The Renters' Rights Act: what actually changed for landlords
Fixed terms are gone, Section 21 is gone, and rent increases now run through one statutory route. Here is the practical shape of it, without the commentary.
The Renters' Rights Act received Royal Assent in October 2025 and its main provisions began commencing through 2026. Plenty has been written about what it means politically. This is what it means on a Tuesday morning when your tenant has stopped answering the phone.
Every tenancy is now periodic
Assured shorthold tenancies are abolished. All tenancies convert to periodic assured tenancies rolling month to month — including existing ones, on the commencement date, without either party signing anything. There is no fixed term to hold a tenant to, and no expiry date to plan a re-let around. A tenant can end the tenancy on two months' notice at any point, including two months after moving in.
Section 21 no longer exists
No-fault eviction is gone. To recover possession you now need a ground under Schedule 2, you need to be able to evidence it, and if the tenant does not leave you need a court order. The grounds landlords will actually reach for are selling the property, moving in yourself or a close family member, and serious rent arrears.
Rent increases have one route
Section 13 notice, once per year, minimum two months' notice, and the tenant can refer the proposed rent to the First-tier Tribunal. Rent review clauses in the tenancy agreement no longer bind. The Tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the one you proposed, which removes the deterrent that used to stop tenants challenging.
Other changes worth knowing
- Blanket bans on tenants with children or on benefits are unlawful.
- Rental bidding above the advertised price is prohibited.
- Tenants can request to keep a pet and consent cannot be unreasonably refused.
- A national landlord database and a private rented sector ombudsman apply to landlords letting to tenants.
- Awaab's Law timescales for damp and mould extend into the private sector.
Where a company let sits in this
The Act governs assured tenancies with individual occupiers. A lease to a company that sub-lets is not one, so the Section 21 abolition, the periodic conversion and the Tribunal rent route do not apply to the agreement between you and us. Your obligations as a property owner — gas, electrics, fire safety, licensing, repair — do not change and should not be described to you as if they had.