Your 2026 Renters' Rights Act Checklist - Everything Landlords Must Do

Your 2026 Renters' Rights Act Checklist - Everything Landlords Must Do

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 has been in force since 1st May 2026. This is the biggest change to English tenancy law in over 30 years.

Section 21 is abolished. All tenancies become periodic. New mandatory documents are required. Fines of up to £7,000 apply.

Here is every obligation you need to meet - with clear deadlines. For the background to these duties see what the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed, and the implementation timeline for the key dates.

Section 21 - the transitional cliff

No new Section 21 notice can be served on or after 1st May 2026 - that route is closed for good. The last date one could validly be served was 30th April 2026.

If you served a Section 21 notice before 1st May 2026, you can still rely on it, but only for a limited window: you must start court possession proceedings by 31st July 2026 at the latest, or sooner if six months from the date the notice was served expires first. After that, even a previously served Section 21 notice cannot be relied upon in court.

From 1st May 2026 - New Tenancies

Every landlord granting a new tenancy from 1st May 2026 must:

✅ Provide a Written Statement of Terms

Before the tenant signs, you must provide a Written Statement of Terms covering all prescribed information - rent, deposit, notice periods, landlord obligations, tenant rights, pet policy and more.

Fine for non-compliance: up to £7,000

Read our full guide to the Written Statement of Terms

✅ Use an Assured Periodic Tenancy

Fixed-term Assured Shorthold Tenancies no longer exist. All new tenancies must be Assured Periodic Tenancies - periodic from day one, with no fixed end date. The rent period may be monthly or shorter (weekly, fortnightly, or any period up to 28 days); only a period longer than a month is not permitted and takes effect as monthly instead.

✅ Protect the deposit within 30 days

No change here - but worth confirming. Deposit must be protected in an approved scheme (DPS, TDS or MyDeposits) within 30 days of receipt, and prescribed information provided to the tenant.

By 31st May 2026 - Existing Tenancies

For tenants who already have a written tenancy agreement signed before 1st May 2026:

✅ Provide the Government Information Sheet

If you have a tenancy that began before 1st May 2026 and has a written (or partly written) record of terms, you must serve every named tenant with the official Government Information Sheet. It must be delivered as a printed hard copy by post or by hand, or as a PDF attachment to an email or text message - sending a link is not valid. The deadline was 31st May 2026; the duty is ongoing, so if you have not yet served it, do so now.

Fine for non-compliance: a civil penalty of up to £7,000 (section 16I of the Housing Act 1988)

✅ Verbal tenancies - Written Statement required

If any of your tenancies are wholly or partly verbal (not fully in writing), you should provide those tenants with a full Written Statement of Terms by 31st May 2026 (the one-month deadline that mirrors the Information Sheet duty).

Ongoing from 1st May 2026

✅ Use Section 8 for all possession claims

Section 21 is gone. For any possession claim from 1st May 2026, you must use Section 8 and rely on a specific legal ground. Make sure you understand the key grounds and their notice periods before you need them.

Read our Section 8 guide for 2026

✅ Rent increases - Section 13 only

Any rent increase clause in an existing tenancy agreement is void from 1st May 2026. You can only increase rent using the Section 13 process - serving a Form 4A notice giving the tenant 2 months' notice. Rent can only be increased once every 12 months.

✅ Pet requests - respond within 28 days

From 1st May 2026, tenants have a statutory right to request permission to keep a pet. You must respond in writing within 28 days. You cannot unreasonably refuse. Silence does NOT equal consent - you must respond in writing within 28 days.

✅ No discrimination against benefits tenants or families

From 1st May 2026 it is illegal to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of housing benefit or with children. You cannot advertise "no DSS" or "no children."

Quick Reference - Key Dates

Fine Summary

Most breaches of the new duties are civil penalties of up to £7,000 (for example, failing to provide a Written Statement or the Information Sheet). The £40,000 figure that is sometimes quoted is not a penalty for a repeat breach - it applies only to the separate continuing-breach offence route, where a breach continues for more than 28 days after a penalty has been imposed.

Your Free Compliance Checklist

RentersRightsAct.info provides a free interactive compliance checklist for private landlords - tracking every obligation with a countdown to 1st May 2026.

Open the free compliance checklist

Members with full access also get AI-generated document templates - Section 8 Notice, Form 4A Rent Review Letter and Pet Request Response - all updated for the Renters' Rights Act 2025.

See current plans and pricing

General information only - not legal advice. Always consult a qualified solicitor for advice specific to your circumstances.