Changes that affect landlords and tenants
This guide covers landlord-specific changes made under the Renters’ Rights Act (the Act) only. There are more changes which will affect both landlords and tenants, including:
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scrapping fixed-term tenancies - all assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) will become assured periodic tenancies (APTs) (ie tenancies which do not have a fixed end date, they generally run month-to-month)
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new requirements and penalties for tenancy deposits
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challenging rental increases - tenants will have the right to object to raises in their rent price
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Awaabs Law - landlords will be required to deal with certain home hazards within set time frames
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the Decent Homes Standard - the criteria which rented homes need to meet to be considered fit to rent, currently setting the social sector standard, will be applied in the private sector
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pet rights - tenants will have an implied right to keep a pet in their rented property
For more information on these new rights and protections tenants are gaining and what landlords should watch out for, read What new renters' rights do tenants have?
How can you evict tenants?
No-fault evictions are being abolished. This means you’ll no longer be able to use a section 21 notice to evict residential tenants from your properties. Instead, you’ll have to meet one of the grounds under the section 8 procedure in order to legally evict tenants.
New grounds for eviction
The Act has more than doubled the number of specific grounds a landlord can use under a section 8 notice, providing landlords with fair opportunities to evict tenants and creating a balance between landlord rights and tenant protections. The length of the notice period will depend on the ground used for eviction. In most cases, landlords must provide between two weeks’ and four months’ notice.
There hasn’t been a start date provided for when section 21 notices will be abolished and when the new grounds under section 8 will begin. More information is expected in the near future.
For more information about the current grounds under the section 8 procedure, read Repossessing property - section 8 notices.
Advanced rental payments
The Act changes the rules to protect tenants from being pressured into paying large sums of rent too early or being forced into large, upfront payments.
Banning pre-tenancy rent payments
A landlord or agent will be banned from asking for, accepting, or encouraging any rent money until the tenancy agreement is fully entered into (ie signed by all parties). You will only be able to accept a refundable holding deposit (ie up to one week's rent) to reserve the property. Any other payment offered or accepted before the contract is signed will be illegal.
If found to be in breach of this new rule, landlords can be fined up to £5,000 by Trading Standards.
Limiting advanced rental payments
For all new tenancies after the Act comes into force, landlords will only be able to require new tenants to pay up to one month’s rent in advance of any renting month. This means that monthly rent will not be payable before the first day of that particular month.
The only time a landlord can require a payment before the tenancy officially begins is when the contract is signed early (ie before the tenancy commencement date) to take the initial rent (ie rent payable within the first 28 days of the tenancy). Even then, they still cannot accept the money until the contract is signed.
If a tenancy agreement contains any clauses requiring rent to be paid in advance of the period it relates to, the clause will automatically be invalid and have no legal effect on the tenancy. Where this occurs, a default implied clause is substituted into the agreement, making any rent payable on the first day of the rental period.
A landlord may accept advanced rental payments where the tenant voluntarily chooses to pay the rent in advance of when it becomes due.
End of rent refunds
Tenants are currently not always entitled to a refund of their rent payments where they have overpaid rent before their tenancy ends. In the future, when an APT ends, tenants will automatically have the right to a refund for any days of rent they paid that fall after the tenancy end date.
More details, including a start date for the changes to advanced rental payments and refunds, are expected to be announced at a later date.
Ending rental bidding practices
Rental bidding involves landlords putting prospective tenants in competition with each other through a bidding war designed to drive up rent prices.
Landlords will now be required to state a proposed rent price, which will be the maximum price a tenant will pay for rent. Any written advertisements or offers for a privately rented property must specify the proposed rent.
Landlords are forbidden from encouraging or accepting any bids that exceed the proposed rent.
Local councils (or alternative local housing authorities) will be able to impose fines of up to £7,000 on landlords (or their agents) who continue this practice. Repeat offenders will be charged an additional fine in addition to this.
The expected start date for these changes hasn’t yet been announced.
Private rental increases
Currently, landlords can include rent review clauses within tenancy agreements, allowing them to increase rent annually by a fixed amount, linked to inflation, or based on a regular review. The Act will make such clauses unenforceable.
Landlords will only be able to increase the rent once per year by following a new statutory procedure that requires them to give at least two weeks’ notice. Tenants will also have the right to object to the rental increase by applying to the appropriate tribunal.
This change is not yet in effect, but an implementation date is due to be announced in the near future.
Discriminating against tenants
In England and Wales, landlords and agents will be breaking the law if they discriminate against potential tenants (or contract holders in Wales) who have children or claim benefits. This means they cannot prevent such prospective tenants from:
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enquiring about or viewing the property
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receiving information about the property
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entering into a tenancy (including an occupation contract)
It will also be illegal for landlords or agents to implement any policy, rule, or practice that prioritises other potential tenants above these groups.
Any clauses within a tenancy agreement, superior lease, mortgage, or new insurance contract that prohibit tenants from having a child live with/visit them, or prohibit them from being a benefits claimant, will have no legal effect.
Whilst landlords cannot ban potential tenants who claim benefits, they can continue to take the potential tenant’s income into account and perform an income check to determine if they can afford to pay the rent.
Defences to discrimination claims
Landlords who have discriminated against a tenant due to having children or claiming benefits may be able to defend against discrimination claims if they can prove that they:
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discriminated against a tenant with children as a proportionate measure to achieve a legitimate aim (eg to avoid overcrowding), or
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had an existing, valid insurance policy in place before the law took effect, which requires them to restrict these specific tenancy groups
Penalties
If a landlord in England fails to comply with the new discrimination laws, the local council or housing authority can impose fines of up to £7,000.
If a landlord in Wales fails to comply with the new discrimination laws, they can be convicted of a criminal offence and fined.
Penalties can be imposed again if the:
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discriminatory practice continues for 28 days after the first penalty, or
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same person commits a similar breach within five years
It is not clear when these measures will come into effect; a start date is expected to be announced at a later time.
Strengthening rent repayment orders
Currently, if a landlord commits an offence against their tenants (eg they illegally evict them), a court can order them to repay some of the rent. These orders help deter landlords from breaking the law.
The Act aims to strengthen these rent repayment orders by:
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expanding the reach of rent repayment orders to include superior landlords (ie the person who owns the property or who is a head landlord under a sublet) and company directors
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making rent repayment orders available for new offences introduced by the Act
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increasing the maximum amount of rent landlords can be ordered to repay from 12 months’ to 24 months’ rent
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extending the application period for an order from 12 months to 24 months
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requiring repeat offenders to repay the maximum order amount
A start date for these enforcement measures is due to be announced in the near future.
Compulsory landlord registration
The Act will establish a Private Rented Sector Database (PRSD) that landlords must register with. It will hold information on every:
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current and potential private landlord
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current and intended private rental property
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landlord who has been subject to banning orders, convicted of serious offences, or incurred large financial penalties
Landlords must register themselves, their properties, and any specific information required by future regulations. Once registered, their entry will receive an ‘active’ status, and they will be required to keep the entry up to date.
Any records relating to landlord misconduct will be recorded by the local authority and made available to the public. Landlords will be able to challenge misinformation through the database. Entries relating to serious misconduct will remain on the PRSD for 10 years.
Why do you need to register?
Without registering themselves and their property, landlords will not be able to market or advertise their property. Going forward, all advertisements for private rental properties will be required to contain a unique identifier for the landlord and the property. This identifier is issued as a special registration number upon entry into the database.
If the landlord has no active entry relating to a particular property, they will also not be able to obtain a possession order to evict tenants.
Penalties
Failing to register, or marketing an unregistered property on the market, can result in fines of up to £7,000.
Under the Act, it will also be a criminal offence for a landlord to:
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knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information about themselves or their property when registering
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repeatedly breach the law (eg by continuing the same breach for more than 28 days, after a first fine is imposed or committing a different registration breach within five years of receiving a first fine)
Criminal offences in relation to the PRSD can be subject to fines of up to £40,000. Additionally, where an offence is committed by a company with the consent or involvement of a company director, manager, or similar officer, that individual is personally liable and can be prosecuted and fined, as well as the company.
It is currently unclear whether the PRSD will be open in time for the start of the new tenancy reforms. More information is expected in due course.
New landlord redress scheme
The Act will establish a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman (ie a body that provides for complaints made by tenants to be independently investigated), which will operate a landlord redress scheme. The aim is to provide tenants with a fast, affordable way to resolve disputes without going to court.
Landlords must join an approved redress scheme, and failure to do so will prevent them from marketing a property for rent.
Penalties for failure to comply with scheme requirements can lead to criminal offences and fines of up to £40,000.
The government will announce a roadmap for establishing this Ombudsman in the coming months.
TL;DR
Numerous changes and reforms are coming to the private rental sector. As a landlord, the main points you should be aware of are:
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all ASTs will become rolling contracts called assured periodic tenancies
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section 21 (ie 'no-fault') evictions are abolished. Landlords must use the expanded section 8 process with a valid, proven ground for eviction
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landlords must register themselves and their properties on the new PRSD and join a mandatory landlord redress scheme to resolve tenant disputes out of court
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failure to register, join the Ombudsman, or stop illegal conduct (like discrimination or bidding wars) can result in fines up to £7,000, or up to £40,000 for repeated breaches
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landlords are banned from encouraging rent bidding and cannot require upfront rent payments exceeding one month in advance
Further guidance on when all changes are expected to take effect is anticipated in due course.
If you have any questions or concerns about the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and the changes it’s implementing, do not hesitate to Ask a lawyer.
