Renters' Rights Act 2025: A Landlord's Practical Guide

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent in October 2025 and its Phase 1 provisions came into force on 1 May 2026. If you own residential rental property in England, the legal framework you have been operating under for the past three decades no longer exists. This is not incremental change — it is a structural overhaul of the landlord-tenant relationship.

Here is what changed, what it means in practice, and what you need to do.

Section 21 Is Gone — Permanently

The "no-fault" eviction notice under Section 21 has been abolished. From 1 May 2026, you cannot serve a Section 21 notice regardless of circumstances. If you issued a valid notice before 30 April 2026, you had a narrow window to apply for a possession order before 31 July 2026 — after that backstop date, those notices lapsed permanently.

Going forward, the only route to possession is through the courts via the expanded Section 8 framework. That means demonstrating a specific, legally recognised ground for possession. Wanting your property back because the tenancy term has ended is no longer a ground.

Fixed-Term Tenancies Are Abolished

All existing Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) converted automatically to assured periodic (rolling monthly) tenancies on 1 May 2026. New tenancies cannot be granted on a fixed-term basis — the concept has been legally removed from the private rented sector.

The practical impact is significant. You can no longer use the end of a fixed term as the trigger for regaining possession. Tenants can terminate at any point by giving two months' notice. Landlords cannot unilaterally end the tenancy without court-sanctioned grounds.

Section 8: Your Only Possession Route

The expanded Section 8 framework is now the sole mechanism for recovering possession. The most important grounds for standard landlords are:

Ground 8 (Serious Rent Arrears) — Mandatory. The tenant must be at least three months in arrears (increased from two months under the old rules) both at the time the notice is served and at the hearing date. The notice period is four weeks. Importantly, this ground does not apply if the arrears are caused solely by delayed Universal Credit payments.

Ground 1A (Intent to Sell) — Mandatory. If you want to sell the property, this ground requires a four-month notice period. It cannot be invoked within the first 12 months of a new tenancy. If the tenant disputes the sale does not materialise, they can apply to the tribunal for costs.

Ground 1 (Landlord or Family Occupation) — Mandatory. Same four-month notice period and 12-month initial protected period as Ground 1A. You must demonstrate a genuine intention to occupy the property yourself or for a close family member.

Courts process mandatory grounds as of right — if the ground is made out, the judge must grant possession. Discretionary grounds (where a judge weighs the circumstances) are less reliable for landlords and should not be the primary reliance.

Rent Increases: Section 13 and Form 4A

All contractual rent review clauses in existing tenancy agreements were voided on 1 May 2026. You cannot rely on any clause in your existing agreement to increase the rent. The only lawful mechanism is the Section 13 statutory process.

To use it:

1. Complete Form 4A ("Landlord's notice proposing a new rent") — available from GOV.UK.
2. Give the tenant two months' written notice before the proposed increase takes effect.
3. Rent can only be increased once every 12 months.

If the tenant believes the proposed rent exceeds the open market rate, they can challenge it at the First-tier Property Tribunal at no cost to themselves. The tribunal will determine the fair market rent based on comparable local lettings. Crucially, the tribunal cannot set the rent higher than what you originally proposed — removing any financial disincentive for the tenant to contest. This means you must anchor any proposed increase firmly to demonstrable local comparables or accept the real possibility of a tribunal hearing.

Bidding wars are now illegal. You must advertise a fixed asking rent and cannot accept any offer above that figure.

Additional Compliance Obligations from 1 May 2026

Pets. Tenants now have the right to request permission to keep a pet. You cannot apply a blanket ban. You can only refuse on specific, reasonable grounds (documented allergies, leasehold restrictions, unsuitable property type). You can require the tenant to take out pet damage insurance, but you cannot simply say no.

Discrimination protections. Blanket bans on tenants receiving housing benefit or families with children are explicitly prohibited.

Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet. You were required to provide all tenants with the prescribed information sheet by 31 May 2026. If you have not done this, you should do so immediately — it is a formal compliance document.

Phase 2: The PRS Database and Ombudsman (Late 2026)

The government is rolling out two further requirements expected later in 2026:

Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database. Landlords will be legally required to register their properties and upload compliance documentation (EPC, Gas Safety certificate, EICR). Letting a property without registration will be a criminal offence. Without active registration, you will be unable to use Section 8 possession grounds.

Mandatory Landlord Ombudsman. You will be required to join a redress scheme. Tenants can bring complaints free of charge. The Ombudsman can order compensation up to £25,000 and mandate remedial action.

The EPC C Deadline Is Still Coming

The Renters' Rights Act is not the only legislative pressure. By 1 October 2030, all private rented properties in England must achieve a minimum EPC rating of C. Currently over 52% of England's PRS stock falls below this standard. The cost cap is £10,000 per property (including VAT); if you reach this limit without achieving a C, you can register a high-cost exemption. Properties valued under £100,000 attract a proportional cap of 10% of property value rather than the flat £10,000.

Enforcement fines for non-compliance have been raised to a maximum of £30,000 per property.

What This Means for Your Strategy

The RRA has effectively made tenant selection the landlord's primary risk management tool. You cannot rely on easy eviction as a backstop — once a problematic tenant is in occupation, removal will take months and cost thousands in court fees and lost rent.

This shifts the calculus toward:

• Rigorous referencing before granting any tenancy (comprehensive credit checks, employment verification, previous landlord references).
• Professional management agreements with agents who can take on statutory compliance liability.
• Serious consideration of whether accidental landlord portfolios — those held in personal names, inadequately insured, and not actively managed — remain viable given the compliance burden now sitting on individual landlords.

For the full picture on tax structuring, mortgage financing, SDLT for investors, and the legal compliance framework in England, the England Property Investment Guide covers each area with worked examples and decision frameworks.

See more England guides →