

Several recurring areas of misunderstanding emerge from how the RRA framework works in practice.

"My existing tenancy agreement still applies in full." — Partly true. The contract continues, but any clauses that conflict with the RRA framework (rent-review clauses, fixed-term provisions, blanket pet bans, advance-rent clauses beyond one month) became unenforceable from 1 May 2026. The agreement did not need to be re-signed; the changes applied automatically by operation of law.

"I can still take six months' rent in advance from a new tenant with weak credit." — No. For tenancies signed on or after 1 May 2026, no more than one month's rent can be required at signing. Affordability concerns must be addressed through other means — guarantors, rent guarantee insurance, or a holding deposit capped at one week's rent under the separate Tenant Fees Act 2019 regime, which the RRA left unchanged.

"The Act doesn't apply to my tenancy because it started before 1 May 2026." — Existing assured shorthold tenancies did not escape the Act. They converted automatically to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, with the new framework applying to them from that date.

"Section 21 is gone, so I can't recover possession of my own property." — Section 8 remains, with revised statutory grounds. Mandatory grounds for landlord move-in (Ground 1) and sale of the property (Ground 1A) cover most situations where landlords previously relied on Section 21 — though both require four months' notice, cannot be used within the first 12 months of a tenancy, and carry a 12-month restriction on re-letting afterwards. See our dedicated guide to the new Section 8 grounds for the full list.

"None of this applies because my tenant is a council or housing association tenant." — Correct for now, but not indefinitely. Phase 1 applies to the private rented sector only. The government expects the same reforms to reach the social rented sector from 2027.

"I just need to wait until everything is implemented before doing anything." — That window has already closed for Phase 1. The Information Sheet should have been served by 31 May 2026; if it wasn't, do it now. Any pre-commencement Section 21 notice must reach court by 31 July 2026. Rent-review strategy and tenancy templates should already reflect the post-1 May framework.

What to do now

• Confirm the Information Sheet was served on every existing tenancy. If any were missed, serve the unaltered gov.uk PDF today — do not wait.
• Check any pre-commencement Section 21 notice against the 31 July 2026 cut-off. If court proceedings haven't been issued, decide now whether Section 8 grounds apply instead.
• Use Form 4A for every rent increase. The old Form 4 and rent-review clauses are both invalid; Section 13 with Form 4A, once every 12 months, is the only route.
• Make sure your tenancy template for new lets is current. New tenancies from 1 May 2026 must include the mandatory written statement of terms.
• Review your affordability process. Advance rent beyond one month is no longer available for new tenancies — replace it with guarantors or rent guarantee insurance.
• Review your advertising. Listings must show a single asking rent, with no "offers above" framing or bidding invitations.
• Have a pet-request process ready. Refusals must be reasoned, and the 28-day response window is a statutory deadline, not a guideline.
• Plan ahead for the PRS Database. Registration becomes mandatory in stages from late 2026 — start gathering the property, safety-certificate, and landlord-contact information you'll need.

When to get proper legal advice

This guide covers the RRA framework at a general level. It is not legal advice for any specific situation. If your circumstances involve any of the following, speak to a practising solicitor specialising in landlord and tenant law before acting:

• An existing Section 21 notice you are unsure remains valid, or where the 31 July 2026 court deadline is close.
• A possession claim where the tenancy was originally granted before 1989.
• A property that is part of a larger development with mixed lease arrangements.
• A rent review clause where significant uplifts have already been triggered.
• Any tenancy with unusual features (company tenants, diplomatic immunity, listed buildings, mixed-use, purpose-built student accommodation).

The Law Society's Find a Solicitor service is the official starting point for finding a qualified practitioner.

Sources

• Renters' Rights Act 2025 — full text on legislation.gov.uk
• Schedule 1 (revised Schedule 2 grounds) on legislation.gov.uk
• Section 12 (written statement of terms) on legislation.gov.uk
• Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025 — implementation roadmap (gov.uk)
• Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 (gov.uk)
• Form 4A — Section 13 Notice (gov.uk)
• The new Decent Homes Standard: policy statement (gov.uk)
• Guide to the Renters' Rights Act (gov.uk)

This guide reflects the position as of 16 July 2026. Phase 2 (PRS Database, from late 2026) and Phase 3 (Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard, from 2035 for the DHS) are not yet in force. Secondary legislation continues to be laid; landlords should check gov.uk for updates after this date.