The Renters’ Rights Act in 2026: a guide for landlords

The Renters Reform Bill never became law. It fell when the 2024 general election was called. Its successor, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, brought the main private tenancy reforms into force in England on 1 May 2026.

Those tenancy changes are already part of running a rental property. The next practical task is preparing for rental property registration, now that the government has published regional start dates, deadlines and fees.

Reviewed on 14 October 2026. This guide concerns private renting in England and is general information, not legal advice. Different rules apply to other tenancy types and the other UK nations.

Which tenancies are covered?

The Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. From 1 May 2026, existing private assured shorthold tenancies converted into assured periodic tenancies, and new private assured tenancies use that rolling system. You cannot create a fixed end date for an assured periodic tenancy.

This does not mean every arrangement involving a rented home has become the same tenancy. Lodgers, genuine holiday accommodation, regulated tenancies and other excluded arrangements need their own assessment. Social housing reform has a different timetable. A booking platform or a short contract does not by itself decide the legal status of someone using the property as their home. Check the government’s tenancy guidance before choosing an agreement.

Wales uses the Renting Homes framework and Rent Smart Wales, while Scotland has its own tenancy system. Rental discrimination protections also extend to Wales and Scotland, but that does not bring England’s whole tenancy system or rental property register into those nations.

Section 21 has ended

Private landlords in England can no longer serve a new Section 21 notice. A valid notice served before 1 May 2026 could only support a new court claim within the transitional window, which ended no later than 31 July 2026. Proceedings started validly in time may still continue; the deadline did not automatically cancel existing court cases. The government explains how those older cases continue.

For a new possession case, identify the applicable Section 8 ground and use the correct notice. If the tenant does not leave, a court order is needed. Changing the locks, cutting off services or treating a notice as permission to remove a tenant is not an alternative. The official guidance on ending a tenancy is the starting point, with legal advice for an actual case.

How a tenant can leave a rolling tenancy

The usual tenant notice period is two months. A shorter period can apply by agreement or under transitional terms. Notice must be in writing and normally end on a rent due date or the day before it. You can agree an earlier end in writing.

Joint tenancies need particular care because one tenant’s notice can usually end the tenancy for everyone. Do not treat a departing housemate as an informal name change. Confirm whether an assignment, a new agreement or an agreed ending is appropriate. Read the rules on tenant notice.

A former fixed term is no longer a dependable occupancy forecast. Allow for notice and voids in the budget, and agree the inspection, deposit and remarketing arrangements promptly when a tenant decides to leave.

Possession grounds require the right evidence

Selling or moving in

The selling and landlord occupation grounds normally require four months’ notice and protect the tenant from possession on those grounds during the first twelve months. Do not assume a notice served early can end that protected period sooner.

Using either ground normally brings a restriction on remarketing and reletting. It starts with the notice and generally runs until twelve months after the earliest date possession was required in that notice. There are specific exceptions, including for some shared owners. Keep evidence of the genuine sale or occupation intention, and check the restriction before accepting another booking or tenancy.

Rent arrears and other breaches

The mandatory arrears ground generally requires three months of unpaid rent, or thirteen weeks for weekly or fortnightly rent, both when notice is served and at the hearing. The usual notice period is four weeks. Discretionary arrears grounds remain, but have different requirements.

Antisocial behaviour and serious breaches have their own grounds and notice rules. The complete government guidance on possession grounds is more useful than choosing a notice from a general example online.

Keep the rent ledger, messages, relevant inspection evidence and records of attempts to resolve a problem. A missed payment deserves prompt contact and an accurate record, not a wait until the possession threshold is reached.

Student properties

Ground 4A can apply to a qualifying HMO let to full time students, with possession required for new students between 1 June and 30 September. It requires four months’ notice and advance written information about using the ground. A tenancy agreed more than six months before its start can be excluded. It is not a general right to end any student tenancy each summer.

Purpose built student accommodation covered by an approved code can sit outside the assured tenancy system. Check the actual property and agreement rather than assuming all student lets are exempt.

Rent increases use the statutory process

For an assured periodic tenancy, use the Section 13 process and the current Form 4A. The tenant must receive at least two months’ notice, and an increase normally cannot take effect more than once in twelve months. An agreement with the tenant does not remove the need to follow the process.

Rent review clauses cannot be used to sidestep it. A notice validly served before 1 May 2026 may have transitional treatment, so check its date and form rather than cancelling or replacing it automatically. Read the current rent increase guidance.

Tenants can challenge a proposed increase through the tribunal. Retain comparable local rents and explain how the property’s condition and facilities support the figure. A national average is not evidence that one particular home should command a particular rent.

Advertising, advance rent and deposits

A written advert must show a specific asking rent. Landlords and agents cannot ask for, encourage or accept a higher offer. Decide the asking rent before marketing, rather than inviting prospective tenants to bid against each other. Check the rental bidding rules.

You must not accept, request or encourage payment of rent before the tenancy agreement has been signed. Between signing and the tenancy starting, the usual limit is one month’s rent for monthly payments, or 28 days’ rent for other payment frequencies. Specific exceptions exist. After the tenancy starts, do not require rent before its due date.

Deposits are different from rent. A holding deposit can be up to one week’s rent. The tenancy deposit cap is five weeks where annual rent is below £50,000 and six weeks where it is £50,000 or more. Protection duties still apply. Read the advance rent and deposit guidance before requesting money.

Pets and fair access to a home

A tenant can request a pet in writing. You normally have 28 days to respond in writing and cannot refuse unreasonably. Asking for necessary extra information can alter the final response deadline. Assess the actual animal and property, including any relevant superior lease, instead of relying on a blanket policy.

General dislike of pets or worry about possible future damage is not normally a reasonable refusal. Keep the request, your reasons and your response together. The official pet request guidance explains the process. A pet does not let you exceed the statutory tenancy deposit cap.

Landlords and agents must not unfairly disadvantage people because they have children or receive benefits. Affordability and referencing checks can still be used, but a blanket refusal is not a substitute for assessing the application. There is official guidance for England, with separate guidance for the protections in Wales and Scotland.

Rental registration now has published regional dates

The government’s Register your rental property service is due to begin its regional rollout on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands, where the registration deadline is 14 March 2027. For Bristol and the rest of the South West, commencement is 15 August 2027 and the deadline is 14 November 2027. The property’s location determines its deadline, not where its owner lives.

The published annual fee is £65 per property, with annual renewal and an adjustment during rollout. The initial requirement covers properties already let, or becoming let during rollout, under assured or regulated tenancies. Supported exempt accommodation is excluded. Landlords need to start registration themselves even if an agent later supplies some information.

Registration of empty homes before marketing, and landlord and property identifiers in adverts, are later requirements linked to future legislation and the public interface. They are not the initial rollout rule. Check every region’s dates and the information required in the government’s current registration guidance.

Awaab’s Law is being consulted on for private renting

The consultation on extending Awaab’s Law opened on 9 October 2026. Proposed private rental investigation and repair time limits are not yet in force. Do not present social housing deadlines as the current private landlord timetable.

Existing repair, fitness and hazard duties still apply. A serious leak, dangerous damp or an unsafe home should not be left while consultation continues. Our Awaab’s Law article explains the proposals and includes practical repair records. The official consultation sets out what is proposed.

The private landlord ombudsman also has a later implementation stage. The government roadmap currently anticipates mandatory membership in 2028. Separately, the new Decent Homes Standard policy statement sets 2035 for its implementation across private and social renting. Neither timetable removes existing repair and fitness duties.

Check the tenancy file you already have

For most tenancies in place before 1 May 2026 with written terms, the official information sheet had to be supplied by 31 May 2026. Existing verbal tenancies needed specified written terms instead. New tenancies need the required information in writing. Where valid possession notices or court proceedings delayed conversion, a later information sheet deadline can apply, usually one month after conversion. Check the relevant requirement and evidence of delivery rather than assuming every tenant needed the same document. The official PDF must be supplied as a paper copy or electronic attachment; sending a link is not sufficient. Read the information sheet guidance.

When a property is next reviewed, make the review specific. Check whether the rent history supports the next proposed increase, whether a reported repair was actually completed and whether a notice or certificate has an approaching deadline. The point of a tenancy record is to help someone act, not simply to store another attachment.

Our long term rental management team in Bristol handles the practical work of running tenancies. We can also assess whether a different letting model is appropriate, but short stays have their own regulation and are not an automatic escape from tenancy law. Talk to us about your property if you want help with management. Use a housing solicitor for disputed possession or a question about your legal position.