The Renters’ Rights Act: Six Key Changes Landlords Need to Know

The English rental market is about to see its biggest shake-up in a generation, with the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force on May 1.

Over the next eight weeks, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at what’s changing: explaining the new rules and what they mean for landlords selling, buying, or simply managing their properties. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow on LinkedIn to be the first to see our video guides.

Here are the topics we’ll be covering:

• How the Renters’ Rights Act Changes the Way Buyers Assess Deals
• How Smart Investors Operate Confidently in a Changing Market 
• Why Off Market Property Sales Are Becoming the New Normal
• The Cleanest Exit Routes for Landlords in 2026 
• What the 2026 Property Market Really Looks Like for Landlords 
• What Ten Years of Tenanted Property Sales Teaches You
• A Step-by-Step Walkthrough of a Real Off-Market Property Deal
• How to Make Confident Property Decisions in 2026

But first, here’s an overview of what you need to know about the Renters’ Rights Act.

The Renters’ Rights Act introduces a number of new rules, many of which come into force in the first phase on May 1 2026, while others will follow on later in phases two and three.

Here are the key changes:

End of assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs). From May 1, all new tenancies will be  periodic, open-ended agreements where tenants can give two months’ notice to leave at any time. At the same time, existing fixed-term contracts will be converted to periodic ones.

Abolition of Section 21 notices. Landlords will no longer be able to serve “no-fault” evictions under Section 21. Instead, gaining possession must be done via a Section 8 notice. Landlords who wish to sell will be able to make use of a new ground known as Ground 1A.

Rent increases limited to once per year. Landlords will only be allowed to increase rent once in any 12-month period, with increases capped at the current market rate and a minimum notice period of two months.

Rental bidding and advance rental charges banned. Landlords will no longer be allowed to accept bids higher than the advertised rent, or charge more than one month’s rent in advance.

No blanket bans on tenants on benefits, or with children or pets. Instead of relying on wide-reaching exclusions, landlords must judge each case individually.

Tougher enforcement measures. Maximum penalties for breaches will be doubled, from 12 months’ rent to 24, while fines for repeat offenders will rise from £30,000 to £40,000.

Phase two will consist of two new measures, to be introduced from late 2026 (exact dates have not yet been announced):

• Setting up a PRS database to bring together key information for landlords, tenants, and councils. The aim is to help tenants make informed tenant choices when entering new tenancies; help landlords understand their obligations and demonstrate compliance; and support councils in targeting enforcement.
• Establishing a Landlord Ombudsman to improve dispute resolution, so that issues between tenants and landlords can be settled without costly court proceedings.

Phase three will follow at a later date, likely to be several years in the future:

• The Decent Homes Standard (setting minimum health and safety standards) and Awaab’s Law (requiring landlords to address hazards such as damp and mould) will both be extended from social housing to the private rented sector.

The new Ground 1A under Section 8 allows landlords to serve notice on tenants if they wish to sell the property. However, this comes with important restrictions:

• You need to give four months’ notice (this is double the two-month notice period under Section 21).
• You cannot evict tenants if the tenancy is less than a year old at the date of the eviction (which means the earliest you can serve the notice is eight months into the tenancy).
• If you make a false claim for possession under Section 8 you could be liable for a fine of up to £40,000.
• Importantly, if you use this ground to evict tenants, you are not allowed to re-let the property for 12 months from the date of eviction: that is, 16 months after you serve the notice.

This last condition is effectively a trap that could leave sellers with an empty property earning no rental income for a full year. At current average rental rates, that’s more than £16,000 in lost income.

The obvious solution for landlords is to sell with tenants in place. That way, you don’t waste time serving notice, you don’t lose out on income – and you don’t have to deprive your tenants of their home. It’s a win for the buyer too, as they get rental income from day one and don’t have to find tenants, or clean and redecorate a vacant property. LP Exchange’s off market sales platform is ideally suited to selling with sitting tenants.