Final & official: the Renters’ Rights Act in detail

The Renters’ Rights Bill has finally become an Act, gaining Royal Assent six years after the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, promised to ban Section 21 evictions. While the long and winding road to rental reform is almost over, the private rental sector didn’t change overnight.

Such momentous legal alterations and additions to compliance need careful handling and the industry needs to prepare. As such, the Government will make the majority of the Act mandatory from 1st May 2026.

With the dust settled and official documents issued by the Government, we can report on what landlords and tenants need to prepare for in 2026. With last minute challenges and amendments, it’s important to know what passed into law.

Effective from 27th December 2025

• Councils will gain more power: new investigatory powers will bolster local councils’ ability to inspect rental properties, demand documents and check whether a landlord is breaking the law. 

Effective from 1st May 2026

• Section 21 evictions will be banned: these have been known as ‘no fault’ evictions. Moving forwards, landlords will only be able to regain possession of a buy-to-let by issuing a valid Section 8 notice, citing a reason from the extended list of possession grounds. 

• Fixed-term tenancies will end: the majority of new and existing tenancies will automatically switch to assured period tenancies – also known as ‘rolling’ tenancies with no fixed end date. Tenants will be required to give two months’ notice to quit.

• New tenancy information issued: landlords with tenancies created before 1st May 2026 will be required to serve tenants with a Government-published information sheet on or before 31st May 2026 – a document expected in March 2026. New tenancy templates for agreements made after 1st May are also expected in due course. 

• Rent increases will be limited: although there will be no official cap on rent rises, landlords will only be able to increase the rent once every year. They must do so by using a revised Section 13 notice and give the tenant two months’ warning before an increased rent is implemented.

• Rental bidding will be banned: landlords or their letting agents will not be able to encourage bidding wars between tenants to force the rent up or accept an offer that is higher than the advertised rent. 

• Large upfront payments will be banned: landlords will no longer be allowed to take substantial upfront payments from tenants. Instead, they will be limited to requesting no more than one months’ rent in advance.

•  A tougher stance on tenant discrimination: a landlord or their letting agent will no longer be able to refuse renters with children and tenants in receipt of benefits. Discriminatory language and behaviour, such as ‘no DSS’ on advertisements and refusing viewings, will be outlawed.

• Keeping pets will be easier: the Act will compel landlords to consider a tenant’s request to keep a pet in the property. They must respond with an answer within 28 days, giving a valid reason if they refuse. 

Later in 2026: date to be confirmed

• Introduction of the Database for Landlords & Local Councils: all landlords in the private rental sector will be required to sign up to the new database, with an annual fee payable. 

• Database to be made publicly accessible: tenants will be given the ability to search the database to check the credentials of registered landlords and see safety information about their properties.

• Private rental sector ombudsman introduced: a new ombudsman will provide a redress and mediation service for landlords and tenants. It will be mandatory for landlords to belong to this, with a membership fee funding the service. Full implementation is not expected until 2028.

In the long term: date to be confirmed

• Mandatory EPC rating to be upgraded: the current requirement to have an EPC with at least an E rating to run a compliant let will change. The future goal is for newly agreed tenancies to have a minimum C rating in 2028 and for all rentals to have a C rating by 2030.

• Decent Homes Standard introduced: a new Decent Homes standard for the private rental sector is in the planning, designed to raise standards in buy-to-lets, but its implementation is not expected until 2035 or 2037. A review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System will happen in tandem.

• Extension of Awaab’s Law: already in force in the social housing sector, the long-term plan is for Awaab’s Law to apply to the private rental sector too. This will set minimum response and repair timeframes when a serious hazard is identified, such as mould.

We are here to guide landlords and tenants through the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act. Please contact us if you would like our support.