What changed under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

Since 1st May 2026 a landlord can no longer end a tenancy with a Section 21 notice; every possession now needs a specific Section 8 ground and a court order. A Section 21 notice served before that date can still be used only if court proceedings begin by 31st July 2026 (or sooner, if six months from service runs out first).

All assured tenancies are now periodic with no fixed end date, and a tenant can leave at any time on two months' written notice.

Possession now runs entirely through Section 8 on a specific legal ground using the prescribed Form 3A, with notice periods and thresholds that vary by ground. The main rent-arrears ground (Ground 8) requires at least three months' (or thirteen weeks') arrears both when the notice is served and at the hearing.

Rent can be raised only once in any 12-month period, using a Section 13 notice (Form 4A) with at least two months' notice, and the tribunal can only confirm or lower the proposed figure, never raise it.

Landlords and agents must advertise a fixed rent and cannot invite or accept offers above it; a breach carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000 (it is not a criminal offence).

A tenant can request a pet and the landlord must reply in writing within 28 days, cannot unreasonably refuse, and cannot make consent conditional on pet insurance.

It is unlawful to refuse a tenant, or to advertise against them, because they receive housing benefit or Universal Credit or because they have children.

Awaab's Law sets fixed timescales for emergency hazards and for damp and mould in the social sector (in force since 27th October 2025); its extension to private landlords is planned but has no confirmed date.

Private rented homes will have to meet the Decent Homes Standard, the minimum quality benchmark long used in social housing, which is confirmed to apply from 2035.

Every private landlord will have to join a new ombudsman scheme giving tenants free, independent dispute resolution, with mandatory membership expected around 2028 and breaches carrying a civil penalty of up to £7,000.

A new Privately Rented Sector Database (Property Portal) will require landlords to register themselves and their properties; it is not yet in force and no start date has been set.

Councils have wider enforcement powers, with civil penalties of up to £7,000 for a breach and up to £40,000 for an offence, and Rent Repayment Orders now reaching up to 24 months' rent.

A landlord letting a student HMO can recover possession over the summer using Ground 4A, provided the required prior written notice was given (for tenancies that began before 1st May 2026, by 31st May 2026).

A landlord cannot require more than one month's rent in advance for a new tenancy, and no rent can be taken before the tenancy agreement is signed.

For any tenancy from 1st May 2026 the landlord must give the tenant a written statement of the prescribed terms before the tenancy is entered into, or face a civil penalty of up to £7,000.

Landlords of tenancies that began before 1st May 2026 had to give existing tenants the official Government Information Sheet by 31st May 2026; missing the deadline carries a civil penalty of up to £7,000 but does not invalidate notices or block possession.