The Renters' Rights Act 2025: what every England landlord now has to do
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the biggest change to renting in England in a generation. Section 21 "no-fault" evictions are gone, fixed-term assured tenancies have been replaced, and there is a fresh set of paperwork every landlord and letting agent is now expected to get right.
If you let property in England, here is a plain-English checklist of what actually changed and what you have to do about it. This isn't legal advice — it's a practical map so you know where you stand.
| What you must do | When | If you don't |
|---|---|---|
| Give every named tenant the official Information Sheet — the exact GOV.UK PDF | Deadline was 31 May 2026. Late service is still valid | Up to £7,000 for an initial breach |
| Give a written statement of terms (section 16D) | Before the tenant enters any new tenancy | Up to £7,000 |
| Use a Section 8 notice on a valid ground to seek possession | Section 21 is abolished — Section 8 is the only route | Possession refused at court |
| Serve a Section 13 notice to raise the rent | Once a year, at least two months' notice | Increase is invalid; tenant may go to the First-tier Tribunal |
| Respond in writing to a written pet request | Within 28 days of the request | Refusal risks being judged unreasonable |
| Treat existing tenancies as Assured Periodic Tenancies | Converted automatically — no need to re-issue agreements | Notices served on the old basis may fail |
1. Give your existing tenants the official Information Sheet
Every landlord with an existing tenancy has to give each tenant a government-produced Information Sheet explaining how the reforms affect them.
The part people get wrong: the Information Sheet is produced by the government, and only the exact PDF from the GOV.UK page counts. You can't retype it, summarise it, or email a link to the page — none of those are valid service. Download the official PDF, give a copy to every named tenant, and keep a dated record that you did. If a letting agent manages the property, the agent has to serve it too.
Download it here: the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet on GOV.UK. It is free, and it always will be.
Missed the 31 May deadline? Late issuance is still valid. The statutory duty doesn't lapse on the deadline — it simply becomes overdue. Serve it now, log the date, and send a short addendum letter to each existing tenant.
2. Your tenancies are now Assured Periodic Tenancies
Fixed terms are gone. Existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies converted automatically to Assured Periodic Tenancies — periodic, usually month-to-month, with no fixed end date. Your tenant can leave with two months' notice; you can only end the tenancy through the courts on a valid ground.
You don't need to re-issue existing agreements, but you should send a short cover letter confirming the change, so there's a clear paper trail.
3. New tenancies need a written statement of terms
For any new tenancy you must give the tenant a written statement of terms before they enter into it — the new duty under section 16D of the Housing Act 1988. It can sit inside the tenancy agreement or be a separate document, but it has to cover the basics: who the landlord and tenant are, the rent and how it's paid, notice rules, and the fact that you can only end the tenancy by getting a court order.
Skip it and you're exposed to a civil penalty of up to £7,000. And the old assured shorthold template won't do — it needs the new periodic structure.
The 2026 regulations set out eighteen items the statement has to contain. See the full list and what landlords get wrong →
4. Ending a tenancy: Section 8 only
With Section 21 abolished, the only route to possession is a Section 8 notice on a valid ground. The grounds have been expanded and renumbered — Ground 1A, for example, lets you seek possession if you're selling the property. Notice periods are generally longer and the evidence requirements are stricter. If the tenant doesn't leave, you go to court and prove the ground applies.
Serving an out-of-date notice form is one of the most common, and most costly, mistakes right now. Since 1 May 2026 a Section 8 notice on a privately rented assured tenancy must be given on Form 3A. Forms 3 and 4 still exist but apply only to social housing, so using Form 3 on a private tenancy is using the wrong prescribed form. The regulations define Form 3A as the version published by the Secretary of State that has effect at the time, so always download the current one free from GOV.UK rather than reusing a stored copy.
The notice period depends entirely on which ground you rely on. Where you rely on more than one, the longest applicable period applies.
| Ground | Notice period | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 months | Landlord or family moving in. The notice can be served in the first 12 months but must not expire before they have passed |
| 1A | 4 months | Sale. Notice can be served in the first 12 months but must not expire before they have passed, and no marketing or re-letting for 12 months after |
| 2 | 4 months | Mortgagee exercising a power of sale |
| 7A | None | Serious offence — proceedings may begin immediately |
| 8 | 4 weeks | Serious arrears — 3 months' rent, or 13 weeks' if paid weekly or fortnightly |
| 10, 11 | 4 weeks | Some arrears; persistent delay in paying |
| 12, 13, 17 | 2 weeks | Breach of obligation; deterioration; false statement |
| 14 | None | Anti-social behaviour — proceedings may begin immediately |
Grounds are in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 as amended. A notice lasts 12 months from service; after that you must serve a fresh one. A Ground 1 or 1A notice may be served during the first 12 months of a tenancy — it is the expiry that cannot fall inside them.
Full detail on Section 8: Form 3A, every ground, and the two rules that quietly void a notice →
The twelve duties every landlord must have in place — free checklist →
5. Rent increases: Section 13 only, once a year
You can no longer raise the rent by simply agreeing a new figure or relying on an old contract clause. The only mechanism now is a Section 13 notice, which you can serve once a year with at least two months' notice, and it must be on Form 4A — the private-rented form since 1 May 2026, again downloaded current from GOV.UK. A rent review clause in the tenancy agreement no longer has any effect. What the Form 4A date questions actually mean → The tenant can challenge the proposed rent at the First-tier Tribunal, which will decide the market rent — but under the Act the Tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the figure you proposed, and where it determines a rent that rent applies from the date of the determination rather than the date in your notice.
6. Pet requests run on a 28-day clock
Tenants now have a strengthened right to request a pet, and you can't unreasonably refuse. When a request comes in in writing, you have 28 days to respond in writing. A standard response form saves you scrambling — and protects you if the decision is ever questioned.
7. The penalties are real, and tiered
Local councils can issue civil penalties for non-compliance, and they come in two tiers: up to £7,000 for an initial or minor breach, and up to £40,000 for serious, persistent or repeat breaches, with criminal prosecution as an alternative for the worst cases. For something like the Information Sheet, a first failure sits in the lower tier — but continuing to ignore it after a penalty escalates it.
Where landlords actually get stuck
None of this is complicated on its own. The friction is that the correct wording is spread across a dozen GOV.UK pages, the notice forms changed, and the Information Sheet has to be served in a very specific way. Miss one detail and a routine job turns into exposure.
Get the printable version
A one-page checklist you can print per property, tick off and file with your certificates — plus an email from us whenever one of these duties actually changes. No charge.