The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the biggest change to private renting in England in decades. It received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025, and its main tenancy reforms took effect on 1 May 2026. From that date section 21 "no fault" evictions ended, existing and new assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies with no fixed end date, rent can only be increased once a year using the section 13 process, and rental bidding was banned. Landlords had to give tenants the official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 or risk a fine of up to £7,000. A national landlord register opens from 15 December 2026, and a landlord ombudsman follows later.
What changed on 1 May 2026
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 brought the tenancy reforms into force on 1 May 2026 for private (non-social) assured tenancies. In practice:
- Periodic tenancies only. Tenancies run on a rolling basis, for example monthly, and you cannot put an end date in the agreement. Tenants can end the tenancy by giving two months' notice;
- No section 21. You need a legal reason, called a ground for possession, and must serve a section 8 notice;
- Rent increases once a year. Use Form 4A with at least 2 months' notice. Tenants can challenge an increase above the open market rent;
- Advertised rent. Adverts must state an asking rent, and you cannot encourage or accept offers above it;
- No rent before signing. You cannot ask for or accept rent before the tenancy agreement is signed, and the government says you cannot request more than 1 month's rent in advance;
- No discrimination. You cannot refuse tenants because they have children or receive benefits;
- Pets. Tenants can ask to keep a pet; you have an initial 28 days to consider the request and can only refuse with a valid reason.
If you already had a written tenancy agreement, you did not need to replace it. Instead you had to give each named tenant the official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026, as the exact PDF from GOV.UK, by hand, post or as an email attachment (not a link). Where a tenancy was only verbal, you had to give written information about its key terms by the same date.
Getting your property back: the new grounds
Possession now depends on proving a ground. The key ones for individual landlords are:
- Selling or moving in. You cannot evict for these reasons within the first 12 months of a tenancy, and the notice period in many cases is 4 months;
- Rent arrears. The mandatory arrears ground requires at least 3 months' rent unpaid (13 weeks for weekly or fortnightly rent) both when notice is served and at the hearing. Below that, the court may let the tenant stay;
- Antisocial behaviour. Notice periods are shorter and you can apply to court immediately;
- Student lets. A ground allows HMOs let to full-time students on a joint contract to be relet for the next academic year, provided notice was given at the start of the tenancy.
A court will only grant possession where any deposit was properly protected and the prescribed information given, or the deposit was returned, or a tenant's challenge has been resolved. If the tenant does not leave at the end of the notice period, you still need a court order.
What comes next: database, ombudsman and standards
The government's implementation roadmap, published in November 2025, sets out two further phases. As at October 2026 neither the database nor the ombudsman is yet in operation:
- Phase 2: landlord registration. The first stage of the Private Rented Sector Database, a "register your rental property" service, launches on 15 December 2026 in the West Midlands and then rolls out region by region over 12 months. When your area is called forward you have 3 months to register, and all landlords actively letting property must be registered by 14 November 2027. Registration is a legal requirement, and the roadmap says there will be an annual fee, to be confirmed closer to launch;
- Phase 2: Landlord Ombudsman. The ombudsman follows the database, with membership expected to become compulsory in 2028;
- Phase 3: standards. The Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law extended to private renting, with dates subject to consultation. The roadmap notes the government proposed bringing the updated standard into force in 2035 or 2037.
Once the registration duty applies to you, a landlord who has not registered will not be able to get a possession order except on the antisocial behaviour grounds. Separately, the government announced in September 2026 that HMRC's Valuation Office will in future decide challenges to rent increases; until then, tenants still apply to the First-tier Tribunal.
Penalties and rent repayment orders
Councils can impose civil penalties of up to £7,000 for many breaches and up to £40,000 as an alternative to prosecution for more serious or repeated ones. Tenants can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a rent repayment order for a wider list of offences, and the maximum has doubled from 1 to 2 years' rent. Rent repayment orders can now also be made against superior landlords and, in some cases, company directors.
The financial side for landlords
The Act is housing law rather than tax law, but it changes the numbers behind a buy-to-let:
- Cash flow. With rent in advance limited and arrears only a mandatory ground at 3 months, a bad tenancy can run longer before you can act. Budget for void periods and possession costs;
- Rent reviews. One increase a year, set close to market rent, makes annual reviews more important. A missed year cannot be caught up with a second increase in the same year;
- Exit planning. If you plan to sell, the 12-month restriction and 4-month notice period affect timing, and with it the tax year in which a capital gain falls;
- New running costs. Database and ombudsman fees, plus extra compliance time, should go into your forecasts once confirmed.
Illustration. A landlord decides in June 2026 to sell a property let on a tenancy that began in March 2026 and wants vacant possession. The selling ground cannot be used to evict within the first 12 months and needs 4 months' notice, so possession is unlikely before March 2027 at the earliest. If contracts are then exchanged after 5 April 2027, the gain falls into 2027/28, because for capital gains tax the disposal happens when the contract is made, not on completion.
Sources: GOV.UK: Renters' Rights Act overview for landlords; GOV.UK: The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026; Implementation roadmap; GOV.UK: landlord registration service announcement (September 2026); Renters' Rights Act 2025; SI 2026/421 (Commencement No. 2). Related: tax on rental income and Making Tax Digital for landlords.
If you want to review your portfolio's cash flow or the tax timing of a sale under the new rules, our accountants for landlords and property tax team can help.