After much anticipation, the Renters Rights Act 2025 is here.

On 27 October 2025, the Act received Royal Assent and passed into legislation.

With the intention of overhauling the private rented sector in England, the Act has brought about sweeping changes that will affect landlords and tenants alike, with an emphasis on providing a greater degree of protection for tenants.

The principal changes, amongst other matters, include the abolition from 1 May 2026 of the s21 ‘no fault’ eviction, a move to remove fixed term tenancies in favour of periodic tenancies, the prevention of discrimination, and an end to bidding wars over listed rents. From late 2026, the Act will also implement both a landlord's register and a landlord's ombudsman to handle tenant disputes, along with the creation of a new Decent Homes Standard following further consultation.

With the abolition of the s21 no-fault eviction, the Act has made changes to the existing grounds for possession contained in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. Accordingly, landlords seeking to recover possession of privately rented accommodation will be required to satisfy a court, following the provision of relevant written notice, that one or more of the existing, amended or new grounds for possession are met.

In particular, landlords seeking to rely on arrears of rent as the basis for recovering possession will now have to give four weeks’ notice instead of two, and wait until at least three months’ rent is in arrears.

The changes will invariably result in additional court time being allocated to residential possession claims, and may prompt a scramble prior to 1 May 2026 for landlords to recover possession on the existing s21 no-fault basis before that date.

From 1 May 2026 onwards, the unwary landlord may fail to correctly comply with their obligations at the commencement of a tenancy or when seeking to recover possession, particularly as allowance has been made for the form of notice to be published by the Secretary of State.

Chapter 3 of the Act also introduces rules preventing landlords from discriminating against tenants or applying discriminatory terms. In particular, the Act provides for the prevention of discrimination relating to children or based on a tenant's benefit status. This includes withholding information about a property (including its availability), stopping someone from viewing it, or refusing to grant a tenancy. Where the anti-discrimination provisions are breached, local housing authorities may impose financial penalties on those responsible. Although authorities may determine the level of the penalty, it may be up to (but must not exceed) £7,000.

Whilst implementation of the Act will be ongoing over the coming months, landlords need to take action now to ensure they understand their rights and responsibilities.

We support landlords and tenants in understanding their obligations when renting property, and in managing conflict and navigating the dispute process.