Private renting has changed  

The Renters’ Rights Act is bringing in new rights and responsibilities for tenants, landlords, and letting agents living and working in the private rented sector (PRS) in England.  

As a tenant, you’ll now face fewer barriers when you’re looking for a property to rent, and more security and stability once you call it your home. 

This page provides an overview of the key changes and what they mean for you.  

It only applies to tenants renting privately in England who have an assured periodic tenancy. Different rules apply if you:  

• rent from a housing association or local council 
• are renting in student halls (university owned or private)
• are a lodger.

The following changes took effect on 1 May 2026.

New rules on starting and ending tenancies 

Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions have been abolished:   

• your landlord cannot issue a new notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict you  
• your landlord can only evict you when they have a specific, legally valid reason, otherwise known as a ‘possession ground’. This includes if they need to sell or move into the property .

Fixed term assured tenancies have been banned:   

• all new and most existing tenancies in the private rented sector are now assured periodic tenancies, or ‘rolling tenancies’   
• this means you can stay in the property until you decide to end the tenancy, or until your landlord serves a valid notice to end it and obtains a court order/possession.

Changes to rent and payments 

Rent increases are now limited to once per year:    

• your landlord needs to follow the new legal process for increasing the rent  
•  they need to provide you with a notice - detailing the proposed rent increase – at least two months before that increase is due to take effect   
• if you think the proposed rent increase is higher than the open market rent, you can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal.

Rental bidding has been banned:   

• landlords and letting agents must publish the asking rent for the property in any written advert  
• they aren’t allowed to ask for, encourage, or accept an offer that’s higher than this.

Requiring large amounts of rent in advance has been banned:  

• all parties need to have signed the tenancy agreement before any rent is paid 
• your landlord cannot ask you for more than one month’s rent in the time between all parties signing the tenancy and the tenancy starting  
• once the tenancy’s begun, your landlord cannot ask you for any payment of rent before it’s due .

Removing barriers to renting 

Discrimination against renters who have children or receive benefits is now illegal:    

• a landlord or anybody acting on their behalf, such as a letting agent, cannot do anything that makes it less likely for you to rent a property (or that prevents you from renting it) because you have children or receive benefits   
• this includes withholding information about a property (including its availability), preventing you from viewing it, or refusing to grant you a tenancy .

New requirements for tenancies

We’ve introduced new rules around tenancy agreements. Your landlord needs to give you written information about the terms of your tenancy:   

• for most tenancies that started before 1 May 2026, your landlord needs to send you a copy of the government-produced Renters‘ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 by 31 May 2026, either digitally or on paper. This is a new government-produced document which landlords must send to all existing tenants, who already have a written record of the tenancy terms  
• for  tenancies that started on or after 1 May 2026, or those that started before 1 May and which don’t have a written record, your landlord needs to provide you with certain information about the tenancy in writing. They may do this in a tenancy agreement.

You can request a pet:   

• your landlord must consider your written request within a set timeframe and should provide valid reasons if they choose to refuse it. 

Other elements of the Renters’ Rights Act will take effect in later phases. In the future a database, an ombudsman, Awaab’s Law, and the Decent Homes Standard will all be implemented in the private rented sector. We’ll publish guidance to help you understand what these changes mean for you closer to the date of their implementation.    

Student tenancies 

If you’re a student, there are additional things you need to know: 

• if you signed a contract after 1 May 2026 to move into purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA – commonly referred to as ‘halls of residence’), your tenancy won’t be impacted by the Renters’ Rights Act. This means, for example, you may still have a fixed term tenancy  
• if you live in other student accommodation (e.g. a student house share) or you’re already living in PBSA, you no longer have a fixed term tenancy
• for 2026 only, if you’re an existing student tenant in non-PBSA accommodation you may be served a notice to end your tenancy between 1 May 2026 and 30 July 2026 and will have a two-month notice period to move out. This will help facilitate the availability of potential homes for students needing them ahead of the 2026/27 academic year. From 2027, your landlord will need to provide you with four months’ notice to end a tenancy between 1 June and 30 September. 

It’s important you understand your new rights and responsibilities under the Renters’ Rights Act and feel empowered to act if things go wrong. 

Read our guidance:  

We published new private renting guidance for tenants, which explains the reforms and what they mean for you. Read the guidance now so you know what to expect on 1 May 2026: 

• Assured periodic tenancies  

• Rental discrimination

• Private renting

• Evictions   

• Rent Repayments Orders and list of offences 

• Tenant Fees Act

• Guidance for if you were served a notice of possession before 1 May 2026 

To get updates when we publish new guidance, sign up to GOV.UK alerts. 

Follow our communications campaign: 

We’ve been sharing information about the Act and what it means for you across radio, social media, mainstream media and through partner organisations.  

Get advice, if you need it: 

• if you need advice on your specific circumstances, you can seek support through a housing advice provider, like Shelter and Citizens Advice. You can also search for an advice provider in your area through Advice local  
• your local council’s PRS or Housing Options team can also offer you housing support 
• if you’re at risk of losing your home, you can get free legal advice through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service 

What’s happened to my tenancy?  

From 1 May 2026, any existing assured shorthold tenancy automatically became an assured periodic tenancy (APT) – or ‘rolling’ tenancy.  

Under an APT, you’re no longer able to have a tenancy with an end date. Instead, the tenancy will continue until either party ends it, or a court makes a possession order.  

Your landlord cannot evict you from a property without giving a legally valid reason. These reasons are known as ‘grounds for possession’ and include circumstances where your landlord needs to sell the property, move into the property, or where you’re in rent arrears.  

You need to give your landlord two months’ notice in writing when you want to leave, unless your landlord agrees with you in writing that you can provide less notice. You can do this at any time during your tenancy.   

I agreed a fixed term tenancy with my landlord that ends after 1 May 2026. What will happen to this?  

Even if your fixed term tenancy was due to end after 1 May 2026, on 1 May 2026 it became an assured periodic tenancy.  

The tenancy will therefore now continue until either party ends it or a possession order is made.  

You’ll need to give your landlord two months’ notice in writing when you want to leave, unless your landlord agrees with you in writing that you can provide less notice. You can do this at any time during your tenancy from 1 May 2026 onwards. 

I was served a Section 21 notice on or before 30 April 2026. Will I still be evicted?  

If your landlord has followed the correct process, a Section 21 notice (or a notice under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988) served on or before 30 April 2026 is still valid. In these cases, the reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act don’t apply to your tenancy. In most cases your landlord can still apply to the court for a possession order until 31 July 2026, if you have not left the property by the date specified in the notice. If you’ve been served a Section 21 notice and require advice or support, you can contact a specialist housing advice provider like Shelter or Citizens Advice, or your local council.  

Similarly, if your landlord served a Section 21 notice and started court proceedings for possession before 1 May 2026, the reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act don’t apply to your tenancy whilst those proceedings are taking place.  

Now the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act has been implemented (on 1 May 2026), your landlord will no longer be able to serve a new Section 21 notice and can only evict you for certain reasons. These are called ‘grounds for possession.’  

My landlord increased my rent on or before 30 April 2026. Do they still need to wait a full year before increasing it again?  

Yes. A rent increase proposed by a landlord in a Section 13 notice won’t be able to take effect until at least 52 weeks have passed since the rent was last increased. This is the case regardless of whether the previous increase took effect through the Section 13 process or through a contractual rent review clause.  

What do I do if my landlord isn’t following the new rules?  

If your landlord is non-compliant, you can report them to your local council.  

They may be fined up to £7,000 for initial or minor non-compliance. Serious, persistent or repeat non-compliance may result in a fine of up to £40,000, with the alternative of a criminal prosecution.    

You may also be able to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Rent Repayment Order (RRO). This allows you to seek recovery of up to 24 months’ rent where you believe your landlord has committed certain offences. We’ve published guidance on Rent Repayment Orders. 

How can I help raise awareness of the Renters’ Rights Act?  

We’ve produced two toolkits filled with a variety of assets that anyone seeking to help raise awareness of the Act can download for free.  

These include posters, leaflets, email signatures, checklists, and a variety of social media assets.