Renters’ Rights Act explained for landlords

Reviewed: 11 September 2026. Focus: private renting in England.

The Renters’ Rights Act has changed how landlords in England start tenancies, review rent and regain possession. The main tenancy reforms now apply. Check that your letting arrangements follow the current rules.

Previously known as the Renters’ Rights Bill, the legislation also affects planning for a rental property. For the wider borrowing picture, explore how buy-to-let mortgages work.

Four changes landlords need to understand

What is the Renters’ Rights Act?

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 changes the rules for private landlords in England. It ends assured shorthold tenancies and replaces fixed-term assured tenancies with rolling tenancies. It also ends new Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction notices and changes rules on rent, tenant selection and possession.

The Act received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. However, its measures have different start dates.

When do the different changes apply?

The main tenancy reforms took effect on 1 May 2026. Other measures follow later.

Check the regional registration timetable for your property’s location and the implementation roadmap for later reforms. You must still meet your existing repair and safety duties.

How existing and new tenancies work

Most existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies moved automatically to the new system. New assured periodic tenancies run on a rolling basis, usually monthly or weekly, without a fixed end date. A landlord cannot end one simply because an old fixed term would have expired.

Tenants generally give two months’ written notice to leave, ending on the rent-due date or the day before. However, agreed shorter notice and some earlier contractual terms can affect this. Check the applicable rules rather than relying on an old template.

The tenancy type matters. Lodgers, genuine holiday lets and other excluded arrangements do not all fall within this system.

How landlords can regain their property

You can no longer serve a new Section 21 notice. Instead, you normally need a Section 8 notice based on a valid possession ground. This means a legal reason for seeking possession, which you must support with evidence.

Selling or moving yourself or qualifying family members into the property generally requires at least four months’ notice. That notice cannot expire before the tenancy’s first 12 months end, although you can serve it during that year.

These grounds also restrict letting the property again or advertising it to new tenants. The reletting restriction starts when you serve notice. It normally ends 12 months after the date the notice gives for starting court proceedings, subject to exceptions. Check the conditions for your possession ground before making plans.

For monthly tenancies, mandatory Ground 8 normally requires the tenant to owe at least three months’ rent. They must owe this amount when you serve notice and at the court hearing. It requires four weeks’ notice.

Special rules apply to arrears caused solely by an awaited Universal Credit housing payment. Other grounds may cover lower or repeated rent arrears. However, the court decides whether it is reasonable to order the tenant to leave.

Notice expiry does not guarantee an empty property. If the tenant stays, follow the court process for possession; do not remove them yourself. Meanwhile, some proceedings begun under valid pre-May notices can continue under transitional rules.

Setting rent and managing tenant payments

Increasing rent through the correct process

You cannot increase rent in the tenancy’s first year or more than once a year afterwards. Use Form 4A to serve a Section 13 notice. Give at least two months’ notice, even if the tenant agrees. Tenants can challenge an above-market increase at the tribunal.

For example, higher mortgage payments do not allow an immediate rent rise. When reviewing your rental income, consider costs, void periods and the lawful rent-review date together.

Advertising a clear asking rent

Written adverts must state a specific rent. You and your agent cannot invite, encourage or accept offers above it, even when an applicant volunteers more. Instead, attract tenants through clear presentation and an asking rent supported by the local market.

Taking rent in advance before move-in

Do not request, encourage or accept rent before all parties sign the tenancy agreement. After everyone signs, you can usually ask for up to one month’s rent before a monthly tenancy starts.

For other payment periods, the usual limit is 28 days’ rent. Advance rent and deposits have different rules. Once the tenancy starts, you generally cannot require rent before it is due.

Choosing tenants and considering pet requests

The rental-discrimination rules prohibit unfair treatment because applicants have children or receive benefits. You can still assess whether someone can afford the rent, considering their circumstances fairly. A consistent tenant referencing process helps you assess evidence without relying on assumptions about a group.

Tenants also have a right to request a pet in writing. You must consider the request fairly and normally respond in writing within 28 days. Some requests for further information extend the deadline.

Refusal needs a reasonable explanation; approval is not automatic for every animal. The government’s pet guidance explains the process and examples of reasonable decisions.

What information must landlords give tenants?

Did the tenancy start before 1 May 2026, with some or all terms recorded in writing? In most cases, every named tenant needed the official Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026. Existing written agreements generally did not need replacing.

Supply the exact official PDF as an attachment or give a printed copy. Sending only a link does not meet the requirement. Where an agent manages the property, the agent also has a duty to supply it.

By contrast, wholly verbal pre-May tenancies required specified written information by 31 May. For a new tenancy, give tenants the required written information before you sign or agree the tenancy. Do not wait until move-in.

Some transitional cases have later deadlines. If you missed an applicable deadline, seek advice and put matters right promptly; late delivery does not erase a breach.

What landlords should review now

Review your records, letting procedures and finances. If you use an agent, agree who handles each task.

RECORDS

Check documents and property records

First, check tenancy terms, notice forms and proof of information supplied. Keep repair reports, complaints, safety documents and maintenance records together.

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LETTING

Review how you manage each tenancy

Then, review adverts, referencing and pet-request procedures. Record rent-review dates and local evidence supporting any proposed increase. Remove outdated processes from your templates.

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FINANCES

Plan for costs and changing timescales

Finally, review cash reserves and the costs of running your buy-to-let. Allow for realistic sale or reletting timescales. If your mortgage deal is ending, assess remortgage options alongside those plans.

Breaches can lead to enforcement and financial penalties. If you are buying your first rental property, build these responsibilities into your plans from the outset.

Common questions about the Renters’ Rights Act