Renters’ Rights: Action Plan for April to July 2026

The tenancy reforms in the Renters’ Rights Act come into force on 1 May 2026, and landlords need to take action before the end of May 2026 to comply with the Renters’ Rights Act transition arrangements for existing tenancies.

Before 1 May, there are things landlords may need to do urgently, particularly if they are considering serving a Section 21 notice or increasing rent under the current rules.

On 1 May, the new assured periodic tenancy regime goes live and a long list of new rules come into force. And by 31 May, landlords must have served certain documents on their existing tenants, or risk a civil penalty of up to £7,000.

This post is a practical to-do list. It doesn’t go into the legal detail on every change (I’ve done that elsewhere, and there are links throughout). Instead, it focuses on what landlords and agent need to do, and by when.

A detailed month-by-month action plan with downloadable checklists and templates is available in my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub.

I also cover every stage of a tenancy under the new rules in my bestselling book,The Good Landlord Handbook.

Note that the tenancy reforms only apply to Assured Periodic Tenancies from 1 May 2026. They do not apply to high rent tenancies (annual rent above £100k), agreements with lodgers, leases to companies and tenancies regulated by the Rent Act 1977.

>> Useful Resource: Government Landlord Checklist

The 4 key Renters’ Rights Act dates

These are the three key dates for the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act before 1 June 2026:

• 30 April 2026 is the last date to serve a Section 21 notice (before 4:30pm) and the last date to enter into an assured shorthold tenancy (which means the tenancy will be an “existing tenancy” and benefit from the transition rules. I recommend serving it no later than Monday 27 April, to be on the safe side with service.
• 1 May 2026 is when the new tenancy regime in the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force. All ASTs become assured periodic tenancies automatically. Section 21 is abolished. The new rules on rent, pets, discrimination and rental bidding all start.
• 31 May 2026 is the deadline to serve certain documents on your existing tenants: the government Information Sheet (for written and partly written tenancies), a Written Statement of Terms (for oral tenancies), and the Ground 4A Written Statement (for student HMOs where you may want to recover possession).
• 31 July 2026 is the deadline for applying for the court to issue a claim form for an order for possession based on a Section 21 notice. If this date is missed or if the case is lost, the notice lapses and the tenancy becomes an assured periodic tenancy.

Review your tenancy agreements

Go through every tenancy you have and note two things: whether the agreement is written, partly written, or purely verbal, and whether it contains a rent review clause.

The first determines what you need to serve on your tenants by 31 May.

The second matters because rent review clauses become void on 1 May. The government guidance is clear: any rent increase agreed under a rent review clause before 1 May that takes effect after 1 May will not be permitted. If you need to increase rent after 1 May, you will need to use the new Section 13 process.

If you have any clauses that ban pets or children, if you don’t have a reasonable justification for them, they will be unenforceable. Also, if you try to enforce the ban on children without having a good reason, this will breach the rules outlawing rental discrimination.

Be aware that any mortgage conditions requiring you not to let to tenant on benefits will not be enforceable from 1 May, and if your landlord insurance policy contains similar restrictions, they will become unenforceable when your current policy expires.

Section 21: last chance on 30 April

If you have been considering serving a Section 21 notice, you are running out of time. The absolute last date is 30 April before 4:30pm, but I would recommend serving by Monday 27 April at the latest. Leaving it to the final day risks issues with proof of service, and you will not be able to correct mistakes by serving a fresh notice after 1 May. Most specialist firms of solicitors will stop taking instructions by mid-April.

If you do serve a valid Section 21 before 1 May, you must apply for an order for possession by 31 July 2026, or the notice will lapse. This is specialist work and there will soon be no time to correct mistakes. Don’t try to do it yourself.

Rent increases under the old rules by 30 April

If you want to increase rent using a Section 13 notice under the current rules (Form 4), the notice must be served before 1 May. After that date, you will need to use the new Form 4A. Again, serve by 27 April to be on the safe side.

Any rent increases using a rent review clause must be completed (ie come into force) before 1 May. Rent review clauses become void 1 May.

Get your new assured periodic tenancy agreement ready

From 1 May, any new tenancy you grant must be an assured periodic tenancy (APT) without a fixed term. You will also need to provide tenants with a Written Statement of Terms before the tenancy is entered into, which can be included in the APT.

If you are a self-managing landlord, now is the time to get a compliant APT template. I supply them to members of The Independent Landlord Hub. If you use a letting agent, check they know they need to switch to APTs from 1 May.

If you have a website or use standard marketing materials, check them for anything that won’t comply with the new rules from 1 May. References to fixed terms, ASTs, rent in advance, or language like ‘no DSS’ will all need removing.

Letting agents should review their standard terms of business and all template correspondence. For instance, no letting agent should be holding a tenant to a fixed term tenancy (unless it’s outside the scope of the Housing Act 1988, such as a high rent tenancy).

Landlords and agents must not seek to enforce a fixed term period from 1 May 2026, as that will be a breach of the obligation not to “purport to let for a fixed term”, and the council can impose a civil penalty of up to £7,000 for this.

The Good Landlord Handbook

This post covers what we need to do for the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force on 1 May.

For practical guidance on every stage of a tenancy under the Renters’ Rights Act going forward, from finding tenants to the end of the tenancy, read my book ‘The Good Landlord Handbook’:

🔹 #1 bestseller on Amazon
🔹 Covers every stage of a tenancy
🔹 Renters’ Rights Act integrated throughout
🔹 “A true landlording bible“

Buy the book

What happens to tenancies on 1 May 2026?

On 1 May, the following provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act come into force automatically for all tenancies:

• All ASTs become assured periodic tenancies.
• Fixed terms end and the tenancy becomes periodic (rolling).
• The AST turned APT is treated as a continuing tenancy.
• Section 21 is abolished. Landlords will need a ground under Section 8 to seek possession.
• Rent can only be increased using the new Section 13 process (Form 4A). Rent review clauses are void.
• Tenants can give two months’ notice to quit at any time.
• Landlords must not discriminate against applicants because they receive benefits or have children.
• The proposed rent must be stated in listings. No rental bidding.
• Tenants have an implied right to keep a pet, subject to the landlord having reasonable grounds for refusal.
• Rent in advance is limited to one month for new tenancies. It cannot be taken or asked to be paid before the tenancy is entered into.
• No more How to Rent booklet.

You don’t need to reissue your existing tenancy agreements. The tenancy converts to periodic automatically, and is treated as a continuing tenancy. This means you don’t need to reissue safety certificates or re-protect the tenancy deposit.

1 May will also see the introduction of stiff sanctions for landlords and agents who breach most of the duties in the Renters’ Rights Act.

As well as civil penalties of up to £7,000 (or £40,000 for specific offences as well as repeated or continuing breaches), landlords who commit certain offences risk a Rent Repayment Order of up to two years’ rent.

>> Related Post: Renters’ Rights Act: The 12 key provisions explained

>> Related Post: Landlord fines and penalties in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025

What landlords must do by 31 May

Landlords have until 31 May to serve certain documents on existing tenants. Missing the 31 May deadline could result in a civil penalty of up to £7,000.

These are the documents:

• The Information Sheet. If the existing tenancy is wholly or partly in writing, the landlord must serve the official government’s Information Sheet on all tenants named on the tenancy. The Information Sheet can’t be amended or rebranded. They must either serve a hard copy or email a PDF. They can do this straight away. I cover this in detail in a separate post: The Information Sheet: What landlords need to know.
• Written Statement of Terms for oral tenancies. If the tenancy is based on a verbal agreement only, the landlord will need to serve a Written Statement of Terms by 31 May. This is a more detailed document. See Renters’ Rights: the new Written Statement of Terms.
• Student HMOs. If you let to full-time students in an HMO and may want to use the new Ground 4A to recover possession this summer, you must serve a Ground 4A Written Statement on your tenants by 31 May. You will then need to serve a Section 8 notice relying on Ground 4A. Under the transition rules, only 2 months’ notice is needed under Ground 4A, instead of the usual 4 months for notices served between 1 May 2026 and 31 July 2026.

New tenancies from 1 May: the short version

Marketing or letting a property from 1 May? This is the short version of what landlords and agents need to do from 1 May:

• Use an assured periodic tenancy agreement.
• Do not include a fixed term in new tenancy agreement.
• Include the Written Statement of Terms in the APT (the mandatory information and terms needed to be served to tenants before they sign).
• State the proposed rent in your listing.
• Don’t ask for or accept offers above the proposed rent.
• Do not accept or ask for any rent before the tenancy is entered into.
• Don’t discriminate against applicants on benefits or with children.
• You no longer need to provide the How to Rent booklet.
• Be ready to respond to pet requests within 28 days.

For the longer version, see: Renters’ Rights Act Guide: The 12 key provisions. For a practical guide, that puts it all into context, take a look at my bestselling book, The Good Landlord Handbook.

31 July 2026 deadline: Apply for court to issue Section 21 claim form

If the tenants do not move out when the Section 21 notice expires, the landlord will need to request the court to issue the claim form for an order for possession.

They must do this within within 3 months of the Commencement Date, ie before 31 July 2026. (See para 4, Schedule 6 RRA).

If the landlord does not do this, the Section 21 notice will lapse and the tenancy will become an assured periodic tenancy.

>> Related Post: When is the last day to serve a valid Section 21 notice?

Final thoughts

There is a lot here, but it’s manageable once you understand what applies to you.

The landlords and agents who will find this easiest are those who have been keeping on top of their compliance, maintaining good relationships with their tenants and subscribing to my free weekly newsletter. If that’s you, the transition should be straightforward.

The most urgent actions are the ones with hard deadlines: Section 21 and Form 4 notices before 30 April, and the Information Sheet and any written statements (Ground 4A or if oral agreement) by 31 May.

Everything else is about adapting your processes for the new regime.

I cover every stage of a tenancy under the new rules in my bestselling book, The Good Landlord Handbook.

If you have questions, you can ask me at twice-monthly livestreams in my membership, The Independent Landlord Hub. I don’t answer questions in the comments or by email.

Related posts

• Renters’ Rights Act guide: The 12 key provisions explained
• Renters’ Rights Act timeline: What happens when?
• Renters’ Rights Act: Transition rules for existing tenancies
• The Information Sheet: What landlords need to know
• Free checklists to comply with the Renters’ Rights Act
• How to increase rent using Section 13 and Form 4 (until 30 April)
• Renters’ Rights: The new Written Statement of Terms