Renters' Rights Act 2025 Timeline: Key 2026 Dates for Landlords

Applies to England. Wales follows the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, Scotland the Private Residential Tenancy regime, and Northern Ireland its own registration and HMO rules. Nothing on this page changes the law in those three nations.

Last reviewed: 27 August 2026. Next review: 30 September 2026. We check this page against GOV.UK guidance and commencement regulations every month.

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is the biggest reform of the private rented sector in a generation. If you let property in England, the two questions that matter are when the rules bite and whether they apply to tenancies you already have. Both are answered below, with the dated milestones you can plan around.

The short answer

• Royal Assent: granted in October 2025. The Act is law.
• Main implementation date: 1 May 2026. Section 21 abolition, the move to assured periodic tenancies and the new possession regime all start on that day.
• Existing tenancies: converted on the same day, automatically. There was no two stage transition and no grandfathering.
• Information Sheet deadline: 31 May 2026. Most landlords and agents had to give the Government's Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 to existing tenants by that date.

If you take one thing away: there was a single switchover date for the whole market, and the follow up duties run through the rest of 2026.

Full timeline

Before 1 May 2026

• Fixed term assured shorthold tenancies could still be granted.
• Section 21 notices could still be served under the old rules.
• Gas, electrical, EPC, deposit, right to rent and alarm duties continued unchanged. The Act never paused existing compliance.

1 May 2026, the main implementation date

On the appointed day:

• Section 21 was abolished for assured tenancies in England.
• All fixed term tenancies converted to assured periodic tenancies. Rent periods became monthly, or the shorter of monthly and the existing rent period.
• Two months' notice became the tenant's standard notice to quit.
• The reformed Section 8 grounds apply, including a strengthened Ground 1 for a landlord or family member moving in and Ground 1A for sale, each with a 12 month protected period at the start of the tenancy and four months' notice.
• Rent increases run through a Section 13 notice, once a year, with two months' notice. Rent review clauses in older agreements stopped having effect.
• Rental bidding is banned. You must advertise an asking rent and cannot accept offers above it.
• Blanket bans on tenants with children or on benefits became unlawful.
• The right to request a pet applies. Refusal has to be on reasonable grounds.
• Enforcement powers for local authorities took effect, with civil penalties for the new offences.

31 May 2026, Information Sheet deadline

Most landlords and letting agents had to give the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 to tenants of existing assured and assured shorthold tenancies by this date. Keep the evidence of service. A dated email or portal record is the simplest proof.

Later in 2026 and beyond

• The Private Rented Sector Database and the PRS Landlord Ombudsman roll out on their own commencement regulations, with registration becoming a condition of marketing and letting.
• The Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law timescales extend to the private rented sector on a phased basis.
• Any Section 21 notice served before 1 May 2026 remained valid only for its existing statutory window. After that, possession runs through Section 8.

Does the Renters' Rights Act apply to existing tenancies?

Yes, in full, from 1 May 2026. There was no separate later date for tenancies granted earlier:

• Your fixed term collapsed into a monthly periodic tenancy on the same terms for rent, deposit and parties.
• You cannot serve a Section 21 on that tenancy, however old it is.
• Rent review clauses in the original agreement stopped working. Future rises go through Section 13.
• Deposits already protected stay protected. You did not need to re protect on the changeover.

You do not need to issue a new tenancy agreement to existing tenants, because the conversion happened by operation of law. Many landlords still issue an updated agreement so both sides understand the regime. If you do, make sure it reflects the periodic structure and does not try to reintroduce a fixed term. Our free tenancy agreement template is drafted for exactly that.

What should I do now? Landlord action checklist

1. Run a compliance check on every property. Gas, EICR, EPC, How to Rent or the current statutory documents, deposit protection and prescribed information all have to be current, because the reformed possession grounds are strict about pre let paperwork. The free compliance checker gives you a traffic light report in about two minutes.
2. Confirm the Information Sheet was served to every existing tenant and that you can evidence the date.
3. Diary your rent review dates. One Section 13 increase per year with two months' notice. The rent increase calculator works out the earliest valid date.
4. Check notice periods before serving anything. Grounds now carry different notice lengths. The notice period calculator matches the ground to the period.
5. Remove any "no DSS" or "no children" wording from adverts and from your agent's instructions.
6. Get your registration data in one place. Addresses, EPC ratings and certificate dates, ready for the PRS Database.
7. Keep a written record of every tenant communication. That log is the evidence base the PRS Ombudsman will ask for.

Official sources

• Implementing the Renters' Rights Act 2025: our roadmap for reforming the private rented sector, MHCLG
• The Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026, GOV.UK
• Enforcement measures for landlords: Renters' Rights Act 2025, GOV.UK
• Renters' Rights Act 2025, legislation.gov.uk

Frequently asked questions

When did the Renters' Rights Act come into force? The main provisions started on 1 May 2026, following Royal Assent in October 2025. Some parts, including the PRS Database and Ombudsman, follow on later commencement regulations.

Can I still serve a Section 21 notice? No. Section 21 was abolished for assured tenancies in England on 1 May 2026. Possession runs through the reformed Section 8 grounds.

Do I have to give my tenant anything new? Yes. Most landlords had to serve the Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 on existing tenants by 31 May 2026, and keep proof of service.

Does the Act apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland? No. Those nations have their own regimes, so do not apply the English rules to a property outside England.

How RentDocs.co.uk helps

For every property you get a periodic ready tenancy agreement generator with no Section 21 references, a document vault with expiry tracking for gas, EICR, EPC and deposit certificates, automated rent reminders, and a tenant portal where every message, notice and document carries a timestamped audit trail. See landlord software for the full feature list, or letting agent software if you manage on behalf of clients.

This article is general information for UK landlords and is not legal advice. Check the current GOV.UK guidance before serving notices or issuing new agreements.