In brief
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 ("Act") passed into law on 27 October 2025 and introduces some fundamental changes for the private rented residential sector in England. Once fully in force, it will ban section 21 evictions, introduce a new periodic tenancy regime, and set new requirements for property standards and rent increases.
Most of the Act’s changes (save as set out below) will take effect from 1 May 2026.
In more detail
The Act has introduced sweeping changes for landlords and tenants of private residential space (though some residential tenancies, including company lets, high-value tenancies with an annual rent exceeding GBP 100,000, lettings for more than 21 years, service occupancies and some student and agricultural tenancies, are exempt from the Act’s changes).
For those residential tenancies which are in scope, the Act’s key changes include the following:
- Assured shorthold tenancies and fixed term assured tenancies will be abolished — any such tenancies which are already in existence at 1 May 2026 will be automatically converted into rolling periodic tenancies, with tenants entitled to terminate on not less than two months’ notice (to expire at the end of a rent period). This means that there will be no ‘guaranteed’ minimum fixed term, even if both parties want the certainty of one.
- Periodic tenancies will be fixed at one month or less — the term of each new (and converted) periodic tenancy will be fixed by reference to the rent period in that tenancy, up to a maximum of one month. Where rent is paid weekly, the tenancy will be weekly. Where rent is payable monthly, the periodic tenancy will be monthly. Where the tenancy stipulates a longer rent period, that stipulation will be overridden to a maximum of one month.
- End of Section 21 evictions — there is a significant change in the way in which landlords can recover possession of their properties. The current section 21 “no fault” recovery procedure — permitting landlords to end such tenancies after their fixed term by giving at least two months' notice without needing to prove tenant fault — will be abolished (although the Act’s transitional provisions allow for the continuance of existing s21 proceedings).
From 1 May 2026, where an existing or new tenancy constitutes a periodic tenancy, landlords will need to seek possession from tenants using one of the section 8 (Housing Act 1988) grounds, which have been substantially modified, including to widen the grounds for possession but also to adjust time limits and introduce new pre-conditions to exercise. Court proceedings will be required if the tenants refuse to leave upon expiry of a section 8 notice.
Notable new mandatory grounds for possession include:
- Ground 1A — The landlord intends to sell a freehold or assign/grant a long leasehold interest (exceeding 21 years) in the property. However, the ground cannot be used in the first year of the term and requires four months’ prior notice from the landlord.
- Ground 4A — The tenancy is of student accommodation (in particular, Houses in Multiple Occupation with three or more bedrooms, let to full-time students), and the landlord gave the tenant notice before the tenancy started that possession will be required between 1 June and 30 September in order to re-let to students. The landlord must serve four months’ advance notice, with the notice period ending between those dates.
- Ground 6B — Continuing the tenancy would put the landlord in breach of one of the specified statutory provisions (for example, an improvement notice served under the Housing Act 2004 requiring remedial action to the premises, or one of various planning enforcement notices issued under the Planning Acts). Again, four months’ notice is required in the exercise of this ground.
Ground 8 (rent arrears) remains, in modified form. The threshold for required arrears has been raised to three months (for rent paid monthly) and to 13 weeks for rent paid weekly/fortnightly.
Ground 12 (tenant’s breach (other than rent)) and ground 13 (deterioration of the property due to tenant’s breach) are unchanged by the Act. As discretionary grounds, however, a court must be satisfied that it is reasonable to grant possession, even if the conditions are met.
- Increased controls on rental increases — The Act limits rent increases to one per year (with no rent review allowed either in the first year of the term or within a year of any previous increase). Landlords must give tenants at least two months' notice of proposed increase, regardless of the tenancy’s express terms. All rent increases must be initiated by the landlord serving a section 13 notice. Tenants will be able to appeal to a tribunal if they believe any proposed rental increase is above open market value. The tribunal cannot award a rent above that stated in the landlord’s notice, and any rent increase will only take effect from the date of the court’s determination.
The Act also renders void any contractual rent increases (where fixed increases are written into the rental agreement in advance).
- Advance rent payments are restricted — Landlords may no longer require, encourage or accept (either directly or through a third party, such as a letting agent) upfront payments of rent in advance of an assured tenancy being entered into. Any sums previously already paid in advance which cover periods after the tenancy ends must be repaid by the landlord to the extent of the post-termination proportion.
- Local authority intervention — Local housing authorities are given new powers to investigate whether a landlord or an agent letting out private rented housing has broken certain laws. These particular powers commenced on 27 December 2025.
- A “decent homes standard” is to apply to the private rented sector. “Awaab’s Law” is extended to enable tenants to challenge hazardous conditions within the property, and to require landlords to act within prescribed timescales.
- Anti-discrimination — A ban is introduced on discriminating against prospective tenants who have children or who receive benefits.
- Pets allowed — Landlords cannot unreasonably refuse consent to a tenant keeping a pet at the property.
During this transitional period, before the majority of the Act’s provisions take effect on 1 May 2026, there are some useful steps which residential landlords can take to ensure clarity in relation to both existing and future lettings, such as:
- Reviewing current tenancies to assess which will be affected by the changes, and amending tenancy templates by removing clauses that assume a fixed term beyond May 2026 or rely on Section 21 termination.
- Updating internal tenancy procedures to reflect the Act’s impact on their letting portfolio.
- For Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) landlords:
- Ensuring membership (of themselves/their managing agents, as appropriate) of a recognised management code of practice to benefit from the para 8, Schedule 1 Housing Act 1988 exemption which is (subject to compliance with the Act’s conditions) being extended to them.
- Understanding the steps (if any) which they will need to take now to regain possession at the end of the academic year, such as the preparation and service of timely notices in prescribed form; and
- Diarising the issue of notices required for the recovery of possession to ensure timeframes are met.
The Act’s changes are broad and impactful. If we can be of any assistance with, or provide any further guidance on, the changes introduced by the Act, please do not hesitate to contact us.