The Renters’ Right Act 2025 (“The Act”) obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. It is expected to be enforced in phases with the first phase set to be introduced on 1 May 2026. The Act will introduce landmark changes to landlord and tenant law in England.
The Act proposes substantive changes with the aim of providing greater security to tenants alongside a clearer framework to allow landlords to manage their properties effectively. Here are some of the key provisions that will be introduced:
- Abolish Section 21 notices– under the Act landlords will no longer be able to obtain possession of their property without providing a legal justification. Historically, section 21 notices have been viewed as ‘no fault evictions’. Assured shorthold tenancies will also be abolished and replaced with assured tenancies. Additionally, fixed term tenancies will be replaced with periodic assured tenancies.
- Changes to Section 8 notices – landlords will only be able to evict a tenant via a Section 8 notice meaning landlords will require legal justification for evicting a tenant. The grounds for issuing a section 8 notice will be stricter. For example, for a rent arrears, the tenant must have fallen behind on 3 months’ rent payments, opposed to the previous requirement of 2 months. Landlords will also be able to serve a section 8 if the tenant causes damage to the property or commits anti-social behaviour. The requisite notice period under a section 8 notice will be 4 months, if the tenant does not vacate the property after this time, then a court order will be required to obtain possession of the property.
- Tenant’s right to request pets – tenants will be able to request to keep pets in the property, the landlord will not be able to unreasonably withhold consent.
- Introduction of decent homes standard – this will ensure that privately rented homes meet a minimum safety standard.
- Anti- discrimination measures – landlords will be prohibited from discriminating against prospective tenants on the grounds that they receive benefits or have children. Landlords will still be able to review a prospective tenant’s income prior to granting a tenancy.
- Introduction of private rented sector database – this will record which landlords have been subject to financial penalties, banning orders or similar offences. The database will be accessible by landlords, tenants and local authorities. All landlords will be required to be registered on the database.
- Rent increase regulations – the Act will impose stringent conditions on rent increases. Landlords will be required to give tenants 2 months’ notice before increasing rent and can only be increased to market rate.
- No changes to the tenancy deposit scheme – landlords will still be required to protect a tenant’s deposit. Landlords looking to issue a section 8 notice will need to ensure they have protected the tenancy deposit otherwise they will be barred from doing so, unless the ground for eviction is anti-social behaviour. Landlords will not be required to evidence a gas safety certificate and energy performance certificate (EPC) when issuing a section 8 notice as they were previously required to do so when issuing a section 21 notice.
If you are a landlord with concerns about how this might impact you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
By Laura Hague.
