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Renters' Rights Act

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From 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 introduces new rules for landlords in how they manage your tenancy. The information below provides details on how the new rules will affect both tenants and landlords.

These changes will only affect you if you are a tenant of a private landlord. If you live in social housing or you are a lodger, the new rules will not apply to you.

Advice for tenants

New rules on starting and ending tenancies

Section 21 'no fault' evictions will be abolished:

  • Your landlord will no longer be able to issue a new notice under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict you.
  • Your landlord will only be able to 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 will be banned:

  • All new and most existing tenancies in the private rented sector will become assured periodic tenancies, or 'rolling tenancies'.
  • This means you will be able to 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 / possession order from the court.

Changes to rent and payments

Rent increases will be limited to once per year:

  • Your landlord will need to follow the new legal process for increasing the rent.
  • They will 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 property's market value, you will be able to challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal.

View guidance on the GOV.UK website about how to challenge a rent increase via the First-tier Tribunal.

Rental bidding will be banned:

  • Landlords and letting agents must publish the asking rent for the property in any written advert.
  • They won't be allowed to ask for, encourage, or accept an offer that is higher than this.

Requiring large amounts of rent in advance will be banned:

  • All parties will need to have signed the tenancy agreement before any rent is paid.
  • Your landlord won't be able to 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 has begun, your landlord won't be able to ask you for any payment of rent before it is due.

Removing barriers to renting

Discrimination against renters who have children or receive benefits will be illegal:

  • A landlord or anybody acting on their behalf, such as a letting agent, won't be able to 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.

Keeping a pet

From 1 May 2026, you have the right to request to keep a pet. Your landlord cannot unreasonably refuse your request. If they refuse, they must inform you in writing, and should tell you the reason why.

They will need to consider each request on a case-by-case basis. You can challenge the landlord's decision in court.

If your landlord is failing to adhere to any of the changes above, you can contact our Housing Standards Team:

Advice for landlords

New rules on starting and ending tenancies

Section 21 'no fault' evictions will be abolished:

  • You will no longer be able to use Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict your tenants.

Reformed possession grounds will be fairer for both parties:

  • You will only be able to evict tenants when you have a specific, legally valid reason, otherwise known as a 'possession ground'.
  • Possession grounds will be 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 will also make it easier to evict tenants who commit anti-social behaviour.

Fixed term tenancies will be banned:

  • Most new and existing tenancies in the private rented sector will become assured periodic tenancies, or 'rolling tenancies'.
  • This means renters will be able to stay in their property until they end the tenancy or until a landlord serves a valid notice to end it or obtains a court / possession order.

Changes to rent and payments

Rent increases limited to once per year:

  • You will have to follow the new legal process for increasing the rent.
  • This will include providing the tenant with notice, detailing the proposed rent increase at least two months before that increase is due to take effect.

Rental bidding will be banned:

  • You will have to include a specific price on any written property advertisement.
  • You won't be allowed to ask for, encourage, or accept an offer that is higher.

Requiring large amounts of rent in advance will be banned:

  • You will only be able to require up to one month's rent in the period between all parties signing the tenancy and the tenancy starting.
  • You won't be able to accept any payment of rent before this period.
  • Once the tenancy has begun, you won't be able to require any payment of rent before it is due.

New requirements for tenancies

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

  • For most tenancies that start before 1 May 2026, you won't need to change or re-issue any existing written tenancy agreements. Instead, you will need to send your tenants a copy of the government-produced Information Sheet, either digitally or on paper. You have until 31 May 2026 to send this to all your tenants. You are able to do this as soon as the Information Sheet is published.

  • If there is no written record of the tenancy terms - because the tenancy is based on a verbal agreement, for example - you will need to provide tenants with a written record of specific terms of the agreement. View the assured periodic tenancies guide for landlords on the GOV.UK website.

For tenancies that start on or after 1 May 2026

If you are a landlord and need any advice, you can contact our Housing Standards Team:

Renters' Rights Act Guide

A full guide for tenants and landlords on the Renters' Rights Act is available on the GOV.UK website.

Further changes

Further changes, including the creation of a National Landlord Database, are due to follow. We will provide further information regarding these measures in due course. Rollout of the new database will start on a regional basis at the end of next year, with the Landlord Ombudsman to be introduced in 2028.

Responsibilities of councils under the Renters' Rights Act

As the local authority, we have a key role to play in implementing and enforcing the changes introduced by the Renters' Rights Act 2025. The new law strengthens our ability to regulate the private rented sector, improve housing conditions for tenants, and take action where landlords or letting agents fail to meet their legal responsibilities.

There are four key responsibilities that we have under the new Act:

  1. Enforcing housing standards - continuing to check that private rented properties are safe and well-maintained using our existing powers under the Housing Act 2004, alongside new measures in the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
  2. Keeping homes safe - finding and assessing hazards using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), requiring landlords to carry out necessary improvements and repairs, plus taking action where properties present a health and safety risk.
  3. Investigating and tackling unlawful eviction - including cases where a landlord has tried to evict a tenant without following the correct legal process, or has used harassment or intimidation to pressure a tenant into leaving the property.
  4. Stronger enforcement powers - we now have additional tools to improve housing standards and address non-compliance. We can serve compliance or improvement notices to require a problem to be put right, issue civil penalties for breaches of housing law, prosecute serious offences, and take action against repeat offenders.

Contact our Housing Standards team for advice

Officers from our Housing Standards team can offer advice to both tenants and landlords, plus answer any questions regarding the Renters' Rights Act. They can also assist tenants who wish to make complaints about landlords.

Last updated: 05 May 2026
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