The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The bulk of it commenced on 1 May 2026. If you let property in England, the rules you operate under changed last week.

What’s now in force

Every tenancy is periodic

Every assured shorthold tenancy that existed on 30 April converted automatically into an assured periodic tenancy at midnight. New tenancies signed after 1 May are also periodic from day one. Fixed-term ASTs no longer exist. Tenancies roll month to month with no end date.

Section 21 is gone

No new Section 21 notice can be served after 1 May 2026. To recover possession you now need a Section 8 ground.

A notice served before 1 May survives only if the court claim form was issued before 1 May, or is issued by 31 July 2026 where the notice was served earlier and is still in date. After 31 July, any unused Section 21 notice lapses.

Section 8 has more grounds

The Act expands Section 8 with new mandatory and discretionary grounds. Ground 4A covers student HMO landlords who need to recover possession to align with the academic cycle.

Rent increases follow a statutory route

Rent review clauses inside existing tenancies are now invalid. Increases happen once per year via the new statutory Form 4A. Tenants can challenge the proposed rent at the First-tier Tribunal.

Rental bidding is banned

When advertising a property you must state a proposed rent. You cannot encourage or accept offers above that figure.

Advance rent is banned on new tenancies

You can take the first month’s rent in advance and a deposit. Anything beyond that is now prohibited.

Discrimination protections

You cannot refuse a tenant on the basis that they have children or receive benefits, unless you can demonstrate a non-discriminatory reason for the refusal.

Pet requests

Tenants have a statutory right to request a pet. You can refuse only on reasonable grounds.

Penalties

Civil penalties run up to £7,000 for routine breaches and up to £40,000 for serious or repeat violations. Rent Repayment Order maximums have doubled to two years’ rent.

What you must do by 31 May 2026

Two items, both administrative, both with penalties attached.

• Information Sheet to every existing tenant. The government has issued an Information Sheet explaining the reforms. Every landlord with a tenancy that existed on 1 May must give a copy to their tenant by 31 May 2026. Failure to comply attracts a civil penalty up to £7,000, with a starting point of £4,000.
• Written statement for oral tenancies. If any of your tenancies was never reduced to writing, you now need to provide a written statement of terms.

If you let student HMOs and intend to use Ground 4A in future, you also need to give the tenant a written statement at the start of the tenancy confirming the tenancy qualifies.

What’s coming after May

Phase 1 brought the operational changes. Phase 2 introduces structural reform on a longer timeline.

• Private Rented Sector Database. Regional rollout begins late 2026. Mandatory registration of landlords and properties is expected from 2027 at the earliest. Public access and data-sharing phases follow.
• Private Rented Sector Ombudsman. Rollout follows the database. Mandatory landlord membership is not required before 2028.
• Decent Homes Standard for the PRS. Applies from April 2035. Government has built in planning time given other compliance milestones already pencilled in for 2028 to 2030.
• Awaab’s Law extension. Government will consult on detail. No timeline yet.

What this means in practice

The legal language hides a simple operational reality.

• You no longer have a contractual end date you can rely on. Every recovery of possession from 1 May is a Section 8 case with grounds that have to be proved.
• Section 8 grounds carry their own notice periods, evidentiary requirements, and tribunal scrutiny. The grounds you used to lean on for a clean exit, you can no longer use.
• Rent increases are predictable and challengeable. You set them once a year, on the statutory form, and your tenant has a clear route to dispute the figure.
• Marketing has to change. Listing copy that hints at competitive bidding, “open to offers”, or “rent negotiable above the asking” needs to come down. The proposed rent is the rent.
• Onboarding has to change. New tenancies cannot ask for six months in advance. References and affordability checks carry the weight that advance rent used to.
• Refusals have to be defensible. Saying no to a family with children, or to a tenant on Universal Credit, now requires a reason that survives scrutiny.

Your checklist this week

If you manage your own portfolio, the following needs to happen now, not in three months.

• Send the Information Sheet to every existing tenant. Get it done before 31 May.
• Audit any Section 21 notices you served before 1 May. If the court claim is not filed by 31 July, the notice is dead.
• Review your tenancy agreements. Fixed-term clauses are unenforceable. Rent review clauses are invalid. Pet clauses need to reflect the new statutory test.
• Update your listing copy and application process. Remove anything that solicits bids or charges advance rent on new lets.
• Map your existing rents against your annual review schedule and switch your increase mechanism to Form 4A.
• If you let student HMOs and rely on the academic cycle for vacant possession, build the Ground 4A written statement into your tenancy pack.
• Brief any agent or contractor handling lettings on the bidding ban and the discrimination provisions. Liability sits with you, not them.

How guaranteed rent fits

A guaranteed rent arrangement moves most of these operational changes off your desk and onto the operator.

What it shifts:

• Possession risk and Section 8 work
• Information Sheet compliance for managed tenants
• Listing, tenant selection, and application handling under the new bidding and discrimination rules
• Rent review administration and tribunal correspondence
• Pet request handling under the statutory test

What it does not shift:

• Your obligations as property owner under the future Decent Homes Standard, the Awaab’s Law extension when it commences, and any building or fire safety duties tied to the freehold
• Your registration obligations if and when the PRS Database makes registration mandatory from 2027 onward
• Anything tied to gas, electrical, or EPC certification on the property itself

For most London landlords the choice from 1 May is simpler than it looks. Either you build the operational capacity to manage Section 8 cases, statutory rent reviews, and tribunal challenges in-house, or you outsource the friction and take a fixed monthly figure in exchange.

If you are new to the model, our introduction to guaranteed rent for London landlords covers the basics.

Get a guaranteed rent figure for your property

We work with landlords across all 32 London boroughs. If you want a fixed monthly rent figure with no voids, no Section 8 paperwork, and no exposure to the new compliance regime, request a free valuation and we will come back with a figure within 24 hours.