Renters' Rights Act timeline: key dates

The key Renters' Rights Act dates for landlords in England are 1 May 2026, when section 21 ended and the main tenancy reforms started, and 31 May and 31 July 2026, the two transition deadlines that have now passed. The next big date is 15 December 2026, when the landlord database is due to open in the West Midlands. The ombudsman is expected in 2028 and the Decent Homes Standard in 2035.

This page lists every date we track, marks what is in force on 25 October 2026, and shows what each date means for a real tenancy. For the changes themselves, start with our Renters' Rights Act hub.

When does the Renters' Rights Act start?

It has already started. The Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, but most of it only takes effect when the government makes commencement regulations, so it comes into force in stages:

• 27 December 2025: some parts started automatically two months after Royal Assent, under section 145. These include councils' investigatory powers.
• 1 May 2026: the main tenancy reforms for private landlords started under the Commencement No. 2 Regulations (SI 2026/421).
• Later dates: the database, the ombudsman, Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard each need further regulations.

The 1 May 2026 changes apply to private assured tenancies in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own law, and social housing follows later.

Dates that have already passed

Date	What happened
27 October 2025	Royal Assent: the Renters' Rights Bill became the Renters' Rights Act 2025
27 December 2025	Council investigatory powers start (information notices, entry and seizing documents). Tenancies of more than 21 years and financial-services products can no longer be assured tenancies. The never-used abandonment procedure in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 is repealed
18 March 2026	Regulations made for the written statement of terms, the Information Sheet and the new prescribed forms
20 March 2026	The government publishes the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026
30 April 2026	Last day to give a section 21 notice on a private tenancy
1 May 2026	Main reforms start (see the next section)
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
22 June 2026	Councils can issue civil penalties of up to £7,000 for Category 1 hazards
30 July 2026	Last day of the shorter 2-month notice for Ground 4A on existing tenancies. It is now 4 months
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
9 September 2026	Government announces the database rollout dates and plans for the Valuation Office Agency to handle rent challenges
17 September 2026	Ombudsman framework regulations (SI 2026/1033) come into force. Membership is not yet required
9 October 2026	Consultation opens on extending Awaab's Law to private rentals

If you have a section 21 notice from before May and didn't start a claim by 31 July 2026, you can no longer use it. Our guide to existing tenancies explains what happened to old notices and fixed terms.

What started in May 2026

On 1 May 2026, for private landlords in England:

• section 21 was abolished and every assured shorthold tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy;
• fixed terms stopped having any effect, and granting a new one became a breach;
• the Section 8 grounds and notice periods changed, and Form 3A replaced Form 3 for private landlords;
• rent increases moved to Section 13 only, on Form 4A, once a year;
• tenants' notice to quit was capped at 2 months;
• the rental bidding ban, the rent in advance limit, the pet request rules and the ban on "No DSS" and "no children" lettings started;
• a written statement of terms became compulsory before every new tenancy;
• civil penalties for Housing Act 2004 offences rose from £30,000 to £40,000, and a new £40,000 penalty for unlawful eviction began;
• rent repayment orders rose to a maximum of 2 years' rent for offences on or after that date.

Renters' Rights Act dates still to come

Date	What is due	Status on 25 October 2026
15 December 2026	Landlord database opens for the West Midlands; landlords anywhere can register early	Scheduled; regulations still in draft
18 December 2026	Awaab's Law consultation closes	Scheduled
15 January to 15 August 2027	Database requirement starts in each other region, one month at a time	Scheduled
2027	Reforms extended to social housing	Expected (roadmap)
14 November 2027	Deadline for every let property in England to be registered	Scheduled
2028	Ombudsman membership becomes mandatory	Expected (roadmap)
2027, 2028 or 2029	Awaab's Law starts for private rentals (the consultation's options; the impact assessment assumes phases from 2028 to 2030)	Under consultation
1 October 2030	EPC band C for private rentals (a separate energy policy, not part of the Act)	Planned, not yet law
2035	Decent Homes Standard applies to private rented homes	Expected (policy statement)

Some measures are in the Act but have no start date yet:

• the duty to register a property on the database before marketing it, and to show database IDs in adverts;
• the bar on courts making possession orders while a landlord is in breach of the database duty;
• the move of rent-increase challenges from the First-tier Tribunal to the Valuation Office Agency.

We'll update this page when any of these dates is confirmed.

Landlord database: dates for each region

Registration goes by where the property is, not where you live. Each region gets 3 months, and you can register early from 15 December 2026.

Region	Requirement starts	Deadline
West Midlands	15 December 2026	14 March 2027
East of England	15 January 2027	14 April 2027
East Midlands	15 February 2027	14 May 2027
South East	15 March 2027	14 June 2027
Yorkshire and Humber	15 April 2027	14 July 2027
North West	15 May 2027	14 August 2027
North East	15 June 2027	14 September 2027
London	15 July 2027	14 October 2027
South West	15 August 2027	14 November 2027

The government's Housing Hub gives the fee as £65 per property per year, pro-rated during the rollout. The draft regulations don't fix an amount, so treat the fee as unconfirmed until they are approved. Councils can enforce once a region's 3-month window has passed. Full details are in our guide to the private rented sector database.

Which dates matter for your tenancy?

Three worked examples, using fictional tenancies.

1. A fixed-term tenancy that started before May 2026. Priya let her flat on a 12-month assured shorthold tenancy from 1 September 2025. On 1 May 2026 it became an assured periodic tenancy, and the fixed term stopped having any effect. The Act treats the fixed term and what followed as one tenancy that began on 1 September 2025, so on our reading the 12-month protected period for selling or moving in counts from that date. If Priya wants to sell, a Ground 1A notice needs at least 4 months' notice, and the date in it must be at least a year after 1 September 2025. She should also have given her tenant the Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.

2. An old section 21 notice. Tom served a section 21 notice in March 2026 but never started court proceedings. The deadline was 31 July 2026, so the notice is now invalid and the tenancy carries on as an assured periodic tenancy. To get possession he needs a Section 8 notice and a ground. Because his old notice stopped being valid, the Information Sheet was due within one month of that point. Our guide to Section 8 on existing tenancies covers his options.

3. A London landlord and the database. Sam's properties are in London, so the registration requirement starts on 15 July 2027 and the deadline is 14 October 2027. She can register early from 15 December 2026. Nothing currently stops her serving a Section 8 notice before she registers.

Watch out: future dates can move. The database regulations were still in draft when we last checked, and the ombudsman, Awaab's Law and Decent Homes dates are plans, not law.

What to do next

If a date on this page affects a notice you are about to serve, use the Section 8 notice period calculator to check the earliest date, or let our Section 8 notice builder work it out and fill in Form 3A. For a step-by-step list of what to do now, see the Renters' Rights Act landlord checklist.