Renters' Rights Act 2025: what landlords must do now

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the law that abolished section 21 "no-fault" evictions and turned every private assured tenancy in England into a rolling, periodic tenancy on 1 May 2026. If you let property in England, you now need a Section 8 ground to get possession, a Section 13 notice to raise the rent, and a written statement of terms before any new tenancy starts. More changes are still being phased in, including the landlord database, the ombudsman and the Decent Homes Standard.

This hub explains each change in plain English, gives you the key dates and ends with a checklist. Each section links to a detailed guide.

What is the Renters' Rights Act?

The Renters' Rights Bill became the Renters' Rights Act 2025 when it received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. Most of the Act works by amending older laws, so the rules you apply day to day now sit in three places:

• the Housing Act 1988: tenancies, possession grounds, rent increases, pets and written terms;
• the Protection from Eviction Act 1977: tenants' notice to quit and unlawful eviction;
• the Tenant Fees Act 2019: rent in advance.

The Act is being brought in stages. Council investigatory powers started on 27 December 2025. The main tenancy reforms for private landlords started on 1 May 2026. Other parts, such as the landlord database and the ombudsman, need further regulations and will follow later.

This guide covers private landlords in England. Social housing landlords move to the new system later; the government's roadmap says 2027. Wales has its own system under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate law, so none of the rules below apply there.

What changed on 1 May 2026

These are the changes that apply to private landlords in England now.

Change	What it means for you	Detailed guide
Section 21 abolished	You can no longer serve a "no-fault" notice. A claim on an old notice had to be started by 31 July 2026.	Section 21 notice
All tenancies periodic	Fixed terms in existing agreements have no effect, and you can't grant new ones. Rent periods must be monthly, or 28 days or shorter.	Periodic tenancies
Possession only on a Section 8 ground	You serve Form 3A relying on one or more grounds, with notice periods from none to 4 months.	Section 8 notice
New grounds to sell or move in	Grounds 1 and 1A need 4 months' notice, and the date in the notice can't fall in the first 12 months of the tenancy.	The protected period
Rent increases by Section 13 only	Use Form 4A, at most once a year, with at least 2 months' notice. Rent review clauses have no effect.	Section 13 notice
Tenants can leave on 2 months' notice	A tenant's notice is at most 2 months, in writing, and you can't dictate its form.	Tenant notice to quit
Written statement of terms	Every new tenancy needs prescribed written information before it is agreed.	Written statement of terms
Information Sheet	Existing written tenancies needed the government's Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.	The Information Sheet
Rental bidding ban	Written adverts must show one fixed rent, and you can't invite or accept offers above it.	Rental bidding ban
Rent in advance limit	No rent before the tenancy is agreed, then at most the first month (or 28 days) before it starts.	Rent in advance
Pets	You must answer a written pet request within 28 days and can't refuse unreasonably.	Pets
"No DSS" and "no children" ban	You can't turn people away because they have children or claim benefits.	Discrimination ban
Higher penalties	Penalties of up to £40,000 for unlawful eviction, licensing and other housing offences. Rent repayment orders now cover up to 2 years' rent.	Fines and penalties

A few smaller changes also took effect on 1 May 2026. Deposit protection rules now apply to assured tenancies generally, not just assured shorthold tenancies (older non-shorthold tenancies are an exception), and deposit compliance is a condition of getting a possession order on most grounds. You must repay any rent the tenant paid for days after the tenancy ends. For guarantees given on or after 1 May 2026, a guarantor is no longer liable for rent after the death of the tenant (or, on a joint tenancy, of all the tenants).

Renters' Rights Act timeline

The table shows where each measure stood on 25 October 2026. "Scheduled" means the government has published a date; "expected" means the date is a plan or a consultation option and could still change.

Date	What happens	Status
27 October 2025	Royal Assent	Done
27 December 2025	Council investigatory powers start; tenancies of more than 21 years can no longer be assured tenancies	In force
1 May 2026	Main tenancy reforms for private landlords (everything in the table above)	In force
31 May 2026	Deadline for the Information Sheet (existing written tenancies), written terms for wholly oral tenancies, the Ground 4A student statement and the shared-owner statement	Deadline passed
22 June 2026	Civil penalty of up to £7,000 for Category 1 hazards	In force
31 July 2026	Last day to start court proceedings on a section 21 or Section 8 notice served before 1 May 2026, breathing-space cases aside	Deadline passed
17 September 2026	Ombudsman framework regulations come into force	In force, but membership not yet required
9 October to 18 December 2026	Consultation on extending Awaab's Law to private rentals	Consultation open
15 December 2026	Landlord database opens in the West Midlands	Scheduled; regulations still in draft
2027	Reforms apply to social housing	Expected
14 November 2027	Every let property in England registered on the database	Scheduled
2028	Ombudsman membership becomes mandatory	Expected
2027 to 2030	Awaab's Law for private rentals, depending on the consultation	Under consultation
2035	Decent Homes Standard applies to private rentals	Expected

The full Renters' Rights Act timeline adds the regional database dates and the transitional deadlines for old notices.

What is still to come?

Several parts of the Act are not in force yet. Here is what we know on 25 October 2026. We'll update this page when each date is confirmed.

• Landlord database. The "Register your rental property" service is due to open on 15 December 2026 for properties in the West Midlands, then region by region, with every let property registered by 14 November 2027. The government's Housing Hub gives the fee as £65 per property per year, but the draft regulations don't fix an amount, so treat it as unconfirmed. The regulations were still in draft when we last checked. You don't need to register before serving a notice. See the private rented sector database.
• Landlord ombudsman. The framework regulations came into force on 17 September 2026, but membership is not compulsory yet. The government expects it to become mandatory in 2028. See the landlord ombudsman.
• Awaab's Law. The government is consulting until 18 December 2026 on applying it to private rentals. The options for a start date are 2027, 2028 or 2029. See Awaab's Law.
• Decent Homes Standard. The government's policy statement says the new standard will apply to private rented homes from 2035. The regulations have not been made yet. See the Decent Homes Standard.
• Rent challenges. The government announced on 9 September 2026 that the Valuation Office Agency will take over first decisions on rent-increase challenges. No date has been set, so tenants still apply to the First-tier Tribunal.

How do you get a property back now?

With section 21 gone, every landlord who wants possession has to serve a Section 8 notice on Form 3A and prove at least one ground. Some grounds are mandatory, so the court must order possession if you prove them. Others are discretionary, so the court must also decide that an order is reasonable. The full list is in our guide to Section 8 grounds.

The notice period depends on the ground. It is 4 months for the moving-in and selling grounds (1 and 1A), the student ground (4A) and redevelopment (6), among others. It is 4 weeks for the rent arrears grounds (8, 10 and 11), 2 weeks for grounds such as 12 (breach of tenancy) and 13 (damage), and there is no minimum for the serious antisocial behaviour grounds (7A and 14). If you use several grounds, the longest period applies. The Section 8 notice period calculator works out the earliest date for you.

The changes landlords ask about most:

• Rent arrears: Ground 8 now needs at least 3 months' rent unpaid (monthly rent) or 13 weeks' rent (weekly or fortnightly rent), both when you serve the notice and at the hearing. See Ground 8.
• Selling or moving in: Grounds 1 and 1A can't take effect in the first 12 months of the tenancy. After relying on them, you can't re-let or market the property until 12 months after the date in your notice. Breaking that rule is a criminal offence, or a civil penalty of up to £40,000. Read the rules for landlords selling with tenants in place.
• Deposits: the court can't make a possession order on most grounds unless the deposit is protected and the prescribed information has been given.
• Defective notices: a notice that doesn't follow section 8 can count as a "purported notice of possession", which carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000 as well as putting your claim at risk.

Section 21 notices served before 1 May 2026 are effectively dead. The claim had to be started by 31 July 2026, and that window has closed. Our Section 21 notice page explains what happened to them.

Watch out: the Act removed the old section 21 safety net. If your Section 8 notice has the wrong date or the wrong ground, you may have to start again with a new notice and a new notice period.

Rent increases and new lettings

How do rent increases work now?

Since 1 May 2026, the only way to raise the rent on a private assured tenancy is a Section 13 notice on Form 4A, even if the tenant has already agreed to the new figure. The rules:

• the new rent can't start until 52 weeks after the tenancy began, or 52 weeks after the last increase;
• you must give at least 2 months' notice;
• the start date must be the first day of a rent period;
• rent review clauses in tenancy agreements have no effect.

A tenant can ask the First-tier Tribunal to decide the open-market rent, as long as the tribunal receives the application before the start date in the notice. The tribunal can't set a rent higher than the one you proposed, and the increase can't be backdated. The Section 13 date calculator finds the earliest valid start date.

What changes when you let to a new tenant?

Finding and signing up a tenant now has five rules that didn't exist before 1 May 2026:

1. One fixed rent in every written advert. No price ranges, no "offers over" and no accepting more than the advertised rent. See the rental bidding ban.
2. No blanket bans. You can't refuse people because they have children or receive benefits, though you can still check affordability. See the discrimination ban.
3. Limited rent in advance. Nothing before the tenancy is agreed apart from a holding deposit of up to one week's rent, then no more than the first month's rent before it starts. See rent in advance.
4. A written statement of terms before the tenancy is agreed. It must cover a prescribed list of items, including the rent, the deposit, the tenant's notice and the pet rules. See the written statement of terms.
5. No fixed term. The tenancy is periodic from day one, and the tenant can leave on up to 2 months' notice.

The "How to Rent" guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and is no longer needed for new lettings. Right to rent checks, gas safety, electrical safety, EPCs and deposit protection all still apply. Our landlord compliance checklist covers those duties.

During the tenancy, you must answer a tenant's written request to keep a pet within 28 days and can only refuse for a good reason. Read the pet rules for landlords.

Penalties and who enforces them

Your local council enforces most of the Act. It can impose civil penalties after a notice of intent, a 28-day period for you to make representations and a final notice. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days. The main amounts:

• up to £7,000 for most tenancy breaches, such as granting a fixed term, not giving the written statement or Information Sheet, serving an invalid possession notice, rental bidding or discrimination;
• up to £5,000 for taking rent in advance before a tenancy is agreed;
• up to £40,000 for unlawful eviction or harassment, re-letting after using Ground 1 or 1A, and Housing Act 2004 offences such as licensing breaches. It is also the alternative to prosecution when a breach continues or is repeated.

Tenants, and councils for rent paid through Universal Credit, can also apply for a rent repayment order of up to 2 years' rent for certain offences. Councils have had wider powers to demand information and documents since 27 December 2025; see council powers and inspections. Every amount is set out in one table in our guide to Renters' Rights Act fines and penalties.

What landlords must do now: checklist

Work through this list for each property. Our full landlord checklist goes into more detail, including what to do before advertising and at move-in.

• Stop using fixed-term tenancy agreements, section 21 notices, old Form 3 and old Form 4.
• Check that every named tenant on a pre-May 2026 written tenancy received the Information Sheet. If not, give it now as a printed copy or a PDF attachment, not a link.
• Give a written statement of terms before any new tenancy is agreed, including prior notice of any grounds you may want to rely on later.
• Remove rent ranges, "offers over", "No DSS" and "no children" wording from adverts and referencing rules.
• Take no rent before a tenancy is agreed, and no more than the first month's (or 28 days') rent before it starts.
• Plan rent reviews as one Section 13 notice a year, served at least 2 months ahead.
• Set up a way to log and answer pet requests in writing within 28 days.
• Check every deposit is protected and the prescribed information was given. Without that, you can't get a possession order on most grounds.
• Keep gas safety, EICR, EPC and licence documents in date and to hand, because the draft database regulations ask for them.
• Before serving a Section 8 notice, check the ground, the notice period and the 12-month protected period.
• Note your region's database registration window, starting with the West Midlands on 15 December 2026.
• Never change the locks or remove a tenant without a court order carried out by enforcement officers. See illegal eviction.

What to do next

If you need a property back, start with the ground. Our Section 8 notice builder asks plain-English questions, suggests the grounds that fit, calculates the earliest date and fills in Form 3A. If you want to raise the rent, use our Section 13 notice builder, which checks the once-a-year rule and the start date. For a disputed case, a tenant with a defence or a disrepair counterclaim, speak to a solicitor before you serve anything.

All Renters' Rights Act guides

Dates and transition

• Renters' Rights Act timeline: every key date in one place.
• Existing tenancies: which rules apply to tenancies that started before 1 May 2026.
• Landlord checklist: a step-by-step list for every stage of a let.
• Shared ownership: what applies if you let a shared ownership home.

Documents you must give

• The Information Sheet: who needed it, by when, and what to do if you missed it.
• Written statement of terms: what every new tenancy needs before it is agreed.

Tenancy rules

• Periodic tenancies: why every tenancy now rolls on.
• Tenant notice to quit: how tenants end a tenancy.
• Pets: the 28-day rule and fair reasons to refuse.
• Rent in advance: what you can take, and when.
• Rental bidding ban: adverts and offers.
• Discrimination ban: children and benefit claimants.
• HMO landlords: student lets, licensing and shared houses.

Enforcement

• Fines and penalties: every penalty in one table.
• Council powers and inspections: what councils can demand.
• Rent repayment orders: up to 2 years' rent.

Coming next

• Landlord database: regional dates and the fee.
• Landlord ombudsman: expected in 2028.
• Decent Homes Standard: expected from 2035.
• Awaab's Law: the consultation on private rentals.