Landlord and Tenant Law Update: The Renters' Rights Act 2025

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the most significant change to residential landlord and tenant law in England in over three decades, and its central reform - the abolition of Section 21 "no-fault" evictions - takes effect on 1 May 2026. For property and housing lawyers, this isn't a distant future problem: existing tenancy agreements, pending possession claims and standard client advice all need updating now. This update sets out what's actually changing, when, and what it means in practice. For the parallel reform reshaping leasehold and freehold work, see our Leasehold and Freehold Reform update.

Section 21 abolition and the move to periodic tenancies

From 1 May 2026, landlords in England can no longer serve a Section 21 notice to regain possession without a stated reason. All assured shorthold tenancies convert automatically to assured tenancies on that date, and fixed terms are abolished entirely going forward - every assured tenancy becomes a periodic (rolling) tenancy. Tenants gain the right to end a periodic tenancy on two months' notice, up from one month previously.

Possession after 1 May 2026 must go through Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, using the amended grounds in Schedule 2 - not the no-fault route landlords have relied on for decades. This is a materially different process: a landlord now needs to establish a specific ground (rent arrears, sale of the property, landlord or family occupation, and others), which changes both the advice given at the start of a tenancy and the litigation strategy if a dispute reaches court.

Transitional rules matter for any Section 21 notice already in play. Where a notice was served before 1 May 2026, the landlord must issue a claim for possession by whichever is earlier: six months from when the notice was served, or three months from the 1 May 2026 commencement date. A notice served close to the deadline - for example on 28 April 2026 - leaves a narrow window, so any live Section 21 matter should be reviewed against these dates now rather than left until the claim is due.

Rent increases: a single, tighter route

The Act removes landlords' flexibility to increase rent through a contractual rent review clause - any such clause in a tenancy agreement simply has no effect once the Act is in force. The only route left is a Section 13 notice, and the notice period doubles from one month to two. Where a tenant refers a proposed increase to the tribunal, the tribunal's powers are also constrained: it can only set rent at or below the landlord's proposed figure, and any tribunal-determined rent takes effect from the decision date, with backdating no longer available.

The Act also targets bidding wars on new lettings. Landlords must advertise a specific asking rent and cannot invite, encourage or accept offers above that figure - local authorities can impose penalties of up to £7,000 for breaches. Advising landlord clients on how a property is marketed, not just on the tenancy paperwork, is now part of getting this right.

Landlord database, redress scheme and property standards

A new private rented sector database will record banning orders, penalties and relevant offences against landlords, and landlords will need to register before advertising or letting a property. Alongside it, private landlords will be required to join a landlord redress scheme or Ombudsman - mirroring the position that has applied in social housing for some time, giving tenants a route to complain outside the courts. Exact commencement timing for these two elements depends on further regulations still to be made, so firms should treat "database live" and "redress scheme mandatory" as separate milestones to track rather than assuming they land alongside the Section 21 abolition date.

The government has also signalled its intention to extend both the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law - the statutory timescales for addressing serious hazards like damp and mould, currently a social housing duty - into the private rented sector through future secondary legislation. Again, timing isn't yet confirmed, but it's a direction of travel worth flagging to landlord clients making longer-term investment or refurbishment decisions.

Pets and discrimination protections

Tenants gain an explicit statutory right to request permission to keep a pet, and a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse - a change from the previous position where pet clauses were largely a matter of contractual discretion. On the discrimination side, clauses or practices that block prospective tenants because they have children or might need to claim benefits are banned outright, and existing restrictive clauses of this kind in tenancy agreements no longer have effect. Both changes affect standard tenancy agreement drafting and any related marketing or vetting criteria a landlord or managing agent currently uses.

FAQ

Do all existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically become periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026?
Yes. The Act converts all assured shorthold tenancies to assured, periodic tenancies on the commencement date - there's no separate action a landlord or tenant needs to take to trigger the conversion itself, though existing terms should still be reviewed for anything that conflicts with the new regime.

Can a landlord still serve a Section 21 notice after 1 May 2026?
No. Section 21 is abolished from that date. Any possession claim after commencement must be brought under Section 8, using the amended statutory grounds - a fundamentally different test to the no-fault route landlords could previously rely on.

What happens to a Section 21 notice served just before the abolition date?
It can still be used, but only within a tightened window: the landlord must issue a possession claim by whichever comes first - six months from service of the notice, or three months from the 1 May 2026 commencement date. Notices served close to the deadline leave very little room, so these need reviewing urgently rather than on their original timetable.

Is the private landlord database live now?
Not on a fixed date at the time of writing - its commencement, along with the mandatory redress scheme, depends on further regulations. Firms should track these as separate milestones from the Section 21 abolition date rather than assume they take effect simultaneously.

The Renters' Rights Act touches almost every standard landlord and tenant instruction a property team handles, from the tenancy agreement template to litigation strategy on possession. Learnsignal's Legal CPD training covers this alongside the wider property law reform programme, including leasehold and conveyancing risk, so property teams can keep pace with the 2026 changes as they land.