Described by the government as their manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 (Act) received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. The government announced on 14 November that a raft of the changes will come into force on 1 May 2026.
Overview of the Act
The new changes under the Act will come into force in 3 phases. We set out below a brief overview of the changes and timeline.
Phase 1
From 1 May 2026 the Act will:
- Change existing assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) to assured periodic tenancies. New tenancies will be assured periodic tenancies. Assured periodic tenancies will run on a rolling basis, for example, monthly. It will no longer be possible to have an end date in the tenancy agreement.
- Abolish Section 21 evictions in favour of legal reasons for eviction called grounds for possession.
- Require compliance with a notice procedure before increasing rent. Rent cannot be increased more than once in a year and tenants will be able to challenge a proposed rent that is above market rent.
- Give tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.
- Make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children.
- Prohibit landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent. Landlords and agents will be required to publish an asking rent for their property and it will be illegal to accept offers made above this rate.
- Strengthen local authority enforcement by expanding civil penalties, introducing a package of investigatory powers and bringing in a new requirement for local authorities to report on enforcement activity.
Phase 2
Phase 2, starting late 2026, will:
- Introduce a new Private Landlord Ombudsman that will provide a free, independent service for the resolution of tenants' complaints about their landlord.
- Create a Private Rented Sector Database where all landlords must register themselves and their properties. This will be rolled out in 2 stages and staggered by areas across England.
Phase 3
Phase 3 will introduce protections to improve conditions in private rented homes, informed by public consultations. These changes will:
- Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector to give renters safer, better value homes.
- Apply Awaab's Law to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords in the private rented sector must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.
The government has published its guidance for landlords and letting agents which sets out landlords' duties under the Act in detail, including the correct process to follow when renting out their property. Landlords should ensure they are up to date with the changes the Act will bring and keep an eye out for further announcements around implementation. We will be providing further updates in this regard.
