Renters’ Rights Act 2025 receives Royal Assent – What landlords need to know now

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is the biggest overhaul of the private rental sector in more than 35 years, and landlords should start to prepare for sweeping changes to how tenancies will operate. Emily Stark, Solicitor in the Dispute Resolution team, looks at what is in the Act and what will be required of landlords going forward.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 with a commencement date of 1 May 2026 being announced shortly thereafter. Landmark changes to the private rented sector in England are now on their way,  with the Act marking a significant shift in landlord-tenant relationships and the law.

Business as usual – for now

Although the Act is now law, most changes are expected to roll out from 1 May 2026 onwards, with a staggered approach anticipated. Supplementary regulations will still be required to activate many parts of the Act, including:

• A new private rented sector database
• A new mandatory ombudsman scheme for landlords
• The extension of Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard from social housing into the private rental sector

Landlords can still serve section 21 and current section 8 Housing Act notices before 1 May 2026, and will have up to 31 July 2026 for proceedings to progress to court upon reliance of the same, otherwise landlords will be time-barred and will have to serve a section 8 notice under the new procedure. There will be a requirement for information about the reforms to be provided to existing tenants by 31 May 2026, with a Government drafted document akin to the current “How to Rent” guide being anticipated in the first quarter of 2026.

Key reforms landlords must prepare for

Notable changes included the abolition of Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), with all existing tenancies automatically converting to periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026. This means tenancies will not have a set end date, nor will they be for a specific length of time and will continue on a rolling monthly basis until brought to an end by either the landlord or the tenant.

There will be an end to “no fault” evictions, with the removal of section 21 notices and accelerated proceedings, with all evictions commencing with a section 8 notice and there being a reason to evict a tenant.

Section 8 will be amended to include new grounds for possession (such as where a property is to be sold) and the extension of some of the existing grounds (for example ground 1, where a landlord will have the power to recover possession of a property for the primary residence of not just themselves but for family members, including their parents or children). Note that if a landlord recovers possession under ground 1 or 1A, for the primary residence of themselves or a family member or in order to sell the property, they are then prohibited from marketing the property for rent or accepting payment for someone’s occupation of the property within 12 months, otherwise they are guilty of an offence and could be prosecuted in the criminal courts or issued with a financial penalty up to £40,000 by the Local Authority.

One of the most common grounds currently used for section 8, for serious rent arrears, is also changing. At present the mandatory ground is satisfied if a tenant is at least 2 months in arrears with their rent, with a landlord needing to provide at least 2 weeks’ written notice. From 1 May a tenant must be at least 3 months in arrears (or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly), with any arrears caused by unpaid universal credit to be disregarded. The notice period will double from 2 to 4 weeks.

Most notice periods have doubled – with tenants having to provide 2 months’ written notice to end a tenancy, and landlords having to provide up to 4 months depending on the ground relied upon.

The Act equips Local Authorities with stronger rights to investigate landlords and take enforcement action, including the ability to issue increased fines and to prosecute under new criminal offences introduced under the Act. The new investigatory powers come into effect on 27 December 2025, and don’t just cover breaches of the Renters’ Rights Act. The Act also imposes a duty on Local Authorities to enforce housing legislation and to report their enforcement activities to the Secretary of State. Local Authorities will have increased powers to impose civil penalties, of up to £7,000 for a single breach or up to £40,000 for repeated breaches. Landlords risk receiving financial penalties for a host of offences including:

• Claiming to let a property on a fixed term
• Failing to provide a tenant with a written statement of terms
• Accepting rent above the rate advertised, and failing to state the proposed rent
• Refusing to accept tenants who have children or who are in receipt of benefits
• Serving an invalid notice or attempting to rely on a notice without a reasonable belief the relevant ground applies

The rent process is also being reformed with rents only being increased once a year via a revised section 13 process from 1 May 2026, upon the provision of at least 2 months’ written notice. Any existing contractual rent review clauses will no longer be enforceable. Unlike the existing section 13 process where a Tribunal can determine a fair market rent to be higher or lower than that proposed by the landlord, a Tribunal will only be able to agree to the amount proposed by the landlord or set a lower rent if they consider the proposed rent to be too high. It is therefore expected that more tenants will challenge rent increases, with the influx potentially causing delays.

Payment of rent in advance before a tenancy agreement is entered into will be banned, although rent of up to 1 month can be paid as “initial rent” in the pre-tenancy period after an agreement is signed but before it has commenced. Landlords or their agents will no longer be able to accept rent offered above the advertised price which will put an end to rent bidding wars, nor will they be able to refuse tenants on the basis that they have children or are in receipt of benefits.

Other changes include tenants having the right to request permission to keep a pet, consent for which cannot be unreasonably withheld.

A written tenancy agreement must be provided for all new tenancies, with a statement of terms being provided for any pre-existing verbal tenancies on or before 31 May 2026. Landlords will also need to provide to tenants a new Government drafted document explaining the changes to tenants’ rights under the Act. Details on this are yet to be confirmed but it is likely to be similar to the current How to Rent checklist.

What landlords should do now

First and foremost, landlords need to stay informed. Separate guidance is expected from the Government for both landlords and tenants, with a Government drafted information booklet being anticipated in the first quarter of 2026 which landlords will need to serve on their tenants before the end of May.

Landlords risk falling foul of new civil penalties of which they are not aware. Unfortunately, ignorance of the law is not a defence  and more landlords may decide to sell their rental properties now to avoid the increased risks and costs of letting, or instruct a letting agent to take over the management of their rental property.

If a landlord is considering evicting a tenant, they may want to consider doing so sooner rather than later, and before the end of April 2026. Given the accelerated nature of section 21 possession proceedings, they are ordinarily cheaper to pursue. Also, as  section 8 proceedings require attendance at a court hearing, there could be increased delays at court once section 21 is abolished. It is important to get any notices and subsequent proceedings right the first time around – otherwise landlords’ risk being out of time to issue a new section 21 notice and may not have a valid ground upon which to issue a new section 8 notice. As stated above – if a landlord issues a section 8 notice without a reasonable belief that the ground is valid they risk being imposed with a financial penalty.

We can help

Coodes Solicitors’ Dispute Resolution team is ready to support landlords through this complex transition. We can help you understand how the Act affects your rights and responsibilities and ensure you avoid the risks of getting it wrong.

For further legal advice, please get in touch with Emily Stark by calling 01872 246 219 or emailing emily.stark@coodes.co.uk. Alternatively, you can also fill in our online contact form and the most appropriate member of the team will get back to you.