Property News
Six months of the Renters' Rights Act: what has changed and what comes next
29 October 2026 · 3 min read
The main tenancy reforms of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect in England on 1 May 2026. Six months on, here is what has changed for letting agents, and what is still to come.
What changed on 1 May 2026. Section 21 no-fault evictions ended. Assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, so there is no fixed term and no break clause for a new let, and existing fixed terms moved onto a rolling basis. A tenant can leave with two months' notice. A landlord needs one of the grounds in section 8, and a court order, to end a tenancy. Rent increases are limited to once a year by section 13 notice, with at least two months' notice, and the tenant can challenge the increase at the tribunal. Rental bidding is banned: a landlord or agent cannot accept more than the advertised rent.
“The tenancy rules changed on one day in May. The paperwork and the database change over the next year, and that is where agencies will be caught out.”
What it means day to day. The tenancy record looks different. There is a start date and a rent, but no end date unless notice has been given. Renewal fees and renewal chasing have gone, because there is nothing to renew. The rent review is now the main point of contact with a tenant each year, and it has a legal form.
New tenancies need a written statement of terms before they start. Tenancies that already existed needed the government's information sheet by 31 May 2026. If you have tenancies where that was missed, it is worth putting right now.
The deposit rules have not changed: still capped at five weeks' rent, or six where the annual rent is £50,000 or more, and still to be protected within 30 days with the prescribed information served. Getting it wrong still carries a penalty of one to three times the deposit.
What comes next: the private rented sector database. The government's timetable has the new landlord database starting on 15 December 2026, beginning in the West Midlands and rolling out region by region over the following year. Every landlord letting property in England will need to be registered, with the property, by 14 November 2027. Landlords will look to their agent to tell them what is needed and when, and an agency that has its compliance records in order will find registration straightforward.
Also on the way: a landlord ombudsman that every landlord must join, and the Decent Homes Standard applied to the private rented sector, along with Awaab's Law timescales for damp and mould. Dates for these depend on regulations still to come.
What to do now. Check every tenancy is recorded as periodic, with no end date unless notice has been served. Check every new tenancy since 1 May had a written statement before it started. Plan the year's section 13 reviews so none are served too early. And make sure your compliance records, certificates, deposits and Right to Rent, are complete, because the database will make gaps visible.
This is general information, not legal advice. For a specific tenancy, check the legislation or take advice.