The Act received Royal Assent on 22 October 2025. Here is a timeline and a summary of the legislation changes.
Phase 1, starting 01 May 2026 will:
a. abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – landlords in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) will no longer be able to use Section 21 to evict their tenants.
b. introduce Assured Periodic Tenancies in the PRS – the vast majority of new tenancies and existing tenancies will become Assured Periodic Tenancies. This means tenants will be able to stay until a landlord serves a valid Section 8 notice. Tenants will be able to end their tenancy by giving two months’ notice.
c. reform possession grounds in the PRS – landlords will only be able to evict tenants when they have a valid reason. Possession grounds will be extended to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who commit anti-social behaviour, or who are in serious persistent rent arrears.
d. limit rent increases to once a year in the PRS – landlords will have to follow the revised Section 13 procedure and provide the tenant with a notice detailing the proposed rent increase at least 2 months before it is due to take effect.
e. ban rental bidding and rent in advance – landlords will not be able to ask for, encourage, or accept an offer that is higher than the advertised rent. Landlords and agents will also not be able to request more than 1 months’ rent in advance.
f. make it illegal to discriminate against renters who have children or receive benefits – landlords will not be able to do anything to make a tenant less likely to rent a property (or prevent them from renting it) because they have children or receive benefits. This includes withholding information about a property (including its availability), stopping someone from viewing it, or refusing to grant a tenancy.
g. require landlords in the PRS to consider tenant requests to rent with a pet – landlords will have an initial 28 days to consider their tenant’s request, and they will have to provide valid reasons if they refuse it.
h. strengthen both local council enforcement and Rent Repayment Orders – civil penalties will be expanded, and there will be a new requirement for local councils to report on enforcement activity. Rent Repayment Orders will be extended to superior landlords, the maximum penalty will be doubled, and repeat offenders required to pay the maximum amount.
Note – New investigatory powers giving local councils a stronger ability to inspect properties, demand documents, and access third-party data to crack down on rogue landlords and enforce housing standards more effectively will come into effect on 27 December 2025.
Also note – The abolition of Section 21 and tenancy reforms during Phase 1 will not apply initially to the Social Rented Sector. This will happen during Phase 2.
Phase 2, starting late 2026 will introduce the PRS Database and PRS Landlord Ombudsman in 2 key stages:
Stage 1: Regional rollout of the Database for landlords and local councils
Signing up to the PRS Database will be mandatory for all PRS landlords and they will be required to pay an annual fee which will be confirmed closer to launch.
Regulations will mandate landlord registration, payment of a fee and the provision of key information by landlords. Subject to possible change, we expect this to include (at minimum) for each PRS property:
- The landlord’s contact details. This will include capturing relevant information from all joint landlords.
- The property details including the full address, type of property (flat/ house), number of bedrooms, number of households/residents and confirming whether the property is occupied and furnished, etc.
- Safety information – Gas, Electric and Energy Performance Certificates – so tenants are assured about the safety and energy efficiency of the property.
Stage 2: Further roll out of the Database and introduction of the Ombudsman
Public access and data sharing will be enabled following the launch of landlord registration.
Establishment of the PRS Landlord Ombudsman – the Ombudsman will provide a redress service for Private Rented Sector tenants when things go wrong. It will also support landlords with tools, guidance and training on handling complaints from tenants early. The Ombudsman scheme will be mandatory for PRS landlords. Landlords will be required to fund the service through a fair and proportionate charging model, confirmed closer to launch.
Implementation of the Ombudsman will happen after the introduction of the Database, the plan is to explore ways to share information between the Database and the Ombudsman to minimise landlord sign-up burden.
The development of the Ombudsman will happen in stages:
Stage 1 will happen at least 12 to 18 months before implementation. The Secretary of State will choose a scheme administrator to run the new service, which will then need time to scale up.
Stage 2 will require landlords to be members of the new service – we expect this to be in 2028, when the Secretary of State is confident the service is ready for delivery. Landlords will be given sufficient notice in advance of requiring them to be members of the scheme.
Phase 3: A new Decent Homes Standard in the PRS
Introduction of a Decent Homes Standard (DHS) to the PRS for the first time. This will ensure that all PRS properties meet a minimum standard of housing quality and provide local councils with powers to take enforcement action if PRS properties fail to meet it. To be brought into force in either 2035 or 2037. Details of the standards and the implementation timeline have not yet been released.
Note – The Government has consulted on plans to require all domestic privately rented properties in England and Wales to meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) of EPC C or equivalent by 2030 unless a valid exemption is in place. Further details will be set out in the government’s response to the consultation.
Also note – As part of the pathway to applying the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS, the Government will implement the review of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). They will extend Awaab’s Law to the PRS, setting clear legally enforceable timeframes within which PRS landlords must make homes safe where they contain serious hazards. The Government will consult on the details of this policy, including implementation timescales, in due course.
Secondary legislation
While many of the changes to the PRS are contained in the Act itself, the Government will need to make secondary legislation (in the form of regulations) to add further detail to some provisions and to bring the Act’s measures into force.
For example, the Government will need to make commencement regulations to implement the abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and the introduction of Assured Periodic Tenancies for new and existing tenancies which will come into effect on 01 May 2026.
Tenancy agreements
New tenancies in the PRS created on or after 1 May 2026
- Landlords will need to provide certain information about the tenancy to their tenants in writing. This could be through a written tenancy agreement. The detail of what information landlords must provide will be set out in secondary legislation.
- This will be published in time for landlords to prepare their new tenancy agreement templates ahead of the new changes coming into effect.
- The Government plan to publish a draft in January 2026, so landlords can begin preparing.
Rules for tenancies created before 1 May 2026
- If an existing tenancy in the PRS already has a written tenancy agreement, then landlords won’t need to change it or issue a new one.
- Instead, landlords with existing tenancies will need to provide tenants with a copy of the government published ‘Information Sheet’ on or before 31 May 2026. This document will inform tenants about the changes made by the Act.
- The Government plan to publish this online in March 2026, before the reforms come into effect on 1 May 2026.
- However, if a landlord has agreed an existing tenancy verbally with a tenant, they’ll need to provide a written summary of the main terms. Again, a landlord will need to do this on or before 31 May 2026.
Guidance for Landlords and Letting Agents
The Government guidance is already published and was sent to all members by email in November. We will summarise the main points in a separate article. Guidance for tenants has also been published.
Advice
The Government has increased the existing funding for Shelter’s Expert Housing Advice Line, which provides one-to-one advice by phone for professionals and volunteers who help clients with housing cases. The Government will continue to fund the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS) which provides anyone at risk of losing their home with free legal advice, and representation in court.
Local Enforcement
The Government will ensure that those with a responsibility for effective enforcement have the necessary capacity and capability to uphold the new requirements.
The Government have published enforcement guidance for local councils on GOV.UK. The guidance provides the critical information that enforcement officers will need to know in order to carry out their work in line with the new legislation.
Local housing authorities will receive £18.2 million in 2025/26 to support preparations for the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 and to build enforcement capacity. Funding will be allocated based on the number of Private Rented Sector properties in each local area. The Government are also supporting councils through a programme of training, webinars and resources through ‘Operation Jigsaw’, a cross-local councils initiative.
Shelter will deliver training on the PRS to local council officers, covering different aspects of the Act, funded by government.
The Justice System
Courts and tribunals have an essential role in giving tenants and landlords swift access to justice.
The County Courts – The Government are working closely with the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) to agree how the reforms are implemented. The justice system will be supported with funding to ensure that the courts and tribunals have the resources and capacity they need to handle the additional workload these reforms will generate. This includes further funding for a new digital end-to-end possession service in the county courts.
The Residential Property Tribunal
The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) is being prepared for the reforms, and the Government are ensuring sufficient capacity is available to meet extra demand. The Ministry of Justice is currently assessing the introduction of fees in line with practice across courts and tribunals.
In the longer term, the Government intends to establish an alternative body or mechanism to the First-tier Tribunal to make initial rent determinations.
HMCTS are building a new digital end-to-end service for resolving all possession claims in the County Courts in England and Wales. The service will offer an online route for making and responding to possession claims, filing documents, and receiving updates and outcomes, offering improved user experience through guided journeys.
This service will be rolled out in stages with a first release in 2026, building up to the full service which will be operational 18 months after the Act received Royal Assent. In the meantime, the Government will ensure that existing possession processes are updated to reflect the reforms in the Act and that sufficient capacity is in place for the courts to handle new possession cases until the introduction of this new digital service.
They are also working to develop a new digital system in the Tribunal to make processes more efficient and assessing options for an alternative organisation to handle rent challenges in the future.
Information Abridged from Gov.uk
NOTE – THE GOVERNMENT NOW HAVE AN ONLINE MANUAL FOR ALL RENTING INFORMATION, IT’S UPDATED DAILY – Renting out your property: guidance for landlords and letting agents – Guidance – GOV.UK