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The Renters' Rights Act 2025: what changes on 1 May 2026

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolishes Section 21 on 1 May 2026. What changes, what to fix in your paperwork now, and what's coming next.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. Phase 1 comes into force on 1 May 2026 — about a month from the date of this post. This is the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector since the Housing Act 1988, and if you haven’t reviewed your tenancy paperwork yet, now is the time.

What changes on 1 May 2026

  • Section 21 “no-fault” evictions are abolished. From 1 May, you can’t serve a new Section 21 notice. Existing Section 21 notices already served remain valid if proceedings are issued within six months of service or three months after 1 May 2026, whichever is sooner.
  • Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) are abolished. All existing ASTs automatically convert to Assured Periodic Tenancies on 1 May. There’s no fixed term — tenants can stay for as long as they want, subject only to valid Section 8 grounds.
  • Section 8 grounds are expanded. The number of grounds increases from 17 to roughly 37. New grounds cover selling the property, moving a family member in, and student lets. Existing grounds are tightened — rent arrears, for example, requires three months of arrears (not two).
  • Rent increases via Section 13 only, once a year, with two months’ notice. The practice of writing rent-review clauses into tenancies is effectively ended.
  • Rental bidding is banned. You must advertise a price and can’t accept offers above it.
  • Written Statement of Terms and Information Sheet. Landlords must give new tenants a prescribed statement before the tenancy begins. Existing tenants get an information sheet.
  • Expanded Rent Repayment Orders — now extending to superior landlords, not just the direct landlord.

What’s coming in Phase 2 (from late 2026)

  • PRS Database. Mandatory registration for all private landlords, with an annual fee. Rolled out regionally from late 2026.
  • PRS Landlord Ombudsman. Mandatory membership for all private landlords, handling disputes outside of court.

What’s coming in Phase 3 (from 2027)

  • Awaab’s Law extended to the private rented sector (covered properly in the next post).
  • Decent Homes Standard applied to PRS.

Discrimination bans

From 1 May, you can’t refuse to let to families with children or to tenants on benefits. Blanket “no DSS” advertising is already unlawful under existing case law; the Act puts it on a firmer footing.

Pets

Tenants gain a right to request to keep a pet. Landlords can refuse only with a reasonable reason, and the tenant can challenge the refusal. Landlords can require pet insurance or an additional deposit contribution (rules still being finalised in secondary legislation).

What to do before 1 May 2026

  1. Audit your current tenancies. Any fixed-term AST will convert to a periodic tenancy automatically.
  2. Review any Section 21 notices already served — the transitional window is tight.
  3. Update your tenancy agreement templates. The old AST template is dead; you need a compliant periodic agreement with the new prescribed information.
  4. If you’re planning to evict on any current grounds, take advice now — the procedure and evidentiary burden is materially heavier under the new Section 8 regime.
  5. Get your compliance paperwork watertight. Under the new system, errors in gas safety, EICRs, deposit protection and the prescribed information will be far more painful because Section 21 isn’t there as a fallback.

A caveat worth naming

Secondary legislation (statutory instruments) is still being laid to finalise some details. The overall direction is fixed; some specifics — particularly around pet deposits and the exact form of prescribed information — may still shift.

References and further reading

General guidance, not legal advice. Secondary legislation is still being laid — always check the primary source for the current position on a specific tenancy.