What is the Renters' Rights Act 2025?
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (the Act) is a major piece of legislation designed to give tenants more security while overhauling how landlords operate in England. Its primary goal is to abolish no-fault evictions and move all tenancies to a periodic (ie rolling) system. For landlords, this means you'll need to follow stricter procedures for increasing rent, evicting tenants, and registering your details on a national database.
Changes that affect landlords and tenants
The Act changes the fundamental structure of your rental agreements. You must prepare for the following updates:
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scrapping fixed-term tenancies - on 1 May 2026, all new and existing assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) become assured periodic tenancies (APTs) (ie tenancies that run month-to-month with no set end date)
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scrapping no-fault evictions - on 1 May 2026, section 21 notices (ie no-fault evictions) are being abolished. You will only be able to evict a tenant in reliance on a legal ground for eviction using a Section 8 notice
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rent increases - from 1 May 2026, you can only increase the rent once per year, following a set procedure, and tenants can object to rent hikes via a tribunal
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pet rights - from 1 May 2026, tenants have a legal right to request to keep a pet, which you cannot unreasonably refuse
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Private Rented Sector Database (PRSD) - expected to launch later in 2026, this is a new landlord database with mandatory registration
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Landlord Ombudsman - expected to launch later in 2026, will start operating as a landlord redress scheme to enable tenants to resolve disputes without going to court
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 do I manage the move to periodic tenancies?
On 1 May 2026, the concept of a fixed-term tenancy disappears almost all private tenancies. Every new and existing AST will become a rolling APT.
If you have a tenant on a fixed term that was meant to end after May 2026, the law will automatically convert it into a periodic tenancy on 1 May. You don't need to sign new contracts for your current tenants on this date.
For existing ASTs
To manage the transition for existing tenancies, you must:
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provide each tenant with the government’s Renters' Rights Act 'Information Sheet' on or before 31 May 2026 (if you have a written tenancy)
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provide a written statement of terms by 31 May 2026, instead of the Information Sheet (if you have an entirely verbal tenancy agreement)
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accept that any fixed-term dates in your current contracts are no longer legally binding from 1 May 2026
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allow tenants to end the tenancy at any time by giving two months' notice
You can be fined up to £7,000 by your local council if you fail to provide the required written information or the Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.
For new APTs
For any new tenancies starting on or after 1 May 2026, you must:
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provide a written statement of terms (or a full Tenancy agreement) before the tenant signs or agrees to the tenancy
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ensure the contract does not include a fixed end date
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not discriminate against (prospective) tenants who have children or receive benefits
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refrain from asking for, encouraging, or accepting any rent payments until both you and the tenant have signed the agreement
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state an asking price in any adverts and avoid accepting any offers that are higher than that price
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only increase rent using the statutory procedure
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comply with your legal duties as a landlord
How do I evict tenants after 1 May?
No-fault evictions are abolished from 1 May 2026. 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.
If you served a section 21 notice before 1 May 2026, it may still be valid, but you must apply to the court for a possession order by 31 July 2026 at the latest. After this date, all remaining section 21 notices become void.
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.For more information, read Evicting a tenant and Grounds for eviction and possession.
What are the new rules for rent and bidding?
Starting from 1 May 2026, tenants will be protected from being pressured into paying large sums of rent too early or being forced into large, upfront payments.
Banning pre-tenancy rent payments
You cannot ask for any rent money until everyone has signed the tenancy agreement. . 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.
It is also now illegal to encourage 'bidding wars'. You must state the rent price in your advert and you cannot accept any offers higher than that price. If you break the rules, you may face fines of up to £5,000 by Trading Standards.
Limiting advanced rental payments
You're now limited to asking for a maximum of one month's rent in advance for new tenancies. Additionally, when a tenancy ends, tenants will automatically have the right to a refund for any days of rent they paid that fall after the tenancy end date. 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.
What are the new tenant discrimination laws?
From 1 May, in England and Wales, you 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 you cannot ban potential tenants who claim benefits, you 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.
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.
How do I register for the new database and Ombudsman?
The Act introduces two major administrative requirements that all landlords must comply with, which are expected to go live in late 2026.
You'll need to move away from the current system of informal management and ensure both you and your properties are officially recorded on government-approved systems. This transition is designed to improve transparency and provide a clear way for disputes to be settled without invovling the courts.
Private Rented Sector Database
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
Once registered, your entry will receive an ‘active’ status, and you 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.
Failing to register can result in fines of up to £7,000, while providing false information is a criminal offence with fines up to £40,000.
The new Landlord Ombudsman
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.
This is a mandatory redress scheme that all landlords must join, even if you use a letting agent. It gives tenants a way to complain about your conduct or the state of the property without going to court.
The Ombudsman has the power to order you to provide information, take specific actions, or pay compensation. Joining is compulsory; if you fail to sign up, you'll be banned from marketing your property.
More changes are expected to come into force over the next few years, including the application of Awaabs Law and the Decent Homes Standard to the private rental sector, but an exact date is not yet known.
If you have any questions or concerns about the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and the APTs, do not hesitate to Ask a lawyer.
