The Renters' Rights Act: what landlords actually need to know
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This is for first-time landlords in England trying to work out what actually changed on 1 May 2026, and what's still coming. The Renters' Rights Act 2025 became law on 27 October 2025, but it switched on in phases, and half the headlines you've read describe bits that aren't in force yet. Here's the law as it stands in September 2026, verified against gov.uk. For every rule change beyond this Act, with dates through to 2030, see the new landlord rules timeline.
What's in force right now (September 2026)
The big switch-on was 1 May 2026. Since that date, in England:
- Section 21 "no-fault" evictions are abolished. You can't serve a new one. Notices served before 1 May only survived if court proceedings were started by 31 July 2026 at the latest, or sooner if the notice's usual six-month lifespan ran out first. That window has now closed.
- Every assured shorthold tenancy converted to a periodic (rolling) assured tenancy, automatically, including yours. Fixed terms no longer exist for new lets.
- Rent rises must use the statutory section 13 process. Rent review clauses in contracts are dead.
- Rent in advance is capped at one month for new tenancies. No more "six months upfront".
- Bidding wars are banned. You must advertise a fixed asking rent and can't accept offers above it.
- You can't refuse tenants for having children or being on benefits.
- Tenants have a right to request a pet, and you can't unreasonably refuse.
- The government Information Sheet had to be given to existing tenants by 31 May 2026. If you haven't done this, do it today. The fine is up to £7,000.
Not yet in force: the landlord database, the PRS Ombudsman, the Decent Homes Standard extension and Awaab's Law. More on those below.
Section 21 is gone: here's how you get your property back now
Possession now runs entirely through section 8 grounds: you serve notice citing a legal reason, and if the tenant doesn't leave, a court decides. The grounds a small landlord actually cares about:
| Ground | What it covers | Notice | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground 1 | You or close family moving in | 4 months | Notice can't expire within the first 12 months of the tenancy (you can serve it during them); the 12-month re-let ban applies here too |
| Ground 1A | You're selling the property | 4 months | Notice can't expire within the first 12 months; after using it, you can't re-let or re-market for 12 months |
| Ground 8 | Serious rent arrears | 4 weeks | Threshold raised to 3 months' arrears (13 weeks if rent is weekly/fortnightly), at notice and at hearing |
| Ground 4A | Student HMO needed for next academic year | 4 months | Full-time students only; can't be agreed more than 6 months pre-tenancy |
| Grounds 10/11 | Any arrears / persistent late payment | 4 weeks | Discretionary, judge decides |
| Ground 14 | Antisocial behaviour | Immediate | Discretionary |
Say the catch out loud: the 12-month re-letting ban on Ground 1A has teeth. Serve notice claiming you're selling, then quietly re-let at a higher rent, and you're looking at a civil penalty. These grounds aren't loopholes. Councils can demand evidence.
Worked example: your tenant pays £950/month and stops paying in July. You can serve a Ground 8 notice once they owe £2,850 (three months). Four weeks' notice, then a court claim if they don't leave. Realistically you're 6 to 9 months from possession once you serve notice (Ministry of Justice figures for April to June 2026 put the median from court claim to repossession at 27.1 weeks), or 9 to 12 months from the first missed payment, so three months' rent as a cash buffer is now the minimum sensible reserve, not a nice-to-have. The full possession process, ground by ground, is in the ending-a-tenancy guide.
Everything is periodic now
Your existing AST didn't need renewing. It converted automatically on 1 May 2026. Tenants can now leave at any point with 2 months' notice, including in month one, so long as the notice expires at the end of a rent period. You can't lock anyone in for 12 months. New tenancies need a written statement of terms in the prescribed form. The flipside: no more renewal admin, no more "the fixed term ended, now what" limbo.
Raising rent: the section 13-only world
- Once a year, maximum.
- Two months' notice on the statutory form.
- Tenant can challenge at the First-tier Tribunal if they think it's above market rent.
- The tribunal can set the rent at or below what you asked, never above, and the new rent can't be backdated to before the tribunal's decision.
Practical upshot: propose a defensible market rent with comparable listings to back it up. A greedy number invites a challenge that delays the increase for months and might land below what a fair ask would have got you.
Pets, in brief
Tenants can request a pet; you must respond and can only refuse with a good reason (head leases that ban pets are the classic one). The provision letting landlords demand pet insurance was removed from the final Act, so you can't require it, and the deposit cap (five weeks' rent for most lets) hasn't changed. Document property condition properly at check-in. The deposit is your protection, and it must be protected in a scheme within 30 days, covered in the compliance checklist.
What's still coming, and what it'll cost
- PRS landlord database: now dated. Registration opens region by region from 15 December 2026 (West Midlands first) with deadlines from 14 March to 14 November 2027, and the fee is £65 per property per year. Registration is mandatory for you and each property, and public access only opens after landlord registration launches. Full detail in the PRS database guide, or get your dates by postcode with the deadline checker.
- PRS Ombudsman: mandatory membership expected around 2028. Small annual fee per property, amount TBC. Tenants will be able to complain to it for free.
- Decent Homes Standard for private rentals: not in force. The government's policy statement of 28 January 2026 confirmed it will apply from 2035, nearly a decade away.
- Awaab's Law (fixed timescales to fix damp/mould hazards): extension to private rentals confirmed but no start date yet.
Penalties
Civil penalties run up to £7,000 for first or minor breaches and up to £40,000 (or criminal prosecution) for serious or repeat ones. That covers illegal evictions, ignoring the re-let ban, taking bids above asking, and eventually failing to register on the database. Rent repayment orders were extended from 12 to 24 months' rent. Local authorities got beefed-up investigatory powers on 27 December 2025, and they keep the penalty money, so they're motivated.
So is buy-to-let still worth it?
The maths didn't change. Rent, mortgage costs, maintenance, voids, yield: identical on 30 April and 1 May 2026 (the full cost stack is worked through in the first buy-to-let guide, and the yield sums in the yield guide). What changed is process: getting possession takes longer and needs a real reason, rent rises follow one statutory route, and compliance admin is growing. That punishes sloppy landlords: thin cash buffers, no paperwork, "I'll just serve a section 21" as a management strategy. If your deal only worked because you could evict fast and cheap, it was a bad deal anyway. If the numbers stack with a three-month cash reserve and proper record-keeping, they still stack.
Mistakes people make
- Not sending the Information Sheet. Deadline was 31 May 2026. Up to £7,000 if you didn't. Fix it now.
- Serving a section 21 after 30 April 2026. It's void. Full stop.
- Relying on the rent review clause in an old AST. Dead. Section 13 or nothing.
- Taking six months' rent upfront because a tenant offers. Banned, one month max on new tenancies.
- Using Ground 1A to "sell", then re-letting. The 12-month ban plus penalties makes this an expensive lie.
- Blanket "no pets, no DSS, no kids" adverts. "No DSS" and "no kids" are unlawful discrimination. "No pets" in an advert isn't itself banned, but you can't unreasonably refuse a request, so it's an unenforceable bluff that invites complaints.
- Running with no cash buffer. Ground 8 needs three months' arrears before the clock even starts.
Sources: gov.uk: Guide to the Renters' Rights Act · legislation.gov.uk: Renters' Rights Act 2025 · gov.uk: The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 · gov.uk, Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025: roadmap · Shelter: Renters' Rights Act changes in force · gov.uk: Grounds for possession, guidance for tenants · gov.uk: Mortgage and landlord possession statistics, April to June 2026 · gov.uk: The new Decent Homes Standard, policy statement
Education, not legal advice. For your own situation, speak to a housing solicitor or your local council's private sector housing team.