The Renters’ Rights Act is coming

The government has set down a road map to the implementation of the Act, with the Act coming into force in three main phases. The main changes bought in by the Act are;

Abolition of section 21

The no fault eviction process will be removed, which will mean that Landlords will no longer be able to serve a Section 21 notice, a landlord will now need a legal reason to evict a tenant from their property.  The new Act provides for an extended menu of grounds under section 8, which the Landlord will need to cite in order to evict a Tenant. A tenant will be able to walk away by serving a notice to quit, this will normally be for not be less than a 2 month notice period.

Abolition of AST

The Act abolishes assured shorthold tenancies (‘AST’) and makes all residential tenancies Assured Periodic Tenancies (‘APT’). Existing AST will be automatically converted to assured periodic tenancies when the relevant part of the Act comes into force on the 1st May. Landlords will not be able to grant a new fixed term AST after this date.

Tenancy Deposit Protection

Tenancy deposits will remain capped at five weeks’ rent where the annual rent is below £50,000 and six weeks’ rent where it is £50,000 or more, those levels being set under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

Advance rental Payments

The Act will prohibit landlords and agents from inviting, encouraging or accepting any rent or offer to pay rent before the tenancy is entered into, even if unsolicited. This will not prevent landlords or agents continuing to accept a refundable holding deposit of up to one week’s rent. For new APTs entered into on or after 1 May 2026, the tenant cannot be required to pay rent before the start of the rent period to which it relates. This does not mean that rent must be payable in arrears, but it does mean that rent cannot be payable more than a month in advance, a month being the maximum rent period allowed.

Rent Reviews

A Landlord will only be able to increase rent once a year. Landlords of APTs will only be able to increase the rent by following a revised statutory procedure in section 13 of Housing Act 1988. Section 13 broadly allows the landlord to increase the rent once a year on two months’ notice to begin at the start of a new ‘rent period’

Grounds For Eviction under section 8

The Act makes changes to the existing section 8 process, seeking to strike a balance between the interests of landlords and tenants. Changes include adjustments to time limits and the introduction of pre-conditions, the Act has more than doubled the number of grounds for possession under section 8, and made changes to many more.

Grounds for possession will remain either ‘mandatory’ or ‘discretionary’.

Where mandatory grounds apply, the court must grant landlords possession if the ground for terminating the tenancy is made out. Where discretionary grounds apply, the court may grant possession if it considers it reasonable to do so. The judge will then have to balance all the circumstances of the case and come to a decision.

Given that no-fault evictions will no longer be available, and the likely cost and time associated with section 8 notices, we would advise all landlords to keep good records regarding tenant compliance and incidents up to date.

Rent Bidding War

From 1 May 2026, any advert to let a property on an APT must specify the proposed rent. Once specified, landlords and agents must not invite, encourage or accept offers of rent higher than the advertised sum.

Prohibition on Discrimination against Tenant on benefits or with children

Also from 1 May 2026, the Act will outlaw discriminatory practices by landlords and agents against tenants with children or those claiming benefits. It means adverts stipulating ‘No children or DSS’ should largely become a thing of the past.

Pets

The Act will imply into all private sector tenancies a right for the tenant to keep a pet, the Landlord’s consent cannot be reasonably withheld.

Awaab’s law

The Act will provide that Awaab’s law will apply to all private sector tenancies with these changes likely to come in during the final phase of implementation.

Private Rented Sector Database & Ombudsman Scheme

The Act will require all Landlords and properties to register on a private rented sector database, the database is intended to be launched from late 2026 onwards.  It will also be compulsory for Landlords to join a new ombudsman scheme; this scheme will form part of the second phase of implementation, and it is likely that Landlords will be required to join the scheme by 2028.