The Renters’ Rights Act - how will this affect your tenant rights?

If you are currently renting a property or are looking to rent a property, you may be affected by various changes from the 1st May 2026 when Phase 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 comes into force. Phase 2 in due course will establish the Landlord Ombudsman (which is intended later this year) and Phase 3 will relate to raising standards.

The Renters’ Rights Act will remove section 21 evictions (often called a ‘no fault’ eviction) to ensure that landlords will be unable to evict tenants without a valid ground for possession.

Landlords will only be able to increase rent once per year and tenants must be given at least 2 months’ notice before the increase is implemented. There is a set procedure to follow.

In addition, current fixed term assured tenancies will be removed and become Assured Periodic Tenancies. This means tenants will be able to remain in the property for as long as they wish, until a Landlord serves them a valid notice (called a Section 8 Notice) setting out the grounds for possession, or the tenants have given 2 months’ notice to end their tenancy.

In relation to rental bidding, the Renters’ Rights Act will prevent Landlords and letting agents asking for, accepting or encouraging offers that are higher than the advertised rent. Landlords will also now be unable to request more than 1 month’s rent in advance.

Landlords will be unable to discriminate against prospective tenants who have children or receive benefits. A Landlord will have an initial 28 days to consider a request for a pet within the property; to refuse this request they must give a valid reason.

If you’d like to find out more about your rights, get in touch with our team.