Renters’ Rights Act – What landlords should do now
On 1st May 2026, the first raft of measures in the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) come into force in England. Here are the key changes to be aware of and steps landlords need to take:
Periodic ‘rolling’ tenancies will replace fixed-term tenancies.
The common minimum six or 12-month commitments will disappear, and tenants will be able to give two months’ notice at any point. For current tenancies, any fixed periods still in effect on 1st May will cease to be valid, as the tenancy will automatically become periodic.
What to do now:
- Speak to your current tenants to explain the new rules and check on their plans for the next 6-12 months. Encourage them to give you as much notice as possible if things change and they want or need to leave.
- Although there is no legal obligation for you to issue a new tenancy agreement on 1st May, you must issue a special notice, essentially, an information sheet that explains the main terms of the new Act to your tenant. The Government published this in March and must be given to your tenant by 31st May.
- It will be mandatory to have written terms, so if you don’t currently have a physical tenancy agreement, you will need to issue these by 31st May.
- For new tenancies, check your agent or, if doing yourself, screen a tenant carefully to ensure a tenant is being let to is likely to stay in the property for as long as possible, keeping turnover as low as possible.
- Ensure the property is in the best possible condition at the start of the tenancy, no damp or mould, for example, then check your agent is inspecting regularly and make sure the property is maintained in good order to reduce the likelihood of a tenant leaving or any fines from increased enforcement.
Section 21 will be removed, and the reformed Section 8 grounds will come into effect
Landlords are losing the ability to give a tenant two months’ notice without giving a reason. The only legal way to end a tenancy from May will be to issue a Section 8 notice stating a valid ground.
While the landlord will still have the right to regain possession of their property when needed, there will be longer notice periods for many grounds, including rent arrears.
What to do now:
- Review the revised grounds and minimum notice periods or speak to your agent so you understand what they can and can’t do. You can find the list on the GOV.UK website (scroll down to Table 1).
- With the revised rent arrears ground (8) requiring the tenant to be 3 months in arrears before notice can be given, and the notice period doubling from 2 weeks to 4 weeks, it is going to take longer to evict a non-paying tenant, so you may want to increase your cash reserves.
- Understand that if you evict a tenant using ground 1A because you wish to sell, this cannot be used within the first 12 months of a tenancy, and you cannot re-let the property within 12 months of the expiry of the notice. So, if you might want or need to sell at some point, you’ll need to plan more carefully.
- Ensure you, or your agent, use the most up-to-date form of the notice to make sure the eviction is legally valid.
Rent increases will be restricted
Landlords will only be able to legally increase the rent once every 12 months to a fair market rate by issuing a Section 13 notice and giving the tenant two months’ notice. Any rent increases set out in existing tenancy agreements will no longer be valid.
What to do now:
- Check that any new tenancy agreement doesn’t include a rent review clause.
- Check when the rent was last increased and make sure you don’t raise it again within 12 months.
- Make sure you or your agent always use the current legal version of the Section 13 notice.
- Budget for only making rent adjustments once a year, and make sure you have a reliable way of ensuring the amount is a fair market rate. If you use an agent, they should do this for you.
Tighter discrimination and rent advertising rules come into effect
Landlords will no longer be able to have blanket bans on tenants with children or in receipt of benefits. It will also become illegal to accept a higher rent than the amount advertised and to encourage ‘bidding wars’ between tenants.
What to do now:
- Ensure your property adverts do not contain discriminatory terms such as: ‘no DSS/benefits’ and ‘no children’.
- Check that the advertised rent is realistic and budget to receive no higher than that amount for the next 12 months.
- Consider how you will select a tenant in future if more than one applicant offers to pay the advertised rent.
Tenants will have the right to request a pet
Landlords won’t be able to refuse pets without a valid reason, but do be aware that there are many reasons, such as the property being too small or unsuitable for the type of pet. Pet damage insurance will become a permitted payment under the Tenant Fees Act, so you can ask your tenant to either take it out themselves or cover your costs, but note that there is no legal obligation on them to pay.
What to do now:
- Make sure advertising does not include any ‘no pets’ stipulations.
- Ask your agent if they will be revising their tenancy agreements to include a pet clause, or you will need to prepare your own to insert into future tenancy agreements when the tenant has a pet. This should outline expectations and responsibilities, including cleaning and pest control. It’s advisable to take legal advice to make sure it is enforceable.
- Consider whether you need to make any changes to the property so it’s more pet-friendly, such as having an area where dogs can be cleaned or fitting a cat flap.
Maximum penalties for non-compliance are rising
Key changes:
- The maximum civil penalty a local authority can fine a landlord is going up from £30,000 to £40,000.
- Councils will be able to issue civil penalties for illegal evictions; they no longer have to go to court.
- The maximum Rent Repayment Order amount is doubling, from 12 to 24 months’ rent.
What to do now:
With the financial consequences of breaking letting regulations becoming much more serious, it’s going to be more important than ever to make sure your property, tenancy and management processes are compliant.
If you self-manage, you have to find out about, understand, and implement all relevant changes yourself. And with phases two and three of the changes still to come, you need a robust way to stay up to date.
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