Get on top of the renting changes
New rights and responsibilities for landlords in England
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
Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions have been abolished:
- you’re no longer able to use Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict your tenants
Reformed possession grounds are fairer for both parties:
- you can only evict tenants when you have a specific, legally valid reason, otherwise known as a ‘possession ground’
- possession grounds have been extended to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants when they want to sell the property, move into the property, or move in members of their family
- the changes have also made it easier to evict tenants who commit anti-social behaviour
Fixed term tenancies have been banned:
- most new and existing tenancies in the private rented sector have become assured periodic tenancies, or ‘rolling tenancies’
- this means renters are able to stay in their property until they end the tenancy, or until a landlord serves a valid notice to end it and obtains a court possession order
Changes to rent and payments
Rent increases are now limited to once per year:
- you must follow the new legal process for increasing the rent
- this includes providing the tenant with notice, detailing the proposed rent increase at least two months before that increase is due to take effect
Rental bidding has been banned:
- you must include a specific price on any written property advertisement
- you aren’t allowed to ask for, encourage, or accept an offer that’s higher
Requiring large amounts of rent in advance has been banned:
- you can only require up to one month’s rent in the period between all parties signing the tenancy and the tenancy starting
- you cannot accept any payment of rent before this period
- once the tenancy’s begun, you cannot require any payment of rent before it’s due
Removing barriers to renting
Discrimination against renters who have children or receive benefits is now illegal:
- you cannot do anything to make a tenant less likely to rent a property (or prevent them from renting it) because they have children or receive benefits
- this includes withholding information about a property (including its availability), preventing them from viewing it, or refusing to grant a tenancy
New requirements for tenancies
As a landlord, you need to make sure you’ve given your tenant written information about the terms of their tenancy.
What you need to do depends on when the tenancy started:
- for most tenancies that started before 1 May 2026:
- you needed to provide your tenants with a copy of the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet, either digitally or on paper by 31 May 2026. To find out more about exemptions to this deadline, read our Information Sheet guidance
- if there was no written record of the tenancy terms – because the tenancy was based on a verbal agreement, for example – you needed to provide tenants with a written record of specific terms of the agreement by 31 May 2026. We’ve published details of what should’ve been 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
Renting with pets
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
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 post-1 May 2026 tenancies:
- 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 make sure you understand what you need to do for your new tenancy to be compliant with the new law. 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 a shared owner, read the new guidance:
- 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 needed to take action to be exempt. If you’re a landlord of a tenancy created before 1 May 2026, you needed 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
Take professional advice:
- 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 pre-1 May 2026 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.
I have tenants who were in a tenancy before 1 May 2026. Do I need to issue them a new tenancy agreement?
If you had a written record of the terms of the tenancy agreement before 1 May 2026, then you didn’t need to change or reissue it. Instead, you needed to provide the tenant with a copy of the Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet by 31 May 2026. The Information Sheet 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 needed to provide certain information about the tenancy to your tenant in writing by 31 May 2026.
You needed to do this instead of providing the Information Sheet.
You can read more about these requirements in our guidance .
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 don’t 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’re 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.