The Renters’ Rights Act, in plain English.
The biggest change to private renting in a generation. Here is what actually changes, when it changes, and what a well-run tenancy looks like now, without a single paragraph of legalese.
Fixed terms end. Every tenancy runs month to month, and tenants can leave with two months' notice. Good tenants stay because the home and the management are right, which is where we come in.
No-fault eviction disappears. Selling, moving in yourself, redevelopment and serious arrears each have their own ground with defined notice periods and evidence requirements.
Increases happen through a Section 13 notice at open-market level, once every twelve months, with two months' notice. Tribunal referral is the tenant's backstop.
Tenants gain the right to request a pet and refusal must be reasonable. Pet insurance can be required; blanket bans cannot.
The Decent Homes Standard extends to private renting, landlords join a national database, and a new ombudsman handles complaints before they reach court.
When each change lands
The Act received Royal Assent in October 2025 and arrives in phases rather than one morning. The main reforms took effect from 1 May 2026: from that date new and existing tenancies operate as periodic assured tenancies, Section 21 is closed to new notices, the amended possession grounds apply, rental bidding is banned and rent increases run through the once-a-year Section 13 route. Landlords of existing tenancies were required to give their tenants the government’s information sheet by 31 May 2026, a small duty that a surprising number of self-managing landlords missed.
Still ahead sit the pieces the government has staged: the private rented sector database and landlord registration, the new ombudsman membership requirement, and the application of the Decent Homes Standard to the sector, each with its own lead time and each one we will fold into our managed service as commencement dates are fixed. The practical point for landlords is that compliance is now a moving picture, and somebody needs to be watching it for every tenancy you hold.
What a well-run tenancy looks like now
The landlords this Act rewards are the ones who were already doing it properly. An accurate advertised rent, because the figure is now the legal ceiling and the annual review must stand up against real comparables at tribunal if challenged. Referencing with actual depth, because possession is ground-based now and prevention beats procedure. Records kept as if a tribunal will read them, because one day it might: the gas and electrical certificates, the deposit paperwork, the information sheet, the inspection notes. And repairs handled promptly, because the ombudsman route gives tenants a place to take a landlord who does not.
None of this is cause for alarm; it is cause for management. Our fully managed service absorbs the Act as its ordinary work: the notices served correctly, the reviews benchmarked before they are proposed, the records inspection-ready and the deadlines watched so you never meet one by surprise. Tenants reading this from the other side of the tenancy will find the same regime explained from their perspective in The Tenant’s Guide, because a law both sides understand is a tenancy that runs smoothly.
The Landlord’s Guide to the Renters’ Rights Act
Eighteen pages: the new possession grounds explained, a compliance checklist, a rent review letter template and the dates that matter.
Fifteen minutes with Ravneet, our Head of Lettings.
Bring your tenancy dates and your questions. You will leave with a clear picture of what to change and when. No charge, no obligation.
What landlords ask us first
Straight answers, updated as guidance is published.
Yes. Existing assured shorthold tenancies convert to periodic assured tenancies on the commencement date, with no new paperwork needed from tenants. We reissue our statutory information pack for every managed tenancy so nothing is missed.
Yes. The new ownership and sale grounds replace Section 21 for these situations, with notice periods of four months and protections in the first year of the tenancy. The evidence requirements are stricter, which is where good records matter.
Once per year via a Section 13 notice, at open-market level, with two months' notice. Tenants can refer an increase to the tribunal, so we benchmark against real comparables before serving anything.
Tenants can request a pet and you cannot refuse unreasonably. You can require appropriate insurance. We have a standard pet addendum ready for managed landlords.
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