The Renters’ Rights Act 2025. What changed on 1 May 2026 and what’s still to come.
Every assured shorthold tenancy in England became a periodic assured tenancy on 1 May 2026. Section 21 has gone. Here’s the shape of the new regime and the dates that follow.
Guide by Damion Robinson MCIOB MCIEH. Law and figures checked 01/10/2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your case.
Tenancies
From 1 May 2026 all new and existing assured tenancies are periodic, with a rent period of no more than a month. Fixed terms can’t be granted. A landlord who tries to grant one, or to hold a tenant to one, is in breach of the new section 16E of the Housing Act 1988. Tenants can end a tenancy with two months’ notice at any time. Rent in advance is limited to one month once the agreement is signed, and the ban on rent bidding means you must advertise a rent and can’t accept more than it.
Possession
Section 21 was abolished on 1 May 2026. Every possession now goes through section 8 and the rebuilt grounds. Ground 1A is new and covers sale. Ground 1 for a family member moving in now carries a four-month notice and a ban on re-letting for 12 months after. Ground 8 for arrears now needs three months’ arrears at service and at hearing, with four weeks’ notice. Ground 4A covers student HMOs let to full-time students. Serving anything that looks like a section 21 notice after 1 May is itself a breach with a penalty of up to £7,000. Valid section 21 notices served before 1 May had a hard cut-off for issuing the claim of 31 July 2026.
Rent increases
Once a year, by a section 13 notice on the prescribed form, with two months’ notice. The tenant can refer it to the First-tier Tribunal, and the tribunal can only confirm or reduce the figure, never increase it. Rent review clauses in agreements no longer work.
Other duties
- A written statement of terms with prescribed content before a new tenancy is entered into. Tenancies that already existed in writing on 1 May 2026 didn’t need a new one. Those tenants had to be given the government information sheet by 31 May 2026 instead, and only wholly oral tenancies needed a written statement by that date.
- Requests for pets must be considered and can’t be unreasonably refused. You can’t require the tenant to take out pet insurance or charge a pet deposit. That clause was dropped from the Bill and requiring it would breach the Tenant Fees Act 2019. Damage is covered by the ordinary deposit.
- Discrimination against tenants with children or on benefits is banned.
- For some breaches, such as discrimination and rental bidding, agents can be penalised as well as landlords.
Penalties
Civil penalties of up to £7,000 for breaches, and up to £40,000 for offences and for serious or repeat conduct. Discrimination and rental bidding breaches are decided on the balance of probabilities. Everything else, breaches and offences alike, has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Starting points for each one are set out in the government’s statutory guidance and in your council’s own policy. Rent repayment orders now run to 24 months for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026, 12 months for earlier ones, and can be made against superior landlords and company directors. Councils have a duty to enforce and keep the money.
Still to come
The private rented sector database, now called the Register your rental property service, opens on 15 December 2026 and rolls out region by region, starting with the West Midlands. North West landlords must be registered by 14 August 2027 and can register early from the opening date. It costs £65 per property per year. Possession claims will eventually need an up-to-date registration.
The landlord ombudsman is expected in 2028. Awaab’s Law is being extended to the private sector but no date has been set. The Decent Homes Standard for private rentals is planned for 2035, with the government still to confirm the timetable. Each of those will get its own guide when the commencement order is made.
LS-04 Renters’ Rights Act compliance pack, £120 per landlord, plus LS-04A £25 per property
Fixed price, confirmed in writing before you commit. Council and tribunal fees at cost on top.
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