Renters' Rights Act 2025: What Landlords Need to Know

What does the Renters' Rights Act 2025 mean for landlords?

Since 1 May 2026, Section 21 no-fault eviction is abolished for private assured tenancies in England, every tenancy is a rolling assured periodic tenancy, and rent can only be raised once a year on Form 4A. Possession now needs a Section 8 ground, and the next landlord obligation is registering on the government's new database, which opens region by region from 15 December 2026.

Last reviewed 9 November 2026.

The Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and rewrites large parts of the Housing Act 1988. Its private rented sector reforms apply in England. Unlike earlier reforms, it changed existing tenancies as well as new ones: most existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies automatically on 1 May 2026 (GOV.UK tenant overview). You did not need to reissue written agreements, but you did need to give tenants the government Information Sheet.

This is the hub page for everything the Act changes. Below, we work through it in phases — what's already in force, what's landing this financial year, and what's still awaited — with a link out to a detailed spoke article for each topic.

Is Section 21 abolished?

Yes. No Section 21 notice can be served on or after 1 May 2026, and the transitional window for notices served before that date closed on 31 July 2026. See how to end a tenancy after Section 21 was abolished.

Do all tenancies become periodic?

Yes. Fixed terms no longer have effect on assured tenancies — every tenancy, old and new, now runs as a rolling assured periodic tenancy with periods matching the rent periods (Housing Act 1988, s4A).

What must I give tenants in writing?

Existing tenants were owed the government's Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 (or a written summary of terms for a verbal tenancy). New tenancies need a full written statement of terms. See the written statement of terms.

What changed on 1 May 2026?

Fixed terms no longer have effect

A term that makes an assured tenancy a fixed-term tenancy is "of no effect", and the tenancy runs as a periodic tenancy with periods matching the rent periods (Housing Act 1988, s4A). The tenant can end it with two months' notice, or less if you agree in writing (Protection from Eviction Act 1977, s5(1ZA)). You need a Section 8 ground to end it.

Section 21 is abolished

No Section 21 notice can be served on or after 1 May 2026. Notices served before that date could only be used if the court claim was issued by 31 July 2026, or earlier if the notice ran out first. Claims issued on time carry on to a conclusion. Any notice not used by then is dead (GOV.UK: notices given before 1 May 2026). For what replaces it, see how to end a tenancy after Section 21 was abolished.

Possession runs through reformed Section 8 grounds

Section 8 notices now go on Form 3A (GOV.UK assured tenancy forms). Ground 1 (you or family moving in) and Ground 1A (selling) need four months' notice. They cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy, and you cannot re-let or market the property for 12 months after using them. Ground 8 (serious arrears) needs arrears of at least three months' rent on a monthly tenancy and four weeks' notice (GOV.UK grounds for possession guidance). Every ground is covered in our Section 8 grounds list.

Rent increases: Section 13 and Form 4A only

Rent review clauses no longer increase the rent. You serve a Section 13 notice on Form 4A giving at least two months' notice, and the new rent cannot take effect earlier than 52 weeks after the tenancy started or after the last increase (Housing Act 1988, s13). If the tenant challenges it, the First-tier Tribunal cannot set a rent higher than you proposed. The determined rent applies from the date of the decision, not backdated (Guide to the Renters' Rights Act). See rent increases under the Renters' Rights Act.

Letting practices that are now banned

• Rent in advance: you can ask for at most one month's rent, and only once the tenancy agreement is signed (Guide to the Renters' Rights Act). See rent in advance limits.
• Rental bidding: adverts must state the rent, and you cannot ask for, encourage or accept offers above it. See the rental bidding ban.
• Discrimination: refusing tenants because they have children or receive benefits is a breach. Terms in tenancies, superior leases and mortgages that bar children or benefit claimants no longer have effect (GOV.UK rental discrimination guidance). You can still check affordability, as long as you treat benefit income the same as other income. See the No DSS and no children ban.
• Pets: a tenant can ask to keep a pet. You must answer in writing within 28 days, and you cannot unreasonably refuse (Housing Act 1988, s16A). You cannot require the tenant to buy pet insurance, because a landlord requiring a tenant to take out insurance with a third party is a prohibited payment (Tenant Fees Act 2019, s1(3)). See tenant pet requests.

The Act didn't just change the rules. It changed the shape of the tenancy itself.

Worked example: an existing tenancy through its first year

Take a monthly tenancy that started on 1 November 2025 as a 12-month AST, with rent due on the 1st.

1. 1 May 2026: automatic conversion. The fixed term stopped having effect and the tenancy became an assured periodic tenancy at the same rent. It is the same tenancy, not a new one, so it still started on 1 November 2025. Nothing needed signing.
2. By 31 May 2026: Information Sheet. The landlord had to give the tenant the government's Information Sheet, either on paper or by attaching the exact PDF to an email. Sending a link does not count. Missing this can bring a fine of up to £7,000 (GOV.UK Information Sheet). If the tenancy was only verbal, the landlord had to give a written summary of its terms by the same date. If you missed the deadline, give the sheet now and keep proof of delivery.
3. 1 November 2026: earliest rent increase. If the rent has not gone up since the tenancy started, a new rent can start from the first rent period beginning at least 52 weeks after 1 November 2025, which is 1 November 2026. Two months' notice on Form 4A means serving it by 1 September 2026. If you miss that, the earliest date moves to 1 December 2026 with notice served by 1 October.
4. Selling or moving in. The 12-month bar on Grounds 1 and 1A runs from the start of the tenancy, and this tenancy passed 12 months on 1 November 2026. A Form 3A notice on Ground 1A served on 1 October 2026 gives four months, so the earliest court claim is 1 February 2027. The landlord then cannot re-let or market the property for 12 months.
5. 15 January to 14 April 2027: register, if the property is in the East of England. The registration window depends on your region. See the dated timeline for each region's window.

What is still coming, and when?

• PRS Database ("Register your rental property"). The government announced on 9 September 2026 that registration opens on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands. Other regions follow monthly, and all landlords must be registered by 14 November 2027. Each region gets a three-month window, and the fee is £65 per property per year (GOV.UK announcement; Housing Hub: get ready to register). The regulations are still in draft. See our registration guide.
• PRS Landlord Ombudsman. Membership will be mandatory. The roadmap expects this in 2028, "when the Secretary of State is confident the service is ready" (GOV.UK roadmap). See what landlords must do.
• Decent Homes Standard. The new standard will apply to private rentals from 2035 (policy statement).
• Awaab's Law. It has applied to social landlords since 27 October 2025. The government has said it will extend it to private rentals, but no date has been set.

What are the penalties?

What does this mean for a landlord with one to ten properties?

Most of this guidance is written for portfolio landlords and agents with compliance teams. If you let one flat or a handful of houses yourself, here is the practical version:

• You don't need to reissue tenancy agreements. Existing ASTs converted to periodic tenancies automatically on 1 May 2026. Your job was sending the Information Sheet, not rewriting contracts.
• Your eviction route has narrowed, not vanished. If you need the property back to sell or move in, Grounds 1 and 1A still work — you just need four months' notice and the tenancy must have run for at least 12 months. Plan sales and family moves earlier than you would have under the old Section 21 timeline.
• One missed rent increase can cost you a year. Because a new rent cannot take effect until 52 weeks after the tenancy started or the last increase, and you need two months' notice on Form 4A, missing the window pushes the next rise back by a full rent period. Diarise it.
• Registration is a flat annual cost, not a scaled one. At £65 per property per year, a landlord with two flats pays the same proportionally as one with twenty — budget for it alongside gas and EPC renewals.
• The paperwork trail matters more than the law itself. Most of the £7,000 and £40,000 penalties in the table above are for not documenting something (no Information Sheet, no rent stated in an advert, no written response to a pet request) rather than for a disputed legal judgement call. Keep proof of everything you send a tenant.

Sources: GOV.UK enforcement measures for landlords; civil penalties statutory guidance; Guide to the Renters' Rights Act. Separately, the maximum civil penalty for Housing Act 2004 offences such as licensing and improvement-notice failures rose from £30,000 to £40,000 for offences committed on or after 1 May 2026 (GOV.UK roadmap). Councils have had enhanced investigatory powers since 27 December 2025 (Commencement No. 1 Regulations). There is more detail in landlord penalties and rent repayment orders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to give my existing tenants a new tenancy agreement?

No. Existing written agreements did not need reissuing. You had to give each tenant the government Information Sheet by 31 May 2026, or a written summary of terms if the tenancy was only verbal. New tenancies need a written statement of terms. See the written statement of terms.

Can I still use a Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026?

Only if you asked the court to issue a claim on or before 31 July 2026, in which case that claim continues. Otherwise the notice can no longer be used (GOV.UK).

How much notice do I need to give for a rent increase?

At least two months, on Form 4A. The new rent can take effect no earlier than 52 weeks after the tenancy began or after the last increase.

Does the Renters' Rights Act apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

No. These private rented sector reforms apply in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regimes.

Can I require a tenant to take out pet insurance?

No. The Act does not allow it, and requiring a tenant to buy insurance is a prohibited payment under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. You can still take a tenancy deposit up to the usual cap, and you can arrange your own landlord cover.

When do I have to register on the PRS Database?

It depends on your region. Windows run from 15 December 2026 (West Midlands) to 14 November 2027 (South West), and each region has three months to register.

What are the new tenant rights and bans under the Act, in one place?

Rent in advance limits, the rental bidding ban, the no-DSS/no-children ban, and pet request rules are all covered in detail in new tenant rights and bans under the Renters' Rights Act.

This article is general information for private landlords in England, not legal advice on your specific circumstances. Where a possession claim, penalty notice or tribunal application is in play, consult a solicitor.