Renters' Rights Act: what changed for private renters in England

Every tenancy is now periodic

The biggest structural change is the end of the fixed term. Existing assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, and new private tenancies are periodic from the start. A periodic tenancy rolls on week to week or month to month with no end date. The government's overview for tenants puts it plainly: the end date in your old agreement no longer applies.

For tenants this means you are no longer locked in. You can leave by giving two months' notice, and the notice has to be given on the day the rent is due or the day before. For a shared house, where people arrive and leave at different times, this removes the old problem of one person's fixed term holding everyone else in place.

Section 21 has ended

A landlord in England can no longer end a tenancy with a section 21 notice, the "no fault" route that required no reason. Possession now has to be sought on a stated ground, with the right notice period and, if the tenant does not leave, a court order.

The grounds include the landlord selling the property or moving in themselves, serious rent arrears, and antisocial behaviour. Notice periods are usually four months, though some grounds are shorter. The government's guide to the Act adds two protections worth knowing: the selling and moving-in grounds cannot be used in the first twelve months of a tenancy, and a landlord who uses them cannot market or re-let the property for twelve months afterwards.

Rent increases: once a year, and challengeable

Rent can now only go up once in any twelve months, and not at all in the first twelve months of the tenancy. The landlord has to serve a formal notice, Form 4A, giving at least two months' notice. Rent-review clauses in old agreements no longer work.

If the proposed rent is above the market rent for similar properties, you can challenge it at the First-tier Tribunal. The government guide notes that the tribunal cannot set a rent higher than the landlord asked for, and that increases can no longer be backdated to the date of the notice. In practice that makes a tribunal challenge a low-risk step rather than a gamble.

Limits on upfront money and bidding

Two rules target the start of a tenancy. A landlord or agent cannot ask for, encourage or accept more than one month's rent in advance once the agreement is signed, and cannot take it before the agreement is signed at all. Separately, a property must be advertised at a specific rent, and the landlord cannot accept or invite offers above it. Rental bidding, where applicants outbid each other, is no longer allowed.

These sit alongside the existing Tenant Fees Act 2019 limits, which cap the tenancy deposit at five weeks' rent for most tenancies and a holding deposit at one week's rent.

Pets, children and benefits

A tenant can now ask to keep a pet. The landlord must consider the request and should give a reason if they refuse; a blanket "no pets" line in an advert no longer settles the matter.

Landlords and agents also cannot refuse someone simply because they have children or receive benefits. Ordinary affordability checks are still permitted, provided they are applied to everyone in the same way. In a shared house this closes a common route by which a family or a claimant was quietly filtered out of a room.

What is still to come

The Act is being brought in over several years, and the government's implementation roadmap sets out the order.

• A Private Rented Sector Database, rolled out by area from late 2026. Every landlord of an assured tenancy will have to register, with penalties of up to £7,000 for a first breach and up to £40,000 or prosecution for repeated ones.
• A Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman, with mandatory landlord membership expected in 2028, giving tenants a binding route for complaints without going to court.
• A Decent Homes Standard for private rentals for the first time. The consultation proposed a start date of 2035 or 2037.
• Awaab's Law extended to private rentals, setting legal timescales for fixing damp, mould and other hazards. The Act contains the power; the timescales and start date depend on a further consultation and secondary legislation.

Check your own situation

These rules cover assured tenancies in England. They do not apply in the same way to lodgers living with a resident landlord, to purpose-built student accommodation, to most social housing, or to licences rather than tenancies. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own law. If you are unsure what you have, the official guidance linked below is the place to start, and Shelter or Citizens Advice can look at your actual agreement.