The Renters Rights Act: What Property Managers need to know

The Renters Rights Act 2025 (the Act) received royal accent on 27 October 2025. We have previously set out the reforms being introduced by the Act in more detail here.

In this article, we provide an update on key dates for the first half of 2026 that Property Managers operating in the private rental sector should be aware of, together with some practical tips to ensure compliance.

Upcoming reforms

1. From 1 May 2026:
   • All assured shorthold tenancies in the private sector will end and all tenancies (new and existing) will automatically become open-ended periodic tenancies terminable by the tenant on two months' notice.
   • Prior to a new tenancy commencing, landlords will not be able to ask for more than one month's rent upfront and will not be able to accept offers of more than the listed rental price.
   • "No Fault" evictions (under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988) will be abolished which means landlords will no longer be able to terminate tenancies without providing a legally prescribed ground for possession. The grounds for possession have been reformed under the Act.
   • Landlords will only be able to increase rent once a year by following a prescribed procedure which includes providing two months' notice and tenants are afforded increased rights to challenge rent rises.
   • It will become illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants who receive benefits or who have children.
   • Landlord must fairly consider any requests from tenants to keep pets.
   • New civil penalties will come into force meaning that local authorities can impose fines of up to £7,000 for most offences under the Act and up to £40,000 for repeated or continued breaches.

2. On or before 31 May 2026:
   • Landlords must have provided all of their existing tenants with a copy of the government's information sheet. The government expects to publish the information sheet in March 2026.
   • Landlords with existing oral tenancy agreement will need to provide a written summary of the main terms.

Practical tips for Property Managers

With new civil penalties coming into force, it is vital that landlords and Property Managers adjust their practices to ensure they do not fall foul of the new rules.

Property Managers should firstly educate themselves on the upcoming changes and then ensure that their landlord clients are also aware of the reforms. Property Managers should keep an eye on the government website for updates and, importantly, the release of the government's information sheet so that this can be provided to existing tenants in good time before the deadline. Guidance for tenants will also be published by the government in April 2026.

Property Managers should consider with landlords whether they are likely to want to seek possession of their property in the near future and if so, whether to issue tenants with a section 21 notice on or before 30 April 2026, which is the deadlines for landlords to serve tenants with section 21 notices. If a section 21 notice is issued to any tenant before 1 May 2026, the deadline for issuing possession proceedings at Court (if the tenant does not voluntarily leave the property) is 31 July 2026.

Property Managers should also explore whether landlords are planning to increase rents and whether to do this before 1 May 2026 to avoid the risk of the rent increases being challenged at the tribunal by the tenant under the new rules.

In January 2026, the government intends to set out in draft secondary legislation all of the relevant information that must be provided to tenants in writing for all new tenancies from 1 May 2026. Therefore, Property Managers may wish to bear this information in mind (once it is released) as tenancies come up for renewal between now and 1 May 2026 to avoid any duplication of work.

Looking ahead

From late 2026, a regional database with details about landlords and their properties will be rolled out. Afterwards, a mandatory ombudsman scheme for private landlords will be also established. This is expected to provide a redress service for tenants and provide guidance for landlords to deal with tenant's complaints. The ombudsman will be funded by landlords and details of the charges will be confirmed in due course.

The Decent Homes Standard is also expected to be extended to the private rental sector in either 2035 or 2037. This will include extending Awaab's Law to the private rental sector.

RPC will continue to provide updates and practical tips on these reforms over the coming months and year as further details are provided by the government.

Howden PI Perspective

"From an insurance perspective, we echo and reiterate the proactive risk management advice set out by RPC above. If you're a property manager and have not already started to educate your employees on the changes, then this needs to be done now. Action needs to be taken not only to ensure you're in a position to advise your clients adequately on how the changes impact them, but also you should be obtaining instructions on whether any immediate steps need to be taken in relation to possible evictions and/or rent increases before the Renters Rights Bill takes effect. After this, your landlord clients' rights will be restricted, and if they haven’t been sufficiently advised, this could lead to a professional negligence claim being received."

Archie Barwick, Claims & Technical Executive, and Jamie Russell, Associate Director, Financial Lines Group Claims

This article was written in collaboration with Howden and can be found here.