Renters' Rights Act 2025
Information for landlords and letting agents.
Renting is changing
Reforms to the private rented sector in England are bringing in new rights and responsibilities for landlords, letting agents and tenants.
As a landlord, you play an important role in delivering these reforms and will need to understand what these changes mean for you and your business. That way, you can be confident that you are complying with the law and providing your tenants with a safe, affordable and decent home.
What you can do now
As a landlord, it is your responsibility to read the guidance in full. You must make the necessary changes to your letting practices to ensure you're compliant with the new law when it is implemented on 1 May 2026.
Read the new Government guidance to familiarise yourself with the changes.
Taking professional advice
If you are using a letting agency, you should consider talking to them about what these changes mean for you. Alternatively consider signing up to a landlord professional body to guide you through the changes. You should also consider taking your own legal advice about complex matters.
The key changes
The following changes will happen on 1 May 2026. If a letting agent acts on your behalf, then they will need to follow these rules too.
New rules on starting and ending tenancies
Section 21 'no fault' evictions will be abolished. This means:
- you'll no longer be able to use Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict your tenants
Reformed possession grounds will be fairer for both parties
This means:
- you'll only be able to evict tenants when you have a specific, legally valid reason, otherwise known as a 'possession ground'
- possession grounds will be extended to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants when they want to sell the property, move into the property or move in members of their family
- the changes will also make it easier to evict tenants who commit anti-social behaviour
Fixed term tenancies will be banned
This means:
- most new and existing tenancies in the private rented sector will become assured periodic tenancies, or 'rolling tenancies'
- renters will be able to stay in their property until they end the tenancy, or until a landlord serves a valid notice to end it or obtains a court possession order
- renters will be able to end the tenancy at any point by giving two months' notice
Changes to rent and payments
Rent increases limited to once per year
This means:
- you'll have to follow the new legal process for increasing the rent
- you'll have to provide the tenant with notice, detailing the proposed rent increase at least two months' before that increase is due to take effect
Rental bidding will be banned
This means:
- you'll have to include a specific price on any written property advertisement
- you won't be allowed to ask for, encourage or accept an offer that's higher
Requiring large amounts of rent in advance will be banned
This means:
- you'll only be able to require up to one month's rent in the period between all parties signing the tenancy and the tenancy starting
- you won't be able to accept any payment of rent before this period
- once the tenancy's begun, you won't be able to require any payment of rent before it's due
New requirements for tenancies
Landlords will need to make sure they've understood the new rules for tenancy agreements. You'll need to make sure that you give your tenant written information about the terms of their tenancy.
For tenancies that started before 1 May 2026:
- you won't need to change or re-issue any existing written tenancy agreements
- you will need to send your tenants a government-produced information sheet before 31 May 2026 - an information sheet will be published in March 2026
For tenancies that start on or after 1 May 2026:
- you will need to provide your tenants with certain information about the tenancy in writing - you could do this in a tenancy agreement
- in January 2026, details will be published on what information must be included to give you sufficient time to prepare your tenancy agreement template
Discrimination against renters will be illegal. This means you won't be able to do anything to make a tenant less likely to rent a property (or prevent them from renting it) because they have children or receive benefits. This includes withholding information about a property (including its availability), preventing them from viewing it, and refusing to grant a tenancy.
You must consider tenant requests to rent with a pet. You'll have to consider and respond to your tenant's request within a set timeframe and will have to provide valid reasons if you choose to refuse it.
Other elements of the Renters' Rights Act will take effect in later phases. In the future, a database, an ombudsman, Awaab's Law, and the Decent Homes Standard will all be implemented in the private rented sector.
