Letter for Landlords: Renter's Rights act update (Key dates)
- Albert's Estate
- Jan 8
- 5 min read
RENTERS’ RIGHTS ACT TIMELINE: KEY DATES
27.12.2025 Local authorities have significantly enhanced powers to investigate and enforce against landlords or agents who commit offenses such as harassment and illegal eviction, accepting or encouraging rental bidding above the listed price, discrimination against tenants with children or benefits, the landlord redress scheme, the landlord database. Local authorities are also given powers to allow them to enter different types of premises without a warrant.
The Government has produced guidance for local authorities that sets out the typical amount that a landlord can be fined for under most of the new civil penalties-these are the ‘’starting points’’ for each civil penalty: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-penalties-under-the-renters-rights-act-2025-and-other-housing-legislation/civil-penalties-under-the-renters-rights-act-2025-and-other-housing-legislation#civil-penalties-as-a-sanction
Tenants will also have more powers to enforce their rights by expanding the number of things they can reclaim rent for (rent repayment orders) and extending the duration they can reclaim rent for.
January 2026. Is expected to be issued the new model of tenancy agreement.
March 2026. Publication of the information sheet for existing tenants.
30.04.2026. Is the last day a Section 21 notice can be served.
01.05.2026. Implementation of the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act. The most significant area of change is around the tenancy agreements, such as:
-banning fixed term assured short-hold tenancies.
-amending the rules around ending a tenancy.
-implying new obligations into tenancy agreements that the landlord must follow.
From 1st of May 2026, fixed term assured short-hold tenancies will no longer exist. Instead, tenancies will be periodic assured tenancies from the outset. The change also applies to fixed term ASTs entered before this date.
New tenancies must provide for the rent to be paid monthly, and it can’t be demanding more than a month’s rent at any one time. Landlords or agents may not demand, encourage, or accept rent payments in advance before agreeing to enter an assured tenancy. We must agree to let the tenants live in the property before you can demand any rent. If the tenant subsequently does not pay rent, we will typically have to hand over the keys and allow them to move in, even though they have not paid.
Tenants will be able to serve notice to end the tenancy from the moment their tenancy begins. You should be aware that:
· The default notice period for tenants is 2 months; however, the landlord can agree to a shorter notice period if they wish.
· The notice will need to end on the first or last day of a rental period unless agreement states otherwise.
· The tenant’s notice can be served in any format if it is written.
The loss of fixed terms heightens the risks of void periods resulting in higher costs for you as the landlord.
From 1st of May 2026, every assured tenancy will include an implied term that allows the tenant to request permission to keep a pet at the property and requires the landlord to respond to request within 28 days of receiving it. You may not unreasonably refuse a request for a pet, but you are still able to refuse where it is reasonable to do so.
The Renters’ Rights Act will create several new duties for landlords of assured tenancies. The general duties are that you may NOT:
· Try to let a property on a fixed term tenancy.
· Try to end the tenancy via a notice to quit or verbally.
· Serve a possession notice other than prescribed Section 8 notice.
· Market or re-let the property within the ‘’prohibited period’’ (typically 16 months) after serving a Section 8 notice that includes Grounds 1 or 1a.
Failure to comply with these duties could result in criminal prosecution or civil penalty of between £7.000 and £40.000, depending on the offense, and many of them are easy to do mistakenly.
From 1st of May 2026, you can only increase the rent by agreeing on a new tenancy or serving a Section 13 notice to the tenant giving at least 2 months’ notice and must not occur until 13 months after occupation or after the last rent determination. The tenant might challenge the rent for free to the Tribunal before the notice expires. The rent increase will be delayed until the day the Tribunal decides on what the rent should be or later if the Tribunal believed it would cause undue hardship.
SPRING/SUMMER 2026. Financial penalties for Category 1 hazards (in line with updated guidance) introduced.
31.05.2026. Deadline for giving pre-existing tenants an information leaflet and notice you may use the student ground. By 31st of May 2026 all the tenants should receive the Government produced leaflet outlining the key changes to the existing tenancy. The Government has not published this document yet. Once it is published, it will be available on the Gov.uk and our website.
31.07.2026. Deadline for applications to court for possession under Section 21.
FROM LATE 2026. PRS data base roll-out begins. Intended to help landlords better understand their legal obligations and give tenants greater confidence that they’ll comply with them, the private landlord database is designed to enable tenants to make more informed decisions when going into a tenancy agreement. You’ll need to be registered on the database if you want to use certain grounds for possession under Section 8. The database will include: the landlord’s contact details; the property details including full address, type of property, number of bedrooms, number of residents and confirming whether the property is occupied and furnished, etc.; safety information-gas, EICR and EPC certificates for the tenants to know about safety and energy efficiency of the property. It is not clear yet the process itself and what we are allowed to do in your name.
APRIL 2027. Government expects end-to-end digitalisation of the court.
2028. Expected date for mandatory sign-up to the PRS Landlord Ombudsman.
The Renters’ Rights Act has received royal assent and is now law but will be in force from 01.05.2026. Before then, the Government still needs to publish secondary legislation forms covering required terms for tenancy agreements, new prescribed forms for rent increases and possession notices, a conversion document for existing tenancy agreement.
In addition, the Civil Procedures Rules for the courts may be updated to reflect the Government’s promises to improve the speed of court services.
At some point after 1st of May 2026, the Government will also have to publish details of changes to the Decent Homes Standard, details on the landlord database and ombudsman, the time-frames for responding to hazards in the private rented sector (Awaab’s Law), the updates to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.
In addition to the dates confirmed by the Government there are two additional provisions coming under the Act that-as yet-have no implementation dates. These includes:
· The introduction of Awaab’s Law, this will introduce strict requirements on timescales for dealing with hazards such as damp and mold.
· The implementation of the Decent Homes Standard, as per the last consultation of the Government earlier this year, the standard would not apply in full until 2035 at the earliest.
The Government has also confirmed that, separate to the Renters’ Rights Act, it also intends to:
· Reform the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) to make it easier to understand.
· Set up a new body or mechanism to make the initial decision on whether a rent increase is within market rates.
Neither of these dates set yet, though we hope that the Housing Health and Safety Rating System will come in Spring/Summer 2026.
A situation that might occur and had been presented in Parliament of what happens if the first month’s rent isn’t paid is in the link bellow:
We will continue to keep you posted with news and updates from the industry.
Albert’s Estate Ltd
01226 214971
72 High Street, Wombwell, S73 8DA
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