Renters’ Rights Act: Key points for Landlords

The key provisions of the Renters’ Rights Act will come fully into force on 1 May 2026, following a long and drawn-out legislative process.

The Act, which includes revisions to the Housing Act 1988, will have a significant impact on the established assured shorthold tenancy regime for both landlords and tenants and introduces a new assured periodic tenancy regime.

Existing tenancies

Conversion of existing tenancies

All existing assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) will automatically convert to assured periodic tenancies (APTs) on 1 May 2026, save where there are outstanding and valid section 21 possession proceedings. No further action is required to document the conversion, and it will not be necessary to enter into a new tenancy agreement with tenants.

Notice requirements

Landlords will be required to provide each tenant of an existing tenancy with a copy of the statutory Information Sheet published in March setting out the changes that will take place on 1 May. The Information may be sent by post or by email (as a PDF attachment, not a link) and must be received no later than 31 May 2026. Where the tenancy is in joint names, each tenant must be sent a copy.

Terms of existing tenancies from 1 May

From 1 May 2026, the contractual terms of existing tenancies will continue to apply only insofar as they are consistent with the new APT regime. Any non compliant provisions will be overridden. Key points include:

• Term: Any fixed term stated in an existing tenancy will no longer apply. All APTs will be periodic and will run until validly terminated by the tenant or the landlord. As a result, any break clause or renewal provisions will fall away.
• Termination: Contractual termination provisions will no longer apply. Tenants will be able to end the tenancy at any time on giving not less than 2 months’ notice. Landlords, by contrast, will only be able to recover possession by relying on one of the limited statutory section 8 grounds for possession following the abolition of section 21 “no fault” possession.
• Rent increases: Rent increase provisions in existing tenancies will no longer apply. After 1 May, landlords may only increase rent by serving a formal section 13 notice using Form 4A. If the tenant accepts the rent proposed in the notice (or a lower figure is agreed) the new rent will take effect from the date stated in the notice. If the tenant challenges the increase the rent will be determined by the FTT with any increase taking effect from the FTT determination date and will not be backdated to the increase date stated in the notice. Rent increases may only take place once in a twelve-month period, calculated from the date of the increase (meaning intervals may be longer where a rent increase is challenged).
• Advance rent: The new restrictions on rent payment frequency do not apply to existing tenancies. Landlords may continue to collect rent in advance at the intervals agreed in the tenancy, and will not be required to repay any advance rent save where the tenancy comes to an end and the payment relates to a period after termination.
• Pets: Any blanket prohibition on pets will fall away. Landlords may not unreasonably refuse consent to a tenant’s request to keep a pet, although a landlord may refuse consent where reasonable, for example, having regard to the nature of the property and/or the type of pet). Where consent is given, landlords cannot require payment of a “pet surcharge” or require the tenant to take out pet insurance to cover any damage to the property.

New tenancies

All tenancies granted on or after 1 May 2026 must be assured periodic tenancies. Landlords granting new tenancies after this date must ensure that the terms of the tenancy and their practices comply with the new regime.

Rental discrimination and rental bidding

Landlords and their agents will continue to have the final say as to who a property is let to, and robust referencing checks will remain essential. However, decisions must be based on objective criteria such as a person’s ability to pay the rent, rather than, for example, whether an applicant has children or is in receipt of benefits. In addition, landlords will not be permitted to ask prospective tenants for “best offers” when renting a property. An asking rent must be published, and landlords will not be permitted to encourage bids above this sum.

Statement of terms

Landlords must provide all new tenants with a Statement of Terms containing prescribed information. There is no standard printed form, and it is likely that landlords will include this information in the tenancy agreement itself rather than as an additional standalone document.

Please refer to GOV.UK guidance on tenancy agreements and written information provided to tenants.

Terms of new tenancies from 1 May

Any term of a new tenancy granted after 1 May that does not comply with the new APT regime will be of no effect. Key points include:

• Term: All tenancies will be periodic and will run until validly terminated.
• Termination: Tenants may end the tenancy at any time on giving not less than 2 months’ notice. Landlords will need to satisfy one of the limited statutory grounds for possession following the removal of the ability to serve a section 21 “no fault” possession notice.
• Rent increases: Landlords may only propose a rent increase using the section 13 procedure and serving a Form 4A.
• Advance rent: Landlords may not require tenants to pay more than one month’s rent in advance and can only require advance rent to be paid during a “permitted pre-tenancy period” (after the agreement is entered into but before the tenancy begins). Rent must be payable monthly (rather than quarterly or other frequency). The option for a landlord to accept advance rent if offered (as is common for example with student lets) remains but must not be a requirement.
• Pets: As with existing tenancies, consent to pet requests cannot be unreasonably refused.

Termination

The new termination and possession regime is central to the changes introduced by the Act. Tenants will have the protection of an initial 12 month period during which the landlord cannot recover possession other than on specified statutory grounds (for example, for breach of the tenancy or other fault based grounds). By contrast, tenants will have a statutory right to terminate the assured periodic tenancy at any time by giving the landlord a minimum of two months’ notice.

This change is designed to give tenants both the security to establish a home and the flexibility to leave if their circumstances change. However, it also reduces certainty for landlords, who will no longer be able to rely on a guaranteed rental income for a fixed period. In practice, a tenant could move in and serve notice immediately, leaving the landlord with only two months’ rent and the need to quickly find a replacement tenant.

Grounds for possession

Section 21 “no‑fault” evictions are abolished. Landlords must rely on mandatory or discretionary Section 8 grounds, and court proceedings will be required where grounds are disputed, inevitably making it harder for landlords to obtain possession and leading to additional costs and delays in obtaining possession.

Key mandatory grounds include:

• Sale or occupation: The landlord may end a tenancy on giving the tenant at least 4 months’ notice if it intends to sell the property or occupy the property itself (not exercisable within the first year of the tenancy). To prevent abuse, landlords may not relet a property for 12 months after using this ground.
• Significant arrears: The landlord may end a tenancy on giving the tenant at least 4 weeks’ notice where the tenant has at least 3 months’ rent arrears at both the time of the notice and the possession hearing. This is an increase from the threshold of 2 months’ arrears under the old regime.
• Redevelopment: The landlord may end a tenancy to demolish or significantly redevelop the property (where this cannot be done with the tenant in situ) on giving at least 4 months’ notice.
• Anti-social behaviour: Where the tenant has been convicted of severe anti-social behaviour the landlord can begin possession proceedings immediately.
• Students: If the property is an HMO, let to full time students, the landlord may end a tenancy on 4 months’ notice (to expire between 1 June and 30 September). Additional conditions apply.

Key discretionary grounds include:

• Alternative accommodation: Where suitable alternative accommodation is made available a tenant may be given 2 months’ notice to vacate.
• Arrears: Where a tenant is in arrears and or has persistently delayed rent payments the tenant may be given 4 weeks’ notice to vacate.
• Breach: Where a tenant is in breach of the tenancy agreement (except for payment of rent) and / or has caused the deterioration of the property a tenant may be given 2 weeks’ notice to vacate.

Looking ahead

Further provisions are expected to come into force later in 2026 or early 2027, including a private rented sector database, a landlord ombudsman and compliance with decent homes standards. These changes should not unduly concern reputable landlords save for the anticipated cost and administrative burden associated with registration.

What will this mean for landlords?

From 1 May 2026 it will be significantly harder to obtain possession where a tenant wishes to remain in occupation. Many familiar contractual protections, fixed terms, rent review clauses, and pet prohibitions, will no longer be enforceable.

Landlords with existing ASTs may wish to review their position carefully before implementation. Where appropriate and lawful, landlords may elect to use the section 21 procedure to start possession proceedings before 1 May or serve a rent increase notice under the current section 13 regime before 1 May 2026.

For new lettings, careful tenant selection and referencing will be more important than ever, given the potentially long term nature of the relationship under the new APT regime.