New Tenant Rights Under the Renters' Rights Act: What Landlords Must Get Right

If you self-manage one or two rental properties in England, the part of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 most likely to land you with a council fine is not the abolition of Section 21 — it's the bundle of new tenant rights and outright bans that took effect on 1 May 2026. These rules govern how you advertise, how you select tenants, how much you can ask for upfront, and how you handle pet requests. Get them wrong and your local authority can issue a civil penalty without ever going near a court.

This guide pulls the four headline tenant-side reforms into one place, explains how each works in practice, and links to deeper dives on the rules that matter most to your day-to-day lettings.

TL;DR: the new tenant rights renters' rights act landlords must respect

• Discrimination ban: Landlords and agents in England cannot refuse a tenant because they have children or receive benefits — including indirect wording like 'No DSS' or 'professionals only'.
• Rental bidding ban: You must publish an asking rent and cannot invite, encourage or accept offers above it.
• Rent in advance limit: Once a tenancy is signed, you cannot demand more than one month's rent upfront.
• Pet requests: Tenants have an implied right to request a pet; you must respond in writing within roughly 28 days and cannot unreasonably refuse.
• Penalties: Local councils can issue civil penalties of up to £7,000 per breach, rising to £40,000 (or criminal prosecution) for offences and repeat breaches, under the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

What does the Renters' Rights Act actually change for tenants?

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and the first phase commenced on 1 May 2026. It converts existing assured shorthold tenancies into open-ended assured periodic tenancies, abolishes Section 21 'no fault' evictions, and introduces the tenant-side protections covered in this guide. According to the government's own figures, the reforms affect roughly 11 million private renters and 2.3 million landlords in England.

For self-managing landlords, the practical shift is that decisions you used to make freely — who to let to, what to charge, what to demand upfront, whether to allow pets — are now constrained by statute, with civil penalties enforced by local councils. The good news: each rule is reasonably simple once you know it. The bad news: enforcement is local authority-led, on the balance of probabilities, and the fines escalate sharply for repeat breaches.

If you want a wider walkthrough of the whole reform package, our Renters' Rights Act 2025: what landlords need to know pillar covers the structural changes (periodic tenancies, Section 8 grounds, the property portal). This article focuses specifically on the tenant-facing bans.

The four tenant-side bans at a glance

Penalty levels above are drawn from the government's civil penalties guidance. Repeat breaches of the same provision within five years, or offences such as continued discriminatory conduct more than 28 days after a final notice, can attract additional penalties up to £40,000 or prosecution.

Can a landlord refuse a tenant on benefits or with children?

No. Since 1 May 2026, sections in Chapter 3 of the Renters' Rights Act make it unlawful for landlords and agents in England to do anything that makes a prospective tenant less likely to enter a tenancy because they have children or receive benefits. According to the GOV.UK guide to rental discrimination, this covers both direct refusals ("sorry, no DSS") and indirect practices such as setting affordability tests that screen out benefit recipients, or advertising as 'professionals only'.

You can still:

• Carry out affordability checks based on a tenant's actual income and outgoings
• Take up references and run a credit check
• Choose the applicant who, on the evidence, looks most likely to sustain the tenancy

What you cannot do is treat the fact of being a benefit recipient or having children as a reason to filter the applicant out. A local council can fine you up to £7,000 per breach, with a further £7,000 every 28 days if the discriminatory conduct continues after a final notice. For the full playbook on rewording your listings and your referencing forms, see our deep dive on the No DSS / No children discrimination ban.

How does the rental bidding ban work?

Section 56 of the Renters' Rights Act requires landlords and letting agents to state a proposed rent in any written advertisement or offer, and prohibits them from inviting, encouraging or accepting offers above that figure. The aim, in the government's own words, is to end the practice of pitting renters against each other in bidding wars.

In practice that means three things:

1. Every advert — Rightmove listing, shop window card, WhatsApp message to a contact — must include a specific asking rent.
2. You cannot say "offers around £1,400" or "open to best offers".
3. If a prospective tenant volunteers a higher figure to jump the queue, you must refuse it.

If the market shifts and your property attracts no interest at the listed rent, the lawful response is to re-advertise at a lower price, not to invite bidding. Repeated breaches can attract additional civil penalties — full mechanics in our rental bidding wars banned article.

How much rent in advance can a landlord ask for now?

One month. The Act amends the Tenant Fees Act 2019 so that, once an assured tenancy has been signed, landlords and agents in England cannot require more than one month's rent in advance. They also cannot demand any rent before the tenancy agreement is signed (though a holding deposit and the first month's rent on signing remain permitted, as the enacted text confirms).

This closes a route many landlords previously used to de-risk a tenant with weak references, thin credit history or no UK guarantor — typically students, the self-employed, and tenants on benefits. A tenant can still volunteer to pay more in advance after moving in, but you cannot require it as a condition of the tenancy.

You can ask a tenant for stronger referencing or a guarantor. You can no longer ask them to write a cheque for six months upfront.

For the edge cases — guarantor arrangements, short-let exemptions, and how this interacts with deposit caps — see our spoke on rent in advance limits under the Renters' Rights Act.

What are the new rules on tenant pet requests?

The Act inserts an implied term into every assured tenancy giving tenants the right to request — in writing — to keep a pet. The GOV.UK tenant overview and Shelter's guidance confirm landlords must consider the request and cannot unreasonably refuse it. Practical points:

• Tenants must request in writing and describe the pet.
• You have roughly 28 days to respond in writing, with a short extension if you reasonably need more information or your superior landlord's consent.
• A refusal must give a valid reason — for example, a head-lease ban, or a property genuinely unsuitable for the species (a large dog in a studio flat with no outdoor access).
• Once you grant consent, you cannot withdraw it later.

Reasonable grounds for refusal are case-by-case. Blanket 'no pets' clauses in your tenancy agreement are now banned and unenforceable. For the full decision framework — and a template response letter — see our spoke on tenant pet requests under the new rules.

What penalties can a landlord face for breaching tenant rights?

The penalties sit on a sliding scale. The government's civil penalties guidance distinguishes between breaches (civil penalty up to £7,000, no criminal route) and offences (civil penalty up to £40,000 or prosecution).

1. First breach. Local council issues a notice of intent, then a final notice. Civil penalty up to £7,000.
2. Continuous breach. If discriminatory conduct continues more than 28 days after a final notice or appeal decision, a further £7,000 can be added.
3. Repeat breach within 5 years. An additional civil penalty up to £7,000 can be stacked on top of the penalty for the repeat itself.
4. Offence territory. Persistent or serious conduct — for example, repeated breaches of duties under an assured tenancy — can escalate to a £40,000 civil penalty or criminal prosecution.

Penalties are imposed by the local housing authority on the balance of probabilities, not the criminal standard of proof. You have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. For the wider penalty landscape under the Act, see our overview of landlord penalties from May 2026.

How can a self-managing landlord stay on the right side of these rules?

The practical compliance work is small but boring — and the people who skip it are the ones who end up in the council's caseload. A short audit:

1. Rewrite your advert. Specific asking rent. No 'professionals only', 'no DSS', 'no children', 'no pets'. No invitation to offer above the rent.
2. Standardise your referencing. Use an affordability test that looks at total income (including benefits) versus rent and outgoings. Document the test.
3. Cap upfront demands at one month. Update any pre-tenancy paperwork that previously asked for 3 or 6 months in advance.
4. Build a pet request process. A simple form, a 28-day diary entry, a templated response with conditions (insurance, professional clean on exit) for reasonable approvals.
5. Audit your agent. If you use one, they bind you. Get written confirmation that their adverts and processes are RRA-compliant.

If you want a single checklist covering every Phase 1 obligation rather than just the tenant-side bans, the Renters' Rights Act compliance checklist is the place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do these new tenant rights apply to existing tenancies signed before 1 May 2026?

Yes. Most existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically converted to assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and the tenant-side bans apply to them in the same way as to new tenancies. Landlords with pre-existing written agreements were required to give tenants a government information sheet about the changes by 31 May 2026.

Can I still ask for a guarantor instead of more rent in advance?

Yes. The Renters' Rights Act limits rent in advance to one month once a tenancy is signed, but it does not prohibit guarantor arrangements. A guarantor remains a lawful way to de-risk a tenancy where references or affordability look marginal — provided you apply the requirement consistently and not in a way that indirectly discriminates against benefit recipients or families.

What counts as a 'reasonable' refusal of a pet request?

The Act doesn't define it exhaustively, but GOV.UK and NRLA guidance point to factors like the size and type of pet versus the property, a superior landlord's lease ban on pets, and licensing or HMO conditions that would be breached. A blanket 'no pets' policy is not a reasonable refusal — each request must be considered on its facts.

Can I be fined twice for the same advert if it breaches multiple rules?

Yes. Local authorities can impose separate civil penalties for each distinct breach or offence. An advert reading 'professionals only, offers over £1,500 welcome' could plausibly attract penalties under both the discrimination provisions and the rental bidding provisions — up to £7,000 each.

Where can I get tailored advice if I'm unsure whether a specific decision is lawful?

For anything fact-specific — a contested pet refusal, an applicant claiming discrimination, an awkward overlap with a head-lease — speak to a housing solicitor or your local authority's private sector housing team. Trade bodies such as the NRLA also offer member advice lines. This guide is general information, not legal advice on your specific circumstances.