The Renters’ Rights Act 2025: A new era for England’s private renters

As previously discussed in our article of 18 November 2025, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (the Act) marks the most significant overhaul of England’s private rented sector in nearly four decades and will introduce stronger tenant protections for 11 million private renters. It received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and will take effect in phases starting on 1 May 2026. 

At the heart of the tenancy reforms are the following changes: 

• The current system of Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) will be replaced by Assured Periodic Tenancies, which will remove fixed terms and automatically convert all non-exempt existing tenancies to rolling monthly (or weekly) agreements on 1 May 2026
• Section 21 “no‑fault” evictions, which previously allowed landlords to remove tenants without providing a reason, will be abolished. From May 2026, landlords must rely on revised statutory grounds for possession, which include selling or moving into the property, or evicting on the basis of rent arrears, or anti-social behaviour
• Tenants will be able to bring their tenancy to an end by giving two months’ notice
• Landlords will only be able to increase rent in accordance with formal statutory process, rather than imposing contractual rent reviews within the tenancy agreement. Rent increases will also not be permitted in the first year of the term, will be limited to once per year, and will allow the tenant to challenge the increase
• Landlords will only be able to request one month’s rent upfront, and ‘rental bidding wars’ (where tenants compete by offering higher rent) will be banned, requiring landlords to advertise and adhere to a fixed rent and helping to tackle affordability and unfair practices in the market
• Blanket bans on tenants with children or those receiving benefits will be outlawed, helping to curb discrimination and ensuring applicants are assessed fairly based on individual circumstances. A landlord will, however, still be entitled to consider a tenant’s income when determining whether they will be able to afford the rent
• All tenants will have the right to request pets, which cannot be unreasonably refused by landlords

Looking ahead, late 2026 will also see the phased introduction of a national Private Rented Sector Database and a new Landlord Ombudsman, designed to improve transparency and introduce faster, fairer dispute resolution. 

It is worth noting that certain categories, such as purpose built student accommodation, will be exempt and able to retain fixed term common law tenancies. However, for all non-exempt tenancies, the Act aims to deliver a fairer, more secure, transparent rental system by strengthening rights for tenants while maintaining clear pathways for landlords with legitimate grounds for possession.