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 landlord, you play an important role in delivering these reforms and need to understand what these changes mean for you and your business. That way, you can be confident that you’re complying with the law and providing your tenants with a safe, affordable, and decent home. 

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

It only applies to private landlords with rental properties in England. These changes will not apply to private registered providers of social housing until 2027. 

The following changes took effect on 1 May 2026.

If a letting agent acts on your behalf, they need to follow these rules too. You can find full guidance on the changes on GOV.UK.

New rules on starting and ending tenancies

Changes to rent and payments

New requirements for tenancies

As a landlord, you need to understand the new rules for tenancy agreements. 

You need to make sure that you give your tenant written information about the terms of their tenancy: 

• for most tenancies that started before 1 May 2026 you don’t need to change or re-issue any existing written tenancy agreements. Instead, you need to send your tenants a copy of the government-produced Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet, either digitally or on paper. You have until 31 May 2026 to send this to all your tenants. You were able to do this as soon as the Information Sheet was published
• if there’s no written record of the tenancy terms – because the tenancy is based on a verbal agreement, for example – you need to provide tenants with a written record of specific terms of the agreement. We’ve published details of what must be included
• for tenancies that started on or after 1 May 2026 you need to provide your tenants with certain information about the tenancy in writing. You could do this in a written tenancy agreement. We’ve published details of what must be included

You must consider tenant requests to rent with a pet: 

• you must consider and respond to your tenant’s request within a set timeframe, and will have to provide valid reasons if you 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 and your business nearer the time.  

As a landlord, it’s your responsibility to read the guidance in full, and make sure you’re compliant with the new law.

What you need to do

These steps apply if you’re a landlord of a tenancy that was created before 1 May 2026:

Provide information to your tenants: 

• you need to give a copy of the government-produced Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet to your tenants. This explains what the new rules mean for their tenancy agreement, and you need to send this to your tenants either digitally or on paper, on or before 31 May 2026
• if your current tenancy is based entirely on a verbal agreement, you need to give your tenant a written record of specific terms of the agreement. You have to do this instead of providing the Information Sheet 
• we’ve published guidance on the information you’ll need to provide. You need to give this information to your tenants in writing on or before 31 May 2026 

Check what you need to do if you’re a student landlord and want to use Ground 4A: 

• if you’re a student landlord and want to use Ground 4A to evict your tenants in the future, you need to write to them to let them know  
• if you’re a student landlord of a tenancy created before 1 May 2026, you have until 31 May 2026 to give your current tenants a written notice that you may evict them using Ground 4A  
• you can then serve the notice of possession up until 30 July 2026, giving your tenants 2 months’ notice instead of 4 months  
• we’ve published further guidance on how to do this

Check what you need to do if you’re a charity and run a ‘stepping stone’ scheme or similar, and want to use Ground 5H:

• if you think you meet the criteria to use Ground 5H and think you may need to use it in the future for a tenancy created before 1 May 2026, you must have provided your tenants a written statement setting out the eligibility criteria that applies to the tenancy by 30 April 2026     
• you can only use eligibility criteria that relates to the tenant’s age, or whether they are in work and/or looking for work

Check what you need to do if you own the property through shared ownership and need to take possession to sell the property, using Ground 1A:

• if you own the property through shared ownership, you may be exempt from the 12 month restriction on reletting the property after using Ground 1A to gain possession to sell the property  
• you’ll need to take action to be exempt. If you’re a landlord of a tenancy created before 1 May 2026, you’ll need to give your tenants written notice by 31 May 2026 that you’re exempt from the 12 month restriction on reletting the property for the selling ground because you’re a shared owner

More guidance is available on the how the changes will affect landlords who are also shared owners.

These steps apply if you’re a landlord of a tenancy that was created before, on or after 1 May 2026:

 Familiarise yourself with the new forms: 

• as a landlord, you’ll need to use forms at different points in a tenancy – for example, when you need to increase the rent or take possession of your property
• we’ve published new versions of these forms, which can be served on tenants

Check what you need to do when creating new tenancies from 1 May 2026 onwards: 

• you need to provide your tenants with certain information about the tenancy in writing. You can do this by including it in a written tenancy agreement. We’ve published guidance on the information you need to provide
• read the guidance and think about other ways you can prepare for your next new tenancy. Some of what you might consider includes: 
• ensuring you publish an asking rent for your property in any written adverts you put out (you can no longer ask prospective tenants to bid above this amount, nor accept any such bids)
• ensuring you’re not asking tenants to pay more than a month’s rent in advance

• if you’re using a letting agency, you should consider talking to them about what these changes mean for you
• you should also consider taking your own legal advice about complex matters

Download our checklist:

• we’ve created a simple checklist to help you understand what you need to do to get Renters’ Rights Act ready

How is my existing tenancy affected?

On 1 May 2026, any pre-existing assured shorthold tenancy (AST) automatically became an assured periodic tenancy (APT) – or ‘rolling’ tenancy. Under an APT, you can no longer agree a fixed rental term with your tenant or create a tenancy with an end date. Instead, the tenancy continues until either party ends it.

You’re no longer able to evict your tenants from a property without giving them a legally prescribed reason that you can evidence. You’re able to regain possession of your property in a range of circumstances, but you need to have a specific, legally valid reason to do so.

Your tenant needs to give you two months’ notice when they want to leave. They can do this at any time during their tenancy. 

Do I need to issue a new tenancy agreement for my tenants?

If you had a written record of the terms of the tenancy agreement before 1 May 2026, then you don’t need to change or reissue it. Instead, you need to provide the tenant with a copy of the new Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. This explains what the new rules mean for their tenancy agreement.

If your pre-existing tenancy from before 1 May 2026 didn’t have any written record of the terms of the agreement – perhaps because it was based on a verbal agreement between you and your tenant – then you need to provide certain information about the tenancy to your tenant in writing. 

You need to do this instead of providing the Information Sheet. We’ve published guidance on this.

What do these changes mean for any new tenancies I create?

The things that are likely to make the biggest difference to how you start or conduct new tenancies changes to:

• rental bidding
• rent in advance
• rent increases
• pet requests
• discrimination against tenants

Can I still end tenancies when I need to?

Yes, you can. You’re no longer able to use Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, which have been abolished. Instead, you need to use a specific, legally defined possession ground, such as: 

• selling the property
• moving into the property yourself
• moving family members into the property
• tenants breaching tenancy terms

Do I still need to provide tenants with the How to Rent guide?

No. In most cases, you do not now need to provide your tenants with the How to Rent guide.

To help tenants understand their new rights and responsibilities, we’ve published new guidance reflecting the reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act. We’d encourage you to direct your tenants to our tenant campaign site for updated information and guidance.

What happens if I don’t comply?

As a landlord, it’s important you take action to make sure you’re compliant with the law. If you don’t comply with the law, local councils may impose a civil penalty on you of up to £40,000 or, in some cases, start a criminal prosecution.

Where can I get more help and information?

The government has provided comprehensive guidance for landlords with which you should continue to familiarise yourself. You can also sign up for alerts so you are notified when any new guidance is published. 

Reputable landlord and letting agent organisations are also likely to provide information and guidance on the new requirements, and how to comply with them.   

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.