The Renters’ Rights Act: Everything you need to know

When will the Renters’ Rights Act become law?

The Act received royal assent on 27 October 2025, which means it is now law. It doesn’t mean it applies to you straight away though.

The Renters’ Rights Act will be implemented in stages with the first parts applying from 1 May 2026. From that date:

  • Fixed-term Assured Shorthold Tenancies will be abolished and replaced with Assured Periodic tenancies
  • Tenants must be given a written tenancy agreement before the tenancy is entered into
  • Rents can only be increased once per year and only after serving a Section 13 notice
  • No further section 21 notices can be served
  • For new tenancies, you may not accept rent before signing an assured periodic tenancy and you may not demand more than a month’s rent at a time after the agreement is signed.
  • The Government will ban so-called ‘rental bidding wars’ by requiring adverts list a rental price and banning landlords from accepting or encouraging offers above this listed rent.
  • New rules will be introduced that prevent discrimination against tenants with children or those in receipt of benefits.

However, that’s not the only date that we know about. The Government has published a timeline setting out the following key dates for the Renters’ Rights Act:

Date Milestone
December 27th 2025 New local council enforcement measures and investigatory powers for local councils come into force.
January 2026 Wording for tenancy agreements to be confirmed.
March 2026 Publication of the information sheet that will need to be given to your current/existing tenants to inform them of the changes.
April 2026 Guidance issued to tenants on what the changes will mean for them.
30th April 2026 Last day you can serve a Section 21 notice.
May 1st 2026 Implementation of the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act, including the loss of Section 21 and the abolition of fixed term assured shorthold tenancies.
Spring/Summer 2026 Financial penalties for Category 1 hazards (following publication of updated guidance)
31st May 2026 Deadline for serving information leaflet to existing tenants about the changes, and for notifying student tenants that you may use the new Ground 4A..
July 31st 2026 Deadline for applications to court for possession under Section 21. After this all Section 21 notices will be invalid.
From late 2026 PRS database – requiring landlords to register themselves, along with property details and compliance information – goes live. This will involve a phased, regional roll-out for landlords.
2027 Renters’ Rights Act reforms will be introduced to the social rented sector.
April/May 2027 Deadline Government expects for the end-to-end digitisation of the courts.
2028 Expected date for the mandatory sign-up to the PRS Landlord Ombudsman.
May 2028 Government to publish an initial evaluation of the impact of the Renters’ Rights Act.
May 2031 Government to publish a second evaluation of the RRA at the five year mark.

Some of the Act does still need to have a date set though. Specifically:

  • The introduction of Awaab’s Law: Already introduced in the social sector, this will introduce strict requirements on timescales for dealing with hazards such as damp and mould
  • The implementation of the Decent Homes Standard: The Government ran a consultation into this earlier this year, which suggested the standard would not apply in full until 2035 at the earliest. They will confirm their plans when they respond to this consultation.

The Government has confirmed that, separate to the Renters’ Rights Act, they will also, at some point in the future:

  • Reform the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to make it easier to understand;
  • Set up a new body or mechanism to make the initial decision on whether or not a rent increase is within market rates.

Neither of these have dates set yet, though we hope that the Housing Health and Safety Rating System will come in Spring/Summer 2026.

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