What does the Renters’ Rights Act mean for private landlords?

The Renter’s Rights Act replaces Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) with Assured Periodic Tenancies (APTs). Instead of a tenancy running for a set term, the tenancy is now considered a rolling contract which the tenant can end at any time by giving two months’ notice or notice based on specific grounds are served by the landlord with a statutory notice period.

Crucially, the law abolishes Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, meaning landlords must now prove a legitimate statutory ground in court to reclaim their property. Rent reviews are formalised to the service of a Section 13 notice, to which can only be served once annually, after an initial 12-month period. For non-compliance, there is a risk of a penalty of up to £7,000 and/or a potential restriction of the grounds to which a landlord may use for repossession.

In 2026, landlords must prevent rental bidding wars and limit advance rent requests to one month. They must also keep strict proof of all notices served, including issuing the Renters’ Rights Act information sheet by 31 May 2026. Additionally, landlords need to be aware that there is a change in terms of pets. They can no longer refuse a tenant’s request to keep a pet, subject to reasonableness and potential insurance increases. Finally, landlords must not discriminate against prospective tenants on the basis of having children or being in receipt of benefits.

1) Occupation by Landlord or Close Family Member (Ground 1)

• This is where it’s a close family member, such as sibling or parent/grandparent;
• This is a mandatory ground;
• There is a minimum notice period of four months;
• The end date of the tenancy must be after the initial 12 months of the tenancy;
• There is a 12-month ban on letting the property out on obtaining possession.

2) Sale of a Dwelling-House (Ground 1A)

• This is where a property is to be sold with vacant possession;
• This is a mandatory ground;
• There is a minimum notice period of four months;
• The end date of the tenancy must be after the initial 12 months of the tenancy;
• This also means that a landlord cannot then let out the property for a 12-month period thereafter.

3) Student Accommodation (Ground 4A)

• This is relevant for HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) for students, and allows for notice at the end of an academic year, in preparation for the next cohort;
• There is a minimum notice period of four months;
• The initial 12-month protected tenancy period is reduced to six months subject to qualifying HMO lets to full-time students falling between 1 June and 30 September allowing for the next cohort of full-time students.

4) Redevelopment (Ground 6)

• This is to allow a landlord to recover possession if it wishes to undertake substantial redevelopment of the property or part of a building in which the property is located, and the demolition or reconstruction works cannot reasonably be carried out without the tenant giving up possession;
• This requires a minimum four-month notice.

5) Severe- Anti-Social Behaviour/Criminal Behaviour (Ground 7A)

• A notice must be served, but there is no notice period here;
• Proceedings may begin immediately although the court cannot make a possession order until at least 14 days service of the notice;
• There are five conditions only one of which need be met to apply these grounds:
  1. Has the tenant been convicted of a serious offence wholly or partly in or in the locality of the property, or else certain persons;
  2. Has the tenant or person residing in or visiting the property breached a provisions of a civil injunction;
  3. There has been a conviction of a for a breach of a criminal behaviour order;
  4. The property has been subject to a closure order and access has been prohibited for a continuous period of more than 48 hours;
  5. There has been a conviction for breach of an abatement notice or court order relating to a statutory noise nuisance.

NB – where these provisions are not fully complied with, discretionary Ground 14 allows for a wider remit allowing the courts to decide on nuisance or annoyance and certain criminal/illegal conduct. It too allows proceedings to be started immediately after notice

6) No Right to Rent (Ground 7B)

• A notice is served and there is only two weeks’ notice required;
• There is a need for a written notice from the Secretary of the State explaining the adult tenant is disqualified from occupation on the basis of immigration status.

7) Rent Arrears (Ground 8)

• A notice period of four weeks’ notice;
• A tenant must owe a set amount depending on their payment schedule:
  • If paying monthly, the tenant must owe three months of rent;
  • If paying weekly or fortnightly, the tenant must owe 13 weeks’ rent.
• Note that the tenant must owe their respective amount on both the day of service and the date of hearing. If payment is made to reduce this prior to the court date, then eviction is no longer available;
• Amounts of arrears attributable to Universal Credit, to which the tenant has not received, are disregarded when determining whether the mandatory Ground 8 threshold has been reached.

Beyond these there are discretionary grounds: The most common are:

• Grounds 10, 11 and 14.

• Landlord serves a Section 8 notice with the specific grounds for repossession;
• The requisite notice period is given;
• After this period, hopefully the tenant has vacated the property, if not, an application is made to the County Court. This application includes the evidence required to support the grounds provided;
• If successful at the County Court, the tenant will offer a date to which they will leave by;
• If they do not, a warrant for possession can be sought. The County Court bailiffs will then remove the tenant from the property.

There is no set figure that a landlord may raise their rent to. The key to the upper limit is what is considered “Market Rate”. My advice on this topic is to ensure that the evidence is provided with the Section 13 notice served to give the tenants as much information as possible in relation to how a landlord has found the rent figure that they wish to use. From the perspective of a tenant, this means that the figure provided is not just a figure plucked out of the air and is a reasoned figure.

A landlord should not continue to manage their property as though the pre-May 2026 rules still apply. They should not attempt to use Section 21, create new fixed-term assured tenancies, rely on contractual rent review provisions instead of the statutory process, encourage or accept rental bids above the advertised rent, demand more than the permitted rent in advance, discriminate against prospective tenants because they receive benefits or have children, or simply impose a blanket refusal on pets. Above all, a landlord should not attempt to recover possession informally: if the tenant does not agree to leave, the landlord will need a valid statutory ground and ultimately a court order.

A tenant may challenge a rent increase in a few circumstances but the key element here is that a tenant does so on the correct grounds. The grounds must be that a landlord has not followed the correct procedure, or that that they have raised the rent beyond what is permissible.

A landlord may seek to raise the rent annually. Any rent reviews sooner are not permissible. To do so, a landlord must follow the s13 procedure intending to increase the rent and this must be served at least 2 months ahead of the increase date. If these procedures are not followed, then the rent is not considered as reviewed.

A tenant may also challenge the reviewed rent. The rent is only to be increased in line with market value. If the tenant wishes to challenge the reviewed rent, they may submit a MR1 form to the First-tier Tribunal. This must be done ahead of the date that the new rent is payable. Until the date to which the First-tier Tribunal can review the new rent, the old rent is payable. If the tribunal agrees with the increased sum, the rent increase is not retrospective and will only be payable from the next period.

Landlords still have strong right where a tenant does not pay rent, but they must follow statutory process to access these. Ground 8 is the usual route. For a tenant paying monthly, they must owe at least three months’ rent both when the notice is served and at the court hearing. If paying weekly or fortnightly, 13 weeks of arrears is the threshold. Four weeks’ notice must be provided before starting court proceedings.

Beyond Ground 8, there is a discretionary Ground 10. This can be used where any amount of rent is outstanding. Ground 11 is applicable where the tenant persistently pays rent late. These grounds require more evidence to exercise allowing for the courts to use their discretion to allow for the repossession order.

Simply, not from an assured periodic tenancy. A landlord cannot force the tenant to leave, nor change the locks nor physically remove them. The landlord must serve the correct notice relying on a statutory possession ground and, if the tenant remains after the notice expires, obtain a possession order from the court. If the tenant then remains after the date in the possession order, the landlord must obtain a warrant or writ before a bailiff or High Court Enforcement Officer can carry out the eviction.

As of August 2026, Phase 1 of the government’s roadmap is officially in force. Looking ahead, the regional rollout of the Private Rental Sector (PRS) Database is scheduled to begin in late 2026. Later updates include the PRS Ombudsman, with compulsory membership expected by 2028. Finally, Phase 3 will extend Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard to the private sector after further implementation work.